Fergus Ryan joins Kanturk management ahead of 2026 campaign

Kanturk have reshaped their backroom team ahead of the 2026 campaign, with Fergus Ryan coming on board as coach of their premier senior hurlers.

Ryan links up with manager Tom Walsh as part of a refreshed management group that also includes assistant coach Kevin Roche, while Seán Murphy will take responsibility for strength and conditioning duties for the coming season.

Barry Young will oversee video analysis, while Tommy Carroll will be responsible for GPS and performance data.

Ryan’s most recent posting was with Douglas last season, a campaign that proved a testing one as Douglas finished bottom of their group. They took just a single point from three games, a draw that came against Ryan’s new outfit, Kanturk.

Prior to that, he was involved at inter-county level as a selector under Denis Ring with the Cork minor side that reached the All-Ireland final in 2017, and later within the U20 set-up, while also filling a number of coaching roles with his native Mallow.

Kanturk will be aiming to return to the knockout stages of the Cork Premier Senior Hurling Championship after missing out in 2025, when group stage defeats to Blackrock and St Finbarr's proved costly.

Their lone previous knockout milestone since promotion to the grade in 2022 came in 2024, when they advanced unbeaten from a group that included Midleton, Erin's Own and Charleville. A draw against Midleton was the only blemish on their record and left scoring difference to decide top spot between Kanturk and the Magpies, battle the north Cork men ultimately lost.

Their season would be ended at the quarter-final stage, at the hands of Blackrock.

The 2026 draw means Kanturk and Blackrock will meet one another for a third successive year, though Kanturk’s championship campaign will begin first with a pivotal clash against Fr O'Neill's in Kilworth.

Attention will first turn to league matters, though. Following a difficult spring last year, when injuries and availability issues often left them stretched, Kanturk were relegated from Division 1 and will compete in the second tier for 2026, opening with a home tie against Carrigaline – the other side to suffer demotion from the top tier – on Sunday, March 8.

A home clash with Newtownshandrum on March 22 will be their first league fixture against a premier senior opposition, before they face Bride Rovers in Rathcormac on April 5, and Newcestown away on April 19.