Shane Ryan (Dublin Gaelic footballer)

Shane Ryan (born 5 October 1978) is an Irish sportsman who plays hurling for the Dublin county team and, formerly, Gaelic football also for the Dublin county team (F), for which he received an All Star.^[1] Ryan plays his club hurling and football for Naomh Mearnóg and his preferred position is centre back, although he is known to have played many positions for Dublin. He made his senior debut for Dublin on 4 June 1999.^[2] He made the decision to concentrate solely on Gaelic football in 2004, which dealt a blow to the then hurling manager Humphrey Kelleher.^[3] In 2009, he made the decision to switch back to hurling and join Anthony Daly's team after giving it much consideration. Ryan is a graduate of Business Studies (2001) in Dublin City University and is a teacher by profession.

Ryan has an illustrious ancestry in the Gaelic Athletic Association as his father, Jack Ryan, won an All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship medal with Tipperary in 1971. His mother, the late Orla Ní Shíocháin was an inter-county camogie player with Dublin for many years and won three All-Ireland Senior Camogie medals. She also won many Interprovincial Championship medals with Leinster. His paternal grandfather was Séamus O'Riain, President of the Gaelic Athletic Association 1967–70 and his maternal grandfather, Seán Ó Síocháin, was the first Director General of the Association, having served as General Secretary for many years.