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Irish Times
an hour ago
- Sport
- Irish Times
Shane Ryan: ‘If you go out there fearing a mistake, you're never going to express yourself'
Shane Ryan is talking all things Kerry goalkeeping when the subject of dropping an easy ball comes up. Arguably the best shot-stopper in the business, Ryan is philosophical about such moments, even if the season turns on them. In their seven games en route to Sunday's All-Ireland showdown against Donegal , Kerry have conceded only four goals, and Ryan's performances between the posts have been central to that. He's been impeccable. In their much-hyped quarter-final against Armagh , Ryan made three close-range saves, only Rory Grugan getting one past him. With a consistent spread of pinpoint kick-outs to boot, no wonder Ryan is considered critical to Kerry's chances on Sunday. Rewind to last year's semi-final against Armagh, however, and some people were pointing at Ryan differently. In the 55th minute, with Kerry up by four points, a Rian O'Niall punt fell short, and when Ryan failed to claim it, Barry McCambridge struck the dropped ball to the net. READ MORE Armagh went on to win by two points, after extra-time, and the rest is All-Ireland history. 'No, it was a huge moment, it was a huge factor in that game as well,' says Ryan, in no way playing down the significance of his mistake. 'You don't want them to happen. Particularly in an All-Ireland stage, but they're going to. Shane Ryan tries to accept that mistakes are part of the game. Photograph: Inpho 'And I suppose it's always a measure of a fella, how he reacts from mistakes, rather than the mistakes themselves. And that's kind of how I try to perceive them. Because if you go out there fearing a mistake, you're never going to express yourself, you're never going perform to your maximum. 'And that goes for all positions in the field. But I suppose when you're playing in goal, you drop a high ball, 90 per cent of the time it's in the back of the net, or it's over the bar.' A few weeks after losing to Armagh, Ryan was back in action with his club Rathmore, playing out the field among the forwards, as he's also done for years. 'If I'm playing full forward for my club and I drop a ball, no one gives it a second thought. So it's trying to compartmentalise those individual errors and just trying to react positively to them, really. 'I suppose the nature of the [goalkeeper] position, you are going to make mistakes. And the longer I've played at the top level, I've kind of tried to accept that they're just going to happen.' At age 29, Ryan will play in his fifth All-Ireland final on Sunday. He joined the panel in 2019, around the same time as the now core group of this Kerry team, and being together for that long creates a very different sort of mood compared to his first final. Kerry's Shane Ryan with Colm Basquel and Con O'Callaghan of Dublin. Photograph: Inpho 'I'm kind of lucky in a way, it's my fifth final, so you do pick up small bits and pieces throughout the years. I think the older you get anyway, in a sporting context, maybe in life, you just try to enjoy things that little bit more. You know, not wish the two weeks away. 'A lot of new fellas came in 2019. And the core group of our panel at the moment is kind of a team who've been there in the last five, six, seven years. 'And I suppose naturally, you grow closer ... and I suppose the tighter you get, it does fit into your performances as well. You don't want to leave the man down beside you, and you're more likely to be yourself as well, which I think is a great trait of any of any player.' Ryan first learned some of his goalkeeping skills in soccer, and while he credits the input of Kerry's number two goalkeeper Shane Murphy – 'he's been nothing but really positive for my game' – he admits the new rules have added another dimension to goalkeeping this season. 'It's been a huge change. All your kick-outs now, there is some element of pressure on them. And as always, a 'keeper is so reliant on what's outside him. 'I mean, a press is changing, bodies are moving, so you're trying to see, is he really on? Is there an opposition man there? Have we an overload somewhere? Have I got a mismatch one on one? You only have half a second to make a decision, because teams are so good now that if something pops up, it's closed in an instant.'
Sunday World
2 days ago
- Sport
- Sunday World
Pat Spillane: One All-Ireland medal – that's underwhelming for the greatest player of all time
Pressure is on players and managers as we look forward to a cracking decider Two top class teams, some of the greatest players in the game, a huge and enthusiastic crowd and a cracking atmosphere. And with the new rules, what could possibly go wrong? Maybe our expectations are too high nowadays, but the second football semi-final flopped, and the first was also disappointing. Donegal and Meath was a non-event. From the word go, Donegal pulverised them. The Meath team basically didn't turn up. As for the Kerry-Tyrone game, it was a strange one. While it's always lovely when Kerry win, at best I would describe it as a very average contest. There are three stats which speak volumes. Between the two teams, six goal-scoring chances were blown. The two teams also kicked 16 wides and they landed nine balls into the goalies' hands. The shooting left a lot to be desired. In actual fact, the best match of the weekend was the Tailteann Cup final between Kildare and Limerick – an absolutely cracking contest from start to finish. And probably the second best match of the weekend was London and New York in the junior final. A quick rant on the Tailteann Cup. It was set up to help the weaker counties but this is year four and no Division 4 team has won it. And no Division 4 team will ever win it under the present format. The four winners have all either been operating in Division 2 or promoted to Division 2 the following season. Look at the four winners: Westmeath, Meath, Down and Kildare. Are they weak footballing counties? Absolutely not. They are underperforming counties. And I just don't think this competition is meant for them. You should not reward big counties with big populations who are underperforming. And that brings me to the junior championship. It just goes to show the progress and the coaching being done in places like New York. This was a New York team where they are only allowed homegrown players. Isn't it wonderful to see New York with homegrown players, with the result of brilliant coaching, winning a junior title. Kilkenny, too. OK, they didn't reach the final, London beat them in the semi-final. But I have to qualify that. Kilkenny are the only county in Ireland that do not enter a team in the National Football League. I watched them play on Friday night against London and there are some damn good footballers there. Yet despite not taking part in the league, they've a ticket into this junior championship. And every couple of years they win one match and they get an opportunity which many weaker counties don't get, of playing in a final in Croke Park. That's wrong. It's time for Kilkenny to get off their backside and enter a team in the National Football League. Right, that brings me to the All-Ireland final. With all due respect to last year's finalists, Armagh and Galway, this year, most definitely, will have the two best teams in the final. Armagh hobbled into the final last year. They wouldn't have got there only for Shane Ryan's mistake. Galway wouldn't have got there except Donegal's poor shooting let them down in the second half of their semi-final. This year, we have the cream of the crop. Let's start with Kerry. There's an old Latin phrase, ' veni, vidi, vici' , meaning 'I came, I saw, I conquered'. And that really was Kerry's performance in the semi-final. If there's such a thing as a six-point hammering, last Saturday's victory over Tyrone was it. It wasn't a 70-minute performance but was still their best against top-level opposition. Bear in mind that this is a Kerry team missing Paul Geaney and probably their best man-marker, Tom O'Sullivan. And having a midfield pairing that do a lot of the dirty work, break a lot of ball, but can be quite anonymous from play for long spells. Kerry know that performance won't win an All-Ireland. To be perfectly honest, as somebody who played in 12 semi-finals and 10 All-Ireland finals, whether it was psychological or not, I always felt it was great to win a semi-final. Because semi-finals are for winning, but ideally you leave a bit in reserve – the big performance is to come. Is that a worry for Donegal? Their best performance of the year came last Sunday. They were absolutely awesome. Jim McGuinness is some man when it comes to tactics. Photo: Dáire Brennan/Sportsfile You're looking at the Donegal team this year, Jimmy McGuinness's second year in charge, to see if there are differences. And yes, the two O'Donnells are a brilliant addition. Young Finnbarr Roarty and Ciarán Moore, too. But, at the same time, it is pretty much the same template and game plan. It's the same system of play. These players are so programmed, I'd say they could play it in their sleep. You have the hard running in transition. They're still the kings of the turnover. God forbid you cough up a turnover to Donegal – just think of the Roarty turnover where 17 seconds later Moore was scoring a goal. That's them at their best. The flick on from the long kick-out was working in 2012 and is still working today. And, of course, there is their forward movement. While they have probably even more shooters this time, the system is still the same. It's getting the ball close to the goal, getting the shooter near the posts, for low percentage one-point shots. And when they come around on that loop, they are the best in the business. This will be Jack O'Connor's eighth All-Ireland final. Photo: Seb Daly/Sportsfile So, it'll be a long week of burning midnight oil for McGuinness and Jack O'Connor. They have a lot of big questions, they have a lot of searching and a lot of analysis to do. For McGuinness, what's his big challenge this week? To work out a way of stopping David Clifford. Easier said than done. In his quietest game this year, he scored five points. Only in Ireland would a fella score 1-9 in a national semi-final and not win Man of the Match. So, Donegal must find a way of curtailing him and also stop Kerry's kicking game. Kerry's heads-up kicking game is the best in the business. Jimmy needs to cut that off at source. He needs to crowd out that Kerry forward line. He needs to cut down space. How he'll do it will be intriguing because Jimmy is some man when it comes to tactics. He can come up with outside-the-box thinking and innovations. As for Jack, his main priority is to stop Donegal's running game. And to guard against those flick-ons at the kick-out. Pressing Shaun Patton's kick-out is vital. Can they do it? Well, for that 15 minutes against Ethan Rafferty, who is a good operator, they dismantled Armagh's kick-out. They need to do the same with Patton. And remember, while he was brilliant in the second half, there were flaws in Patton's kick-out in the first. Michael Murphy is Donegal's spiritual leader. Photo: Ray McManus/Sportsfile If Kerry have Clifford, Donegal have Michael Murphy, their key player. When he was on the field for that 45 minutes, he ran the show. He's the spiritual leader. He's the on-field general. A man-marker for Murphy is absolutely vital. The new rules have revitalised Gaelic football. One thing is for sure, next weekend in Croke Park you won't see any seagulls idling on one side of the field, they won't have that luxury. Next Sunday, we will have two teams with absolutely contrasting styles – Donegal's running game against Kerry's heads-up kicking approach. The new rules will mean it will be a great spectacle. I can guarantee you that. It's a huge game for both teams. And for both managers. Jack is in his eighth All-Ireland final. A very impressive record for a very underrated manager. He has four All-Irelands. But lose this, and it's four wins, four losses, which would grate for a winner like Jack. He needs a victory. And that brings me to Jim. Maybe he is one of the greatest managers in the game and a tactical genius. But here's the blunt truth. He has won one All-Ireland title as a manager. One. He has also lost one. So he needs a win to copper-fasten that reputation. The same can be said for some of those players. Murphy is one of the best footballers of all time. He has just one All-Ireland medal. David Clifford, the GOAT, has been playing with Kerry for seven years. One All-Ireland medal. For the greatest player of all time, that is an underwhelming return. So, that's the sort of pressure these great players and managers are under.
Yahoo
15-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Semifinalists Announced For Dr. Tony Ryan Book Award
Semifinalists Announced For Dr. Tony Ryan Book Award originally appeared on Paulick Report. Six semifinalists for the 19th annual Dr. Tony Ryan Book Award have been selected by a panel of judges, representing excellence in Thoroughbred sports literature published in 2024. These six titles illustrate the scope of the Book Award, including histories, biographies, a memoir, and two works of fiction. They were chosen from nearly 20 submissions, an indicator that literature on horse racing remains very much alive despite the Thoroughbred industry controversies and the global economic hardships of recent years. With a $10,000 winner's prize, this competition has for nearly two decades ranked among the most lucrative in all of publishing, offering more than the Hugo, Edgar, and Nebula Awards, and with money equal to that of the prestigious National Book Award and Bancroft Prize. The late businessman/philanthropist Dr. Tony Ryan launched it in 2006 as the Castleton Lyons/Thoroughbred Times award, to recognize a long-overlooked segment of race-writing: the book. After Dr. Ryan's passing a year later, his son Shane carried on, while changing the name of the award to honor his late father. Three finalists will be announced in the coming weeks, and a winner will be crowned this fall at a cocktail reception at the Ryan family's Castleton Lyons farm near Lexington. Advertisement For additional information, contact Kerri Cahill at kcahill@ Following is a synopsis of the six semifinalists published during the 2024 calendar year, listed alphabetically by title. 'A Beggar's Ride' by John Perrotta Author Perrotta's latest mystery is a sequel to his 2015 novel If Wishes Were Horses, in which he introduced runaway teenager and New York backstretch worker Hamilton Greer. In A Beggar's Ride, Greer is ten years older and still learning the hard lessons of life. The nomadic young man eventually lands in Europe, where he finds love and adventure both on and off the racetrack—not all of it good. Along the way, Greer becomes unwittingly involved with a shady group of characters, including smugglers, killers, and drug dealers, which makes for a rollicking, albeit dangerous, romp to the dark side. 'Dark Horses: A Memoir of Redemption' by Arthur B. Hancock III Dark Horses is the story of a pre-eminent racing family, a legendary Thoroughbred farm, a personal and profound fall from grace, and, ultimately, a triumphant redemption—one that propelled Arthur B. Hancock III to the heights of the Thoroughbred industry. It is told from the heart and with sometimes painful vulnerability by the man himself, who seems to hold nothing back as he chronicles his wild-child youth filled with boozing, fighting, and debt, to the point where he walked away from his family's historic Claiborne Farm and rebuilt his life on his own terms. Eventually, Hancock would establish his own very successful Thoroughbred operation and became the first of his family to be the breeder and owner of a Kentucky Derby winner. Throughout the memoir, Hancock bares his soul in the country music lyrics he penned, a passion that continues today. 'The History of the Kentucky Derby in 75 Objects' by Kentucky Derby Museum and Jessica K. Whitehead Released in time for the sesquicentennial celebration of the Kentucky Derby, this lovely coffee-table book tells the fascinating story of America's longest continuously held sporting event. Both visual and textual, it highlights important points in the Derby's 150-year history by focusing on 75 objects housed in the Kentucky Derby Museum at Churchill Downs. It was written and pulled together by Museum historian and Senior Curator of Collections Jessica Whitehead, who brings readers along on a cultural journey through time, beginning with the Derby's birth during the Gilded Age, through the rise of black and female jockeys, and beyond. Advertisement 'Jockey Queen: Lillian Jenkinson Holder, Horse Racing's Fearless Lady' by Roger Peach Long before women were licensed to ride in American parimutuel races, a girl from Nebraska was tearing up the rough, tough bush tracks of the Midwest, often putting chauvinistic male riders to shame. Where Lillian Jenkinson Holder (1909–1992) rode for 47 years, there were no rules, no restrictions, no safety equipment, no holds barred. All that was required was skill in the saddle and courage, both of which Holder had in abundance during her 10,000+ races under cutthroat conditions. Jockey Queen traces the life of this extraordinary woman who made national news three times pursuing her denied right to ride in parimutuel races. For decades, her remarkable story somehow flew under the radar of racing history, but not anymore. 'Letters From Country Life: Adolphe Pons, Man o' War, and the Founding of Maryland's Oldest Thoroughbred Farm' by Josh Pons Josh Pons is a two-time Eclipse Award-winning writer, third-generation horseman, and co-owner of Maryland's famed Country Life Farm. In 2016, he uncovered a treasure trove of letters in the century-old farmhouse basement—trunks packed with correspondence to his grandfather Adolphe Pons. Those letters provided a rare glimpse into the life of a special man, told by voices from the deep past. The elder Pons, who founded Country Life during the Great Depression, had served as personal secretary to August Belmont II, and had a hand in the breeding and eventual sale of a yearling named Man o' War—among many other contributions to the sport. Who wouldn't want a peek inside the letters that came his way? Even better, the author shares his own erudite thoughts on the wisdom and joy gleaned in discovering this long-ago family history. 'What Horses Do After Racing: The Story of Good Carma' by Jay Privman For decades, Jay Privman has been one of the most respected and decorated journalists in racing, in print and on television. Now, he is a children's author. Long passionate about Thoroughbred aftercare, Privman has become increasingly involved in that arena. His latest literary effort, What Horses Do After Racing: The Story of Good Carma, features four ex-racehorses who dream of what their second careers might be—whether show jumping, trail riding, dressage, or therapy. In simple words accompanied by charming illustrations by Christine Siegel, Privman's book is an enchanting primer for young readers who love and care about horses. All proceeds benefit the California Retirement Management Account (CARMA), a nonprofit that provides funds for the rehabilitation, retraining, or retirement of horses that have raced in California. This story was originally reported by Paulick Report on Jul 15, 2025, where it first appeared.
Irish Daily Mirror
14-06-2025
- Sport
- Irish Daily Mirror
Kerry v Meath LIVE updates from the All-Ireland Football Championship
Kerry meet Meath to decide who will emerge at the top of Group 2 of the All-Ireland Football Championship round robins. An unbeaten record will end here in O'Connor Park today unless the teams draw, which would leave Kerry as the group winners. It's first versus second in the group as Kerry look to extend their perfect start to the championship. You can follow all the action from Tullamore right here. Kerry: Shane Ryan; Paul Murphy, Jason Foley, Tom O'Sullivan; Tadhg Morley, Mike Breen, Gavin White; Joe O'Connor, Mark O'Shea; Graham O'Sullivan, Dara Moynihan, Micheál Burns; David Clifford, Killian Spillane, Dylan Geaney Replacements: Shane Murphy, Dylan Casey, Tony Brosnan, Armin Heinrich, Conor Geaney, Evan Looney, Seán O'Brien, Tom Leo O'Sullivan, Darragh Lyne, Cillian Trant, Ruairí Murphy, Damien Bourke, Seán O'Shea Meath: Billy Hogan; Seamus Lavin, Sean Rafferty, Brian O'Halloran; Donal Keogan, Sean Coffey, Ciaran Caulfield; Bryan Menton, Adam O'Neill; Conor Duke, Ruairí Kinsella, Cathal Hickey; Jordan Morris, James Conlon, Eoghan Frayne Replacements: Sean Brennan, Ronan Ryan, Eoin Harkin, James McEntee, Cian McBride, Conor Gray, Shane Walsh, Aaron Lynch, Dáithí McGowan, Keith Curtis, Diarmuid Moriarty
Irish Independent
02-06-2025
- Sport
- Irish Independent
Kerry player ratings after their 11-point All-Ireland SFC victory over Cork
Shane Ryan, Mark O'Shea and David Clifford were the stand-out performers in green and gold on Saturday evening Kerryman Shane Ryan (Rathmore) 8 Denied Cork a pair of first half goal chances, including one from Mark Cronin, who had another three bites at the cherry in the second half, two denied by Ryan, one from the penalty spot, one from the rebound. His restarts were on point too. A man-of-the match display honestly.
