The late Paddy Ryan Paddy Ryan, Hazelhill, Ballyhaunis, who died on Monday, December 12, 2005, was the founder of the major grocery business that is now known as Ryan's Super Valu in the town. A native of County Limerick, Paddy (74) remained a passionate supporter of the Shannonsiders all his life and made numerous trips to the big hurling venues down south. He was born in Pallasgreen where hurling was a way of life and the love he acquired for the game back then stayed with him for the rest of his life. On completing his Leaving Certificate, he went to Dublin where he procured a position as a sales representative with Bolands Bakery, being assigned a route on the northside of the capital. It was during this time that he met his wife to be, Josephine Carroll from Drimbane, Ballyhaunis. In 1954, he was appointed by Bolands to a position in the Roscommon area which involved the distribution of products from Roscommon as far west as Ballyhaunis. Through hard work and commitment, he managed to substantially build up the level of sales. Paddy and Josie were married in St Patrick's Church, Ballyhaunis in February 1956. Fr Goodwin, an uncle of the current PP, Canon Joseph Cooney, officiated at the ceremony. Paddy remained with Bolands until 1964 when he was appointed a commercial representative with a well-known food products company. He was quick to spot the emerging trend of the self-service style concept that was beginning to manifest itself at that time. Especially in larger towns. Believing that there was a market for such a concept in smaller towns, Paddy and Josie purchased a premises on Main Street, Ballyhaunis and opened their supermarket on March 25, 1967. A clothing outlet was opened over the supermarket in 1972. As Ryan's VG business continued to blossom, Paddy soon realised that a larger premises was necessary and in 1979 he purchased a new one further up the Main Street. This large 4,5000 square foot venture was officially opened by Canon Patrick Costello on May 16, 1980. Over the years, they built the overall operation into one of the most successful ventures of its kind in the province. Progressive by nature, Paddy always believed you had to take risks to succeed in business. On July 8, 1988, he opened a new supermarket in Kiltimagh to coincide with the 21st anniversary of the opening of their first shop in Ballyhaunis. A special accolade for Ryan's Supermarkets came their way in the early 1990s when a nationwide survey carried out by the Farmer's Journal newspaper showed that a week's shopping at Ryan's Supervalu was the cheapest amongst a group that included many of the larger chainstores throughout Ireland. It provided more impetus and Paddy pioneered further expansion with the purchase of an adjacent premises. The new-look venture was opened by Canon Joseph Cooney on December 1, 1994. Paddy and Josie continued to work in the business until they opted to retire in 2000. Their son Pat decided to come back to Ballyhaunis to run the Supervalu outlet with his brother Willie (both of whom are current directors) and they sold the Kiltimagh outlet to the O'Connor Supervalu group. Some years before retiring, Paddy acquired a new site with a view to further expansion. It was a proud day for himself and Josie when they were present to witness the official opening of the ultra-modern premises on June 25, 2004. Even though the name Ryan's Supervalu had been in operation for several years, many locals still spoke of calling into "Paddy Ryan's", so synonymous was his name with the venture. Outside his business life, Paddy was steeped in the world of GAA. These roots were sown during his young days in Limerick. He was a hurling man at heart and retained a great fondness for his native Limerick. Paddy could be seen at Limerick matches at their home venue at Pairc na nGael (the Gaelic Grounds) or in Thurles, Cork or Croke Park. Indeed, I recall meeting him on occasions in both Limerick and Thurles, the jacket neatly folded across his hand. On another occasion, Paddy 'sorted' me out for tickets for a Munster Championship game. He had some good friends on Munster GAA circles! Two of his proudest sporting days ever were seeing Limerick defeat Tipperary in that mammoth Munster Hurling Final of 1973 in Killarney and later that year when they went on to defeat Kilkenny by 1-21 to 1-14 in the All-Ireland Final. Seamus Hogan's great save form Mick Crotty's effort late in the second half of the All-Ireland and Mossie Dowling's goal following a long clearance by Bernie Hartigan saw the long famine over for Limerick on a day that was to remain etched in the minds of all Limerick supporters for years to follow. Pat Hartigan was superb at fullback that day, Eamon Gregan gave a marvellous display. Jim O'Brien was rock solid at left corner back and the great Joe McKenna caused many problems up front for the Noresiders. It was a day when star forward Richie Bennis hit ten points for the Shannonsiders. The memory of the Munster Final of '73, played in thurles, remained one of Paddy's most cherished sporting memories. Few who recall the occasion can ever forget the tension and drama as Richie Bennis shaped up to a 70' with the sides tied at 6-6 to 2-18. The referee Mick Slattery from Clare approached the Patrickswell man as he came out to take the pressure puck, telling him he had to score direct or it would go to a replay. The ball sailed high and close to the right-hand upright. The umpire raised his white flag in what was to be a much discussed "was it in or was it out" debate that raged for sometime afterwards. But the score stood and Limerick Supporters were ecstatic as they celebrated a famous victory. Two years earlier, Bennis had also denied a fine Tipperary team when he slotted over a late free to give Limerick the National League title on a score of 3-12 to 3-11. Paddy later delighted in seeing Limerick come from ten points adrift at halftime in the Munster Final of 1996 to snatch the draw and go on and win the replay. There was that sublime winning strike by the hugely talented Ciaran Carey which knocked out Clare in the pulsating provincial semi-final of that year which ended 0-16 to 1-12. Other special moments for Paddy in following Limerick were the All-Ireland minor win in centenary year (1984) and the U-21 victory three years later with most of the same players on board. The three in a row Limerick U-21 winning teams of 2000, 2001 and 2002 were also very special. He had a great regard for the Clare hurlers who made the famous breakthrough in the 1990s, winning the All-Ireland in 1995 and '97 and felt they were most unlucky not to win at least one more. Paddy's abiding passion for hurling was grafted on his mind from a very young age. He had the pleasure of seeing Limerick's greatest hurling hero Mick Mackey display his sublime skills and, though Paddy was only a young man at the time, he retained vivid memories of the great Ahane clubman. He rated Mackey and Christy Ring as the best he'd seen down the years. Pat Hartigan, Eamon Cregan and Joe McKenna (who scored 3-3 against Cork in the 1981 Munster Final against Clare) were among his special favourites from the Limerick team of the 1970s era. He had a great regard for Hartigan whose career was cut short because of a serious eye injury. The South Liberties man called in to see Paddy on a number of occasions when he visited Ballyhaunis as a commercial representative. His last time to attend a Munster senior hurling match was in 2001 when Pa Foley put over a 30 years sideline 'cut' to give Limerick a remarkable 1-16 to 1-15 win over arch rivals Cork in Pairc Ui Chaoimh. Fr Tim Walsh, OSA, also a Limerick native, became a great friend of Paddy's on his appointment to the Augustinian Abbey in Ballyhaunis. They journeyed together to many a Munster game to cheer on the wearer of the green and white. Paddy saw Fr Tim as an astute observer of the game of hurling. Like all true hurling supporters, Paddy had a special affinity with Semple Stadium in Thurles. Raymond Smith famously began one of his books with the words "It all goes back to Thurles" ... and, to a large degree, it does. He also had a great admiration for the Mayo footballers and travelled to many of their matches. He believed their loss to Meath by a point in the 1996 replay was the one that got away. He served as treasurer of Ballyhaunis GAA Club for a number of years and was involved with the club in various capacities, often taking aspiring young players to venues within and outside the county. He sponsored the jerseys for the Ballyhaunis senior hurling team and was delighted to see them win the Mayo senior title for the first time in 2002. He followed their progress with admiration and saw them win further senior titles in 2004 and 2005. He was also a committed supporter of Mayo hurling and could often be seen at games featuring Ballyhaunis and Tooreen. He was also proud of the fact that his son Willie served as gaelic games commentator with Mid West Radio from November 1989 to July 2000, bringing much of the excitement of the revival in Mayo and Galway fortunes in 1996, 97 and 98 to listeners all around the West of Ireland. Paddy was a life-long member of the Pioneers and was a firm believer in the ethos and aims of the Association. Coming from the old school, there were no airs or graces about him. He had a great ability to blend old fashioned courtesy with modern business techniques. Of a shy and unassuming disposition, he still had a great rapport with people. The familiar and friendly smile as he walked around the supermarket greeted one and all over many years, endearing him in a special way to his employees and loyal customers. Paddy was fully aware of the value of good employees and the need for 'team spirit'. He was proud of his loyal staff and the role they played in the success of the entire operation. Current affairs and matters relating to local and national interest were close to his heart. He followed developments closely and was very proficient in discussing such matters, carefully weighing up the arguments and then taking his own stand. The long summer evenings would often see Paddy out in the garden and working on the lawn in front of the family home in Hazelhill. It was a perfect way to relax after a long day in the supermarket. A man of strong principles, he was also a deeply religious person, attending Mass on a frequent basis. He was a loyal supporter of his local parish and quietly lent assistance to several charitable causes over many years. When Paddy, committed himself to a project, his enthusiasm was infectious and he was very supportive of the Church Spire project at St Patrick's Church. He was delighted to see the venture reach fruition in the Millennium year. Large crowds attended the funeral ceremonies as the Ballyhaunis community and hinterland paid a fond farewell to a noble gentleman. Many spoke with fond affection about the man they knew as a friend down through the years since he opened his first venture in Ballyhaunis in the mid-1960s. They came from various parts of the country to pay their respects, including many sales representatives who had death with Paddy in various capacities over the years. Canon Joe Cooney was the chief celebrant at the Requiem Mass. Fr Tim Walsh, Paddy's great companion when it came to heading off on Sundays to the big games in the South or Croke Park, also joined in the celebration of the Mass as did Fr Paddy Mullins, PP, Bekan. Paddy is deeply regretted by his wife Josie, and family, Willie (Ballyhaunis), Mary (Dublin), Pat (Ballyhaunis) and Audrey (Corrandulla, Co. Galway), sons-in-law Ciaran and Colm, daughters-in-law Margaret, grandchildren Stephen, Chloe, Eoin and Emmet, brothers Denis and John Joe Rayn (Limerick), sisters-in-law, brothers-in-law, nephews, nieces, relatives, neighbours and many friends. Ar dheis De go raibh a anam dilis. MC Courtesy of The Mayo News 15 February 2006 Tweet

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