Sean Ryan - Decision Time

[Offalys Future]

I am a big fan of Sean Ryan and i have been for the last two years. But i see a big problem arising in the next year if he doesnt make a very important decision shortly.
He missed starting in the Offaly county final because of a hamstring injury. This has been bothering him for quiet a while now and he aggravated it more in an u-21 football game.
He again missed yesterdays game and got 10 minutes at the end.
In the 54th min there was a great example of where Sean Ryan is at the moment in terms of hurling. He gathered the ball on the wing and with two unreal sidesteps and serious speed he got away from 2 markers but shot from 25metres wide.
If he is serious about evolving into a very good intercounty hurler which i believe he can then he needs to quit playing football. If he's not serious then no bother let him continue to fool himself.
If at 20 he is suffering from hamstring problems how can he cope as a dual player?
He can't.

I want to put it out there for discussion, should Sean Ryan declare for the Footballers or Hurlers or should he continue trying to be a dual player?

[Bord na Mona man]

Continue as a dual player and not over train.

[TheManFromFerbane]

I don't think that its up to us to decide for him whether he should give up football or hurling. As long as he wants to put in the commitment for both and has the ability to do so, then it is up for the manager of the respective teams to decide if he gets picked or not.

It comes back to the one and only issue I have with most hurling people. They have developed a seige mentality against football and look down on the game, its players, and particularily quality hurling players that play both hurling and football.

I think it is because it flys in the face of their theory that footballers aren't good enough for hurling.

This is my opionion based on many comments from a few hurling people

[Loughers]

He loves his football so I can't see him quitting it. I'd hope the other hurlers called into the football squad decline the offer.

[Dingle]

I don't think that its up to us to decide for him whether he should give up football or hurling. As long as he wants to put in the commitment for both and has the ability to do so, then it is up for the manager of the respective teams to decide if he gets picked or not.

It comes back to the one and only issue I have with most hurling people. They have developed a seige mentality against football and look down on the game, its players, and particularily quality hurling players that play both hurling and football.

I think it is because it flys in the face of their theory that footballers aren't good enough for hurling.

This is my opionion based on many comments from a few hurling people

Theres plenty of football people around who carry a inferiority complexe around with them when it comes to hurling. Not to mention some of the stuff I've seen over the years in football strongholds where hurling is threated like the plague. Thankfully incidents like the Kilmacud situation of a few yrs back ect are much rarer these days.

I do think duel senior intercounty is out of the question with the fixture situation. Besides, from a huring pt of vew, he simply isn't talented enough to combine both and not effect his hurling.

[Lone Shark]

Sean is a clever lad, and I'd say he knows full well that he won't be able to keep it up for that much longer - having said that, not having to deal with the under 21 grade as well this year will ease his workload a fair bit, so I don't see him making a decision one way or another for a couple of years yet.

Incidentally, it's funny how those who are angling for him to call it one way or another are usually the hurling people - yet my gut feeling, albeit based on not having spoken to the lad that much, is that if push came to shove he'd go for the football. It was very instructive that when Wheery were playing in the under-21, PadJoe gave very different instructions to Michael Verney and to Sean Ryan. Verney was told several times that he'd be cut off the panel if he went with the footballers, while Ryan was given no such ultimatum - presumably PadJoe knowing full well how each lad would have reacted to an ultimatum if it was made.

I don't think the hurlers need worry about the likes of David Kenny, Diarmuid Horan or Verney having their head turned, but right now Seán Ryan is still an effective hurler and one that will most likely stick with the big ball and be lost to the hurlers if forced to choose.

[green&white]

Did it ever occur to you Sean might be readin this tripe... To be fair this is the last thing that he needs tryin to prepare for the Leinster Final.

Oh an by the way as far as I know, Diarmuid Horan was the only other hurler to attend football training. Could be wrong!

[Lone Shark]

I can't see him being remotely concerned by it one way or another even if he did happen to be reading it. I'm sure he gets plenty of people bending his ear one way or another, and as arguably the county's brightest prospect in both codes, he's going to be well used to listening to it by now. The opinions of a few randomers on an internet discussion board are not going to affect him in the slightest it's safe to say.

[Offalys Future]

Just getting back to this now.

The point i was trying to make was that if the most complete athlete i have seen in Gaa Ireland in last 10 years Sean Og O Hailpin couldnt keep playing football and hurling as he said himself it was too demanding on his body. Then how the hell is Sean Ryan going to do it.

Whether it be hurling or football. I would rather see Sean Ryan give 100 percent at one of them and maximise his full potential rather than arse around playing the two of them.
He already has hamstring problems which is a very serious concern for a lad of his age.

Any athlete in any sport once to maximise their full potential, by Sean Ryan playing both football and hurling for Offaly he wont be able to do this and in my opinion is wasting his time.

[Lone Shark]

Just getting back to this now.

The point i was trying to make was that if the most complete athlete i have seen in Gaa Ireland in last 10 years Sean Og O Hailpin couldnt keep playing football and hurling as he said himself it was too demanding on his body. Then how the hell is Sean Ryan going to do it.

Whether it be hurling or football. I would rather see Sean Ryan give 100 percent at one of them and maximise his full potential rather than arse around playing the two of them.
He already has hamstring problems which is a very serious concern for a lad of his age.

Any athlete in any sport once to maximise their full potential, by Sean Ryan playing both football and hurling for Offaly he wont be able to do this and in my opinion is wasting his time.

With all due respect (and not because it's almost a reflex by now!! ) I'm going to have to disagree with you again here.

(1) Seán Óg is a fantastic athlete - that is without question. However to say that he is any more so that hundreds of others across Ireland, all of whom have attained huge levels of personal fitness and strength also, is a bit harsh. There is no reason to idolise Séan Óg, any more than there is any reason that our own Séan Óg couldn't outdo him if he had the time and personal drive to do so.

(2) You may rather see Seán give 100% to one game - but in a theme not unlike one being echoed in another big GAA issue of the moment, the point of GAA games is not to be the best you can be, but to take part and be part of your club and county to whatever level you want. If Seán would prefer to reach 80% of his potential in both codes (and being realistic, if 2007 is the formguide to go on, that would still get him on both teams) then who are we to say that he is wrong to choose that over being a marginally better footballer or hurler but having to give up the second code in the process?


The point of playing gaelic games is to enjoy it. How you choose to do that is up to yourself. Being the best that you can be is all very well, but it's a lot more subtle than that.

[Offalys Future]

With all due respect (and not because it's almost a reflex by now!! ) I'm going to have to disagree with you again here.

(1) Seán Óg is a fantastic athlete - that is without question. However to say that he is any more so that hundreds of others across Ireland, all of whom have attained huge levels of personal fitness and strength also, is a bit harsh. There is no reason to idolise Séan Óg, any more than there is any reason that our own Séan Óg couldn't outdo him if he had the time and personal drive to do so.

(2) You may rather see Seán give 100% to one game - but in a theme not unlike one being echoed in another big GAA issue of the moment, the point of GAA games is not to be the best you can be, but to take part and be part of your club and county to whatever level you want. If Seán would prefer to reach 80% of his potential in both codes (and being realistic, if 2007 is the formguide to go on, that would still get him on both teams) then who are we to say that he is wrong to choose that over being a marginally better footballer or hurler but having to give up the second code in the process?


The point of playing gaelic games is to enjoy it. How you choose to do that is up to yourself. Being the best that you can be is all very well, but it's a lot more subtle than that.

1) When Sean Og Trained in College in DCU players their said he was a unbelieveable athlete
When he played with Cork/Footballers hurlers the players are quoted as saying that they never have witnessed an athlete like him before.
When he played International Rules for Ireland, players from the squad and management are quoted as saying that he has fitness levels that are unreal.
When he ran a few times with Sonia o'Sullivan she said he could have been a top athlete if he wanted to be.
When he went to Carlton to train for 3 weeks two years ago, the management team said it was incredible how a person that plays an amateur sport is in such unbelieveable shape. Much better than some of their professional athletes.
No reason to idolise Sean Og??
Nah no reason at all. You have this attitude that annoys me so much.

2) Sean Ryan can do whatever he wants and best of luck to him, but here is what i wrote:

Whether it be hurling or football. I would rather see Sean Ryan give 100 percent at one of them and maximise his full potential rather than arse around playing the two of them.
He already has hamstring problems which is a very serious concern for a lad of his age.
Any athlete in any sport once to maximise their full potential, by Sean Ryan playing both football and hurling for Offaly he wont be able to do this and in my opinion is wasting his time.

If he doesnt want to and he continues to play both he wont maximise his full potential and in my opinion he will be wasting his time.

You have obviously have never met Sean Og as if you had i have no doubt it would leave a lasting and found impression on you.
It's people like Sean Og O Hailpin and the attitude that he has are the real role models.

[Lone Shark]

Ah here. You're going over the top now.

I'm not one to "idolise" anyone. Maybe I'm just too old, but it ain't my way. Seán Óg is a wonderful athlete and comes across as an absolute gent and it would be impossible to overstate the respect I have for the guy, but I don't do idols. Seán Óg also has the advantage of a very "compliant" employer, which gives him a lot more free time than many others.

My point was that while Seán Óg is no doubt among the most supremely fit GAA players in Ireland, it's not as if he's unparallelled. Everyone on this board could tell you anecdotes about players that have gone to extreme lengths to be as fit as they could be, and I'm not about to claim that Seán Óg is way ahead of everyone when they all make great sacrifices.


As for our own Seán, if he's enjoying playing, how is he "wasting his time?" You want him to be the best that he can be at one code or another. Maybe he does - maybe he doesn't. I dunno. The point is this - your idea that either you are operating at 98% of your potential or wasting your time is worryingly similar to that of the GPA. They claim that every GAA player is and has to be at a huge level of fitness and dedicate huge chunks of time, and that we as club members and taxpayers should pay for that. I on the other hand reckon that this is garbage, and that players should go as far as they want to go, but if it's such a huge demand on their time, either decide they want to do it, or don't. It's entirely up to Seán what level he wants to play at, and it's only wasting his time if he's not enjoying it.

[Offalys Future]

Maybe your not one to idolise or look up to players but what about the youth.
What about kids that are playing the games and young intercounty players like Sean Ryan, Brian Carroll, etc. You have to have idols and role models. Sean Og is a great example. A player that has worked unbelieveable hard and has got to the top of his sport by pure dedication and hard work. Which would you prefer to bring your kid to watch Brian Whelehan abuse a referee in Rath or go watch Sean Og or Henry Shefflin?

As for his work he didnt just walk into Ulster Bank one day and they gave him a job. He got his job through his qualifications in DCU and obviously because he is the most recogniseable GAA player in the country.. And trust me if there was a report done, Sean Og is probably not getting half enough from them as he does alot of PR work e.g. Fitzgibbon Cup 2007 etc.

As for Sean Ryan he can do what he likes but i'm sure he doesnt enjoy not been able to start in a hurling county final with his club becasue he got injured playing football.
I'm sure he doesnt like coming on in the same county final and hitting a ball 10 yards wide from the 21m line.
Am sure he doesnt like the abuse that the Birr sideline gave him against Shinrone in this years championship gae in Rath which was shocking.
Enjoying the above? i doubt it very much.

Why do you always except second best? It's your mentality that is widespread throughout Offaly at the minute.

Players should want to aspire to be like Sean Og and Donal Og Cusack, DJ Carey etc and the dedication that they put to their sport and if Offaly players did put in that effort they i have no doubt would reap the rewards that the above do.

[Overview]

Sean Ryan pulled his hamstring while training for the Co Final with Birr hurlers on a cold wet night in Pullagh, and was training with no other team at the time. He played with 10 teams at championship level in 2007 – Birr U’21 and senior hurling, Wheery U’21 football, Birr intermediate football, U.L. Fitzgibbon hurling and Sigerson football, Offaly U’21 hurling and football and Offaly senior hurling and football.
As he is no longer eligible to play U’21in 2008, I don’t think playing dual at senior level will prove too difficult for him now!
He has played at all levels for the county footballers and after three years with the senior panel playing firstly O’Byrne Cup and then in the League, Pat Roe introduced him this year against Dublin in the Leinster semi-final where he rattled the cross bar with a rasper and then went on to score a point in a game where he looked perfectly at home.. The physical profile of the man developed so much while with the footballers and that that level of fitness is what most of our hurling panel need to reach if Offaly hurling team are serious about competing for honours this year.
I think the first time that he played hurling at any level for Offaly was on the Offaly U’21 team against Kilkenny and then went on to play very well for the seniors against Tipperary and Cork.
Like Offaly’s Future I saw and heard the disgraceful language and conduct of the Birr Mentors on the sideline and Sid’s on field antics in Rath-I can only say if that is the price of success it’s a sad day for sport its no wonder that so few of Birr,s promising young players fail to make it through the senior ranks, how the likes of intelligent young men like Stephen Brown, Neil Rodgers, Sean Ryan and Ml Verney can perform listening to that crap is amazing!
Sean Ryan offers our County a huge opportunity for our supporters to cross traditional boundary lines that exist between hurling and football and consequently build up, for both codes, the very small genuine fan base we currently have by providing a common link between the teams.
It would be a sad day for Offaly that if the Cities of Cork, Dublin, Galway and Limerick with their huge population base can accommodate dual players in their line up and we can’t.
A player like him should be treasured rather than tormented, praised rather than vilified; a lad who has shown that you can play G.A.A. in both codes in a County that has a dual mandate second to none in Ireland (all stars in every position in both codes) should be encouraged and accommodated by those around him. To ensure that this happens if he receives support from the fans, a common sense approach by the mentors both he and Offaly will have a very successful future. I hope he doesn’t give up either one yet!

[Offalys Future]

I think i have said enough on this subject and ye all know my thoughts.
One thing i was told that he aggravated his leg injury playing in a gaelic football game a few weeks before the county final.

I feel it is not possible for a player to play both codes if both the county teams are serious about winning something and being the best they can be.