Spirit unbroken as Cian Darcy and Sars look to honour Ray Ryan

Sarsfields have experienced the highest of highs and lowest of lows over the past few seasons.

Those highs and lows are well documented. Teddy McCarthy’s passing in 2023 sent a shockwave through the county. Their county final defeat last year denied Sars two in a row.

Their win over Ballygunner was remarkable. Their defeat to Na Fianna was agonising.

Worst of all though is unquestionably the recent loss of club stalwart Ray Ryan. A man who, in Cian Darcy’s view – has made an impact on each of the club’s senior hurlers in one way or another.

“2025 hasn’t been too kind to us at the moment,” he remarks. “Obviously losing the All-Ireland final that we’re all still gutted about was tough – but more importantly losing Ray.

“Of the lads currently on the senior panel, I’d say Ray has a handprint on every single one of them.

“Whether it was as a friend, teammate, coach, critic or manager – we all loved him and we deeply miss him.

It’s left a big void in the club and we’ll be looking to do well in the league and championship for Ray.

They’ve done exactly that for Teddy McCarthy in 2023. If history is anything to go by, they will do the same for Ray in 2025.

Sarsfields have proven to be one of the most resilient teams in Cork over the last couple of years. Defeat to Imokilly in last year’s decider was all that stood between the Riverstown side and a second consecutive league and championship double.

Their response to that? Winning a Munster title.

FUEL

You can be sure that All-Ireland final defeat would have provided all the fuel needed for the coming season had they not lost Ray.

“We had an unbelievable year after losing the county final,” Darcy explains. “That Feakle game in Páirc Uí Chaoimh was unreal, the Ballygunner game is probably something that you’ll never forget and equally the Slaughtneil game up in Newbridge was obviously a great occasion with great memories.

“Obviously then we were going into the All-Ireland final thinking this could be a great occasion.

“We were bitterly disappointed with the way the day went, we felt we didn’t show up but that’s nothing to take away from Na Fianna,” he remarks. “Fairplay to them, but we are still gutted about it.

“We’ve won it [Division 1 hurling league] now the last two years, we’re approaching it the same way. There are a lot of new minors coming in from last year that lost to the Glen in the county final.

“We’re looking to blood them in. It will probably be a little different this year with the league because we’re going back so late after the All-Ireland final.” 

After a five-week break, Sars returned to training the week before their league opener with Fr O’Neill’s. The result may have been defeat but that hardly matters at this stage of the season.

There’s a lot to be said for not fixing things that aren’t broken.

So it’s no surprise that the prominent names in Johnny Crowley and Diarmuid O’Sullivan remain in the management ticket for another year. However, this year they are joined by Cian McCarthy, who has returned to Sars as a selector.

A voice that will keep things fresh, but without deviating too far from what is already working so well for the team, at least in Darcy’s view.

“Cian McCarthy is after coming in as a selector and one or two of the lads who have given great work over the last two years have left.

“With Cian McCarthy coming in, a fella that’s been there and done that for Sars over a 10-year period – [he’s] probably the best club player for Sars, maybe ever.

“He’s after bringing a good fresh voice with Sully and Crowley and the other selectors.”