Valerie Mulcahy has paid an emotional tribute to her former Cork manager Eamonn Ryan following his death on Thursday after a battle with illness.

The Glenville/Watergrasshill clubman brought unprecedented success to the Cork ladies senior football team when he took over the reins as manager in 2004. He went on to lead the Rebelettes to a remarkable ten All-Ireland titles in eleven years, including their first ever success in 2005.

Retired star Mulcahy played under Ryan during those glory years and remembered him as "a man of great character and integrity" and "a very humble man."

"I know a lot of people have referred to him as being like a father figure to us, or a grandfather figure. It certainly feels like a huge loss," Mulcahy said on RTÉ 2fm's Game On.

"We had amazing times, and that's what's lovely. We'll have a chance to look back on lovely memories. We managed to create a lot over his 12-year reign. That's always going to be with us thankfully. No one can take that away.

"He obviously was a huge impact on all of us, and not just as athletes - as people. He was a man of great character and integrity, a very humble man. If anyone met him you wouldn't think he had such an IQ, such emotional intelligence."

Tweet

Most Read Stories