West Cork link to Monaghan’s hurling win

WHILE no Cork inter-county hurling team made it to Croke Park this year, there was a local link to the one of the successful captains walking up the steps of the Hogan Stand recently.

Last Saturday, Monaghan – competing in a national hurling final for the first time – defeated Lancashire by 3-22 to 3-20 at GAA headquarters in the Lory Meagher Cup decider.

The Farney County’s joint captains for the fifth-tier victory were Niall Garland and Kevin Crawley. While Crawley plays his club hurling for Inniskeen, he has strong West Cork roots as his mother Margaret ‘Mags’ Ryan hails from Ballinascarthy.

Kevin’s grandfather was the legendary Dinny Ryan, who was manager of the Bal junior hurling team in 1997 – after his untimely death shortly before the south-west JAHC final, his son and Margaret’s brother Jerry took on the role of player-manager as they won the title. Brothers Michael and Kevin Ryan also played for the club.

Jerry, who played on the Carbery team that won the 1994 county senior championship, later served as a Cork selector under Denis Walsh and has also managed Carbery in hurling and camogie.

His son Joe, Kevin Crawley’s first cousin, led Ballinascarthy to another division junior A victory last year, with another brother, Jeremy, central to that, and this year Joe is combining the roles of Bal and Carbery managers.