Inside Pat Ryan's family life beyond GAA from brave cancer battle to tragic death of brother who ‘lit up the room'
The 48-year-old will be
5
Pat Ryan will lead Cork in the All-Ireland hurling final on Sunday
Credit: Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile
5
He won the 1999 All-Ireland with Cork
5
He lost his brother Pat in February
Credit: Sportsfile
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Cork manager Pat Ryan with his wife, Trish, and children, Aisling, aged 14, Cian, aged 10 and Daniel, aged 17, after the All-Ireland semi-final in 2024
Cork meet Tipperary in Sunday's final in their second straight decider, having
The players will be guided by the leadership of their resilient manager, who has experience personal adversity and
His life experiences have informed his ability to galvanise his
Here, SunSport takes a look at the man behind the bainisteoir bib.
Read More on Cork GAA
How old is Pat Ryan?
Pat Ryan was born on July 23, 1976, making him 48 years of age.
Indeed, the All-Ireland final will com just three days before his 49th birthday, making potential victory the perfect present.
Originally from Glanmire in County Cork, he played club
hurling
with Sarsfields with whom he won two county championships.
The former midfielder carried this pedigree into his club management career, leading Sarsfields to Cork hurling titles in 2012 and 2014.
Most read in GAA Hurling
Ryan also boasts a decorated inter-county playing career, winning the 1999 All-Ireland title, as well as two Munster championships,
Having served as coach under Kieran Kingston when the Rebels won a provincial title in 2017, Ryan was appointed manager in 2022.
In 2024, he guided them to the All-Ireland final, famously beating five-in-a-row chasing
Limerick
in the semis only to fall to Clare in the decider.
In 2025, Cork won their first national league title since 1996 and went on to once again beat the Treaty on penalties to win the Munster SHC.
Does he have a family?
Pat Ryan is married to wife Trish and the couple have three kids - daughter Aisling, 15, and sons Daniel, 18, and Cian, 11.
They were by his side at
What does he do for a living?
While known best for his exploits as Cork boss, Ryan also works for pharmaceutical giant
Cancer battle
In 2018, Pat Ryan's world was turned upside down when he was diagnosed with chronic myeloid
At the time, he was being courted for the vacant
But it remained a shock that focused his mind on the bigger picture.
He said: 'It was a shock at the time. People thought the reason I pulled out of the Waterford job was because I got sick. It wasn't.
"But it was lucky that I had pulled out because they would have announced my appointment on the Friday or Saturday, and I went in for tests on the following Tuesday or Wednesday.
"I would have had to pull out of the job then. I was lucky in that way.
'I was out of commission then. I was out of
work
for a good bit. You get chemo first of all to start to kill it, and then you have to find the right tablets.
"The first tablet didn't work for me. The second tablet, my liver was failing on it. Came off that, went on another one for 18 months and got fluid around my heart and lung out of that one.
'There's a picture of me when I got the U-20 job [in 2020]. I didn't know that I had fluid around my heart and lung at the time and I have a big, huge red head on me, all blotchy, and my
hair
is actually white.
"My hair is grey anyway, but it was white. It was the tablets caused all that.
'My
health
situation is very good now. We found the right medication. I'm grand.
"My numbers are very good. I'm in kind of what you'd call remission. It's a very mild form [of the disease]. It doesn't affect my life in any way now.'
Brother's Death
Tragedy visited the family in February when Ray Ryan, beloved brother of Cork gaffer Pat,
His local club led the
tributes
, with Ryan having been part of Sarsfields teams that won county titles in 2008, 2010, 2012, and 2014.
After helping Sarsfields to the 2008 county honours, Ryan joined the Cork senior hurling panel in the absence of the existing panel that withdrew their services.
He remained part of the panel when they returned and made his
championship
debut in the 2010 Munster semi-final win over Limerick.
His funeral took place at St. Joseph's Church in Springhill, at which his brother
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Ray Ryan, Cork, in action against Shane McNaughton, Antrim
Credit: Ray McManus / SPORTSFILE
Pat explained: 'I was manager at the time and we were playing our great rivals and friends Erin's Own.
"Ray was playing at centre-back, as he had to be in those days. I told Ray that if we conceded no goal, we would win the match.
"He was to sit in front of the full-back line. That was grand anyway, the fella he was on got four or five points, but we won the match.
'We were back in the club anyway afterwards and Ray was getting a desperate slagging from the lads about the four or five points.
"He came over to me and said, 'I'm getting roasted over here after your crazy idea.' I just said, 'didn't we win?'
"He smiled and said, 'That is all that matters,' and off he went.
"Ray was willing to do anything to win for the club. He always wanted to be good to Sars and Glanmire, and that is what Ray was.
"To play with Ray on so many great days was, and always will be, the greatest achievement in my
GAA
lifetime.
"We were so proud to play together, represent the
jersey
, come home to see our father in the club afterwards and have a few pints.'
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