Andrew Ryan

Andrew Ryan

I am a 26-year-old sports reporter from Wicklow, Ireland. I am passionate about all things sport, with an experience in reporting on soccer, GAA, rugby, boxing, and other such sports, and have been doing so in my capacity as a Digital Sports Reporter with The Irish Sun and Sports Reporter with the Wicklow People.

The Irish Sun •

Taylor carving her own Rocky path as champ and is showing no signs of Stalling

KATIE TAYLOR was not yet born when Sylvester Stallone first stepped between the ropes for the 1976 seminal classic 'Rocky'. By the time she was, the Italian Stallion had already lost to, and shattered the very concept of time with, Apollo Creed, and dismissed the pitiful challenge of 'Clubber' Lang. It was a year after Balboa had rectified Cold War-era US-Soviet relations, thanks to a unifying speech following a tense geo-political chess match masquerading as a boxing fight with Ivan Drago, th
The Irish Sun •

Blessington out to live Leinster fairytale after ending 38-year Wicklow draught

KEVIN HANLON had to wait 11 years to call himself and his Blessington teammates Wicklow champions. Now that he has attained that honour, he has every intention of carrying on the fairytale as they embark on their Leinster club campaign on Sunday. In their way will be Mullinalaghta, a club very familiar with upsetting the apple cart on a provincial level. In 2018, they won their third consecutive Longford championship and carried on to lift the Leinster title for the very first time, against a
The Irish Sun •

Harrington eyeing Paris Olympics rather than swimming with sharks in pro boxing

KELLIE HARRINGTON is happy to set sail towards Paris 2024 rather than dip her toe in the shark-infested waters of professional boxing. And Ireland's Olympic gold medal champion is keen on Bernard Dunne staying on as her captain in the high-performance centre. Harrington, 31, has been steadfast in her insistence that she will remain amateur, despite receiving offers to turn pro following her gold medal triumph at the Tokyo Games. However, according to the St. Mary's scrapper, to do so would be
The Irish Sun •

Ex-Wicklow star using All-Ireland experience to inspire her London club to title

NIAMH KELLY's scenery may have changed, but her ambition remains the same. Ten years ago, on October 9, 2011, she was lining up at wing-back in the familiar colours of Wicklow in Croke Park as they beat New York to win their second All-Ireland junior title. Fast forward to 2021, as the Garden were bringing up roots once again by comprehensively defeating Antrim to win the same trophy on the same stage. Of those who played against New York in the 2011 decider, just three remained for the 2021
The Irish Sun •

Shane Carthy using his battle with depression to shine a light on mental illness

SHANE CARTHY remains as lovestruck with the game of gaelic football as he was when he was a burdened teenager. He is still just as devoted to the sport as when he was 18, when he was part of the Dublin panel that won the 2013 All-Ireland championship, his place in the squad an indication of the reverence in which he was held. Nothing about his passion for gaelic football has changed all that much eight years on, yet how he perceives his self-worth and its previously inseparable link with footb
The Irish Sun •

Finn Balor proving he belongs at the top after journey to self-acceptance in WWE

SUMMERSLAM 2016 was supposed to be the biggest night of Finn Balor’s professional wrestling career. That night in the Barclays Centre, in front of 16,000 people on August 21, he was wrestling Seth Rollins for the newly conceived WWE Universal Championship in his first PPV event since being called up from the company’s developmental territory: NXT. The Irishman, 40, had debuted on Monday Night RAW on July 25 – 27 days prior to Summerslam – and had immediately been elevated into the company’s up
The Irish Sun •

Paul Walsh reveals his parents were the last to find out he had met Ronaldinho

PAUL WALSH has become a viral sensation because of a story that he is bound to have retold countless times since it first came to light. A year ago, the Kerry under-20 football star took a leap of faith by messaging Roberto de Assis Moreira, the brother and agent of footballing icon Ronaldinho, on Instagram to explain his devout adulation for the Brazilian. The two exchanged correspondance for the following 12 months, with Walsh utilising Google Translate to introduce Assis to the wonders of G
The Irish Sun •

Kellie Harrington gifted a 'Lion King' teddy bear as she rides into Portland Row

KELLIE HARRINGTON held a Lion King teddy bear over her head as she was riding through Portland Row during her Olympic homecoming. Harrington triumphantly arrived back into Ireland on Tuesday afternoon, following her winning of a gold medal at the Olympic Games in Tokyo. After touching down in Dublin Airport, she boarded an open top bus that took her into and through Dublin's north inner city. The streets of her native Portland Row were packed with adoring fans waving tri-colours, golden ballo
The Irish Sun •

Irish underage midfielder Conor Noss weighing up his international future

CONOR NOSS has a big decision to make in his near future. Born and raised in Dusseldorf to a German father and Dublin-native mother, the 20-year-old has represented Ireland at under-19s and, most recently, the under-21s. However, while he is open and honest about his pride at his Irish roots, his senior international career remains somewhat more ambiguous. He said: "I haven't made my decision yet, but I have really enjoyed myself playing first for the under-19s, also now for the under-21s. "
The Irish Sun •

Ronnie Delany reflects on his journey to winning gold at the 1956 Olympic Games

RONNIE DELANY's literal journey to Melbourne for the Olympic Games in December 1956 is a tale unto itself. Their first stop being in Honalulu, the 12-person Irish team flew into Sydney, due to Melbourne not having the runway long enough to facilitate a Pan-American flight, so they got a smaller, less dignified plane from there. Along the way, however, they stopped in Fiji, where they were greeted by a host of local missionaries, who gave the team their blessings before they finally started the
Wicklow People •

'Obviously I knew there was a problem in wrestling ... but ... I was definitely surprised by the volume and scope of it all' - Katey Harvey

'I know myself, having went through the same thing, I have a list of promotions in my head that I won't go back and work for now, because I have realised that that is not the standard of what I believe should be the treatment in wrestling, so I think a lot of people will have realisations like that, and it won't be accepted to go back to the old way.'
Independent •

The remarkable story of Nicky Dunne

'I am going to give you a bit of a laugh here, now,' Nicky Dunne says with a chuckle, reflecting on her cancer diagnosis from 2017. 'I was due to play in a semi-final against Newtown the day I went to get a biopsy. After I got the biopsy, I asked the consultant if I could go and play the match. She said: 'are you serious, Nicola? No, you can't.' I went down to the game and the girls expected me to be togged out. I went into the dressing room and told them what was going on.
WicklowNews •

‘I didn’t know if anyone would give a s**t’ – Katey Harvey reflects on her road to recovery

Sat in an office in the Westwood Club, on Ashton Quay, I listen intently to professional wrestler Katey Harvey retelling the story of her recovery from her dehabilitating injuries. She starts by demonstrating the contrasting mobility in her arms, with her left being damaged to the point of being unable to extend completely. “My right elbow is pretty much back to normal. As you can see, it’s nice and straight. My left elbow is not, it will probably never straighten,” she says. “I dislocated bot
Load More Articles