After a brief education he later moved Cashel where he first worked as a shopkeeper before opening his own business as a draper.
[citation needed] Ryan first came to prominence as a hurler with the Tubberadora club that dominated the Tipperary Championship in the 1890s.
[citation needed] Success at club level saw Ryan join the Tipperary senior hurling team during the 1896 championship.
He won All-Ireland Championship medals in 1896 and 1898 after respective defeats of Dublin and Kilkenny.
At the time of his death he was Tipperary's oldest All-Ireland medal winner.