LLCOOLJ14
16th-January-2008, 10:23
Rugby stalwart Michael Ryan passes away
<DIV =ds-firstpara id=ds-firstpara>MICHAEL Ryan, a familiar character to rugby supporters all over the city, will be laid to rest today.</DIV>
<DIV =va-text id=va-text>Many will remember Michael from his time spent behind the bar in the family pub, The Black Swan, on Davis Street, while many more will recall his Saturdays spent on the sideline cheering on his beloved Garryowen or his adopted club, Richmond.
"He was a dogged rugby supporter," recalled Michael's brother, Fr Tom Ryan, who will celebrate the funeral at Our Lady of the Rosary Church today. "It probably arose out of his time spent in St Munchin's."
"He was a life member in both Richmond and Garryowen and I still remember him bringing back huge crowds to the family pub after big games. We used regularly have the likes of Rusty and Dave Keane, Johnny Moroney and Frank Hogan in there of a Saturday evening after a match," Fr Ryan, said of his brother yesterday evening.
Fr Ryan recalled that Michael was an avid reader of the Limerick Leader, particularly because he used love the crosswords that featured in the paper.
"Michael Curtin used do the crosswords for the paper and I remember when he retired, my brother tried to get himself and a few friends to pay Michael to continue creating the crosswords. He would buy all the papers just to do them. He was an intelligent man, he studied commerce and agriculture in UCG, but he wore his intelligence lightly."
Fr Ryan said that, as well as supporting Garryowen and Richmond, his brother was a dedicated Munster fan and he had already bought his ticket for the Munster versus Clermont match when he was diagnosed with cancer.
"He was told that he had terminal cancer and one of the first things that he said was that he was still going to the Munster match. He always had that bubbly personality and he retained it right to the very end."</DIV>
<DIV =ds-firstpara id=ds-firstpara>MICHAEL Ryan, a familiar character to rugby supporters all over the city, will be laid to rest today.</DIV>
<DIV =va-text id=va-text>Many will remember Michael from his time spent behind the bar in the family pub, The Black Swan, on Davis Street, while many more will recall his Saturdays spent on the sideline cheering on his beloved Garryowen or his adopted club, Richmond.
"He was a dogged rugby supporter," recalled Michael's brother, Fr Tom Ryan, who will celebrate the funeral at Our Lady of the Rosary Church today. "It probably arose out of his time spent in St Munchin's."
"He was a life member in both Richmond and Garryowen and I still remember him bringing back huge crowds to the family pub after big games. We used regularly have the likes of Rusty and Dave Keane, Johnny Moroney and Frank Hogan in there of a Saturday evening after a match," Fr Ryan, said of his brother yesterday evening.
Fr Ryan recalled that Michael was an avid reader of the Limerick Leader, particularly because he used love the crosswords that featured in the paper.
"Michael Curtin used do the crosswords for the paper and I remember when he retired, my brother tried to get himself and a few friends to pay Michael to continue creating the crosswords. He would buy all the papers just to do them. He was an intelligent man, he studied commerce and agriculture in UCG, but he wore his intelligence lightly."
Fr Ryan said that, as well as supporting Garryowen and Richmond, his brother was a dedicated Munster fan and he had already bought his ticket for the Munster versus Clermont match when he was diagnosed with cancer.
"He was told that he had terminal cancer and one of the first things that he said was that he was still going to the Munster match. He always had that bubbly personality and he retained it right to the very end."</DIV>