At club level he played with Inniscarra and divisional side Muskerry and was also a member of the Cork senior hurling team.
He won a Munster Championship medal in this grade in 1967, however, Cork were beaten by London in the 1967 All-Ireland intermediate final.
He made his championship debut later that season when he came on as a substitute and scored a goal in the 1968 Munster final defeat by Tipperary.
[6] Ryan claimed his first senior inter-county silverware when Cork secured the 1968-69 National League title.
He returned for the 1971-72 National League but was dropped completely from the panel before the quarter-final against Galway in a move which effectively ended his inter-county career.