By Lindie Naughton
Squash PR
Derek Ryan, who made it as high as No 7 on the squash world rankings has a unique distinction in Irish sport - the 168 Irish caps he has accumulated is by some way a world record.
"When I started playing, David Gotto from Belfast held the world record of 122 caps. He was still on the Irish team when I made it at 17 or 18, so I was aware of his record."
Ryan had begun playing squash in the 1980s at a time when the sport was going through a boom period, with Irish player Jonah Barrington ensuring the sport had a high profile in this country. Ryan's parents Bernard and Bernadette played, and so the young Derek and his brother Noel joined them.
"We lived in Killiney and when it came to playing, we were spoiled for choice - there were courts in Fitzpatricks Castle hotel, I n the Sandycove club just down the road, in Squash Ireland at Dalkey and in the Killiney court hotel, though I never played there," says Ryan.
From the age of 14, Ryan junior was playing league squash with Sandycove . With the Barrington era over, he was ranked first in the country by the age of 19 with brother Noel not far behind. "I had played some rugby when at school in Presentation Glasthule, but I was tall and gangly and I would have snapped in half if I'd been tackled. It wasn't for me."
With some reluctance, Ryan was allowed take Friday afternoons off for tournaments.
"From the age of 11 or 12, I was travelling a lot - the juniors still do. We would go to Belfast, Cork and Galway for tournaments and then as I got older I travelled abroad, which was a great thrill."
After completing his Leaving Certificate, Ryan had no idea what he wanted to do. "So I studied accountancy for a year. I felt I had to do something but it really wasn't for me. At 18, I was playing too much squash to have time for anything else, and when I was 19, I decided to play professionally. In 1991, I moved to England, where the standard was very good in places like Manchester, where I was based."
 Thrown in at the deep end and facing hardened professionals in the weekly league matches was just what Ryan needed to improve his game. "Initially I was just chicken fodder for them, running madly around the court and chasing down everything. But they were good to me."
Money was tight. "You were paid a small amount for playing league squash, but it was really tough. I had many moments when I wondered how I would survive. But then I wasn't in it for the money."
Only Irish Sports Council funding kept him afloat. "They funded me well from the age of 15 and for that I am very grateful. As well as the money, the back-up support was great. It gives you a boost, especially if you're living away, when you have backing like that. Hats off to them."
Like all squash players, Ryan's main ambition was to move as far up the world rankings as he could. 'In those days. Jahangir Khan had been followed by Jansher Khan as world No 1. It takes a long time to move up and when I went to England, I would have been delighted to make the world top 30."
After a few years, Ryan was travelling to the major ranking tournaments around the world and started making quarter-finals and then semi-finals, with his seedings improving all the time.
"Then you have a chance. I remember getting Jansher Khan two years in a row in the first round at the British Open. But when your ranking improves, you are playing guys who are ranked behind you in the early stages of tournaments and you have a better chance of progressing."
Life was hectic. "As well as chasing ranking points at the international tournaments, which started in September or October and ended with the Hong Kong Open in May, I was playing for Ireland at European and world tournaments. I was also playing for maybe two or three league teams, since this was the bread and butter. I played for teams in Holland, France, and Austria as well as in England - sometimes in the same week . It was a mental schedule."
He remembers one not untypical weekend. "I played Peter Nicol in the Kuwait Open final and the flight to Heathrow was three hours late. I got maybe two hours sleep before turning out for a league match that went on very late. Next morning I was up early and off to the US Open."
On the plus side, Ryan played some great tournaments in spectacular locations. " Because the new courts can be put up anywhere, we played in places like Grand Central Station New York or in Egypt, surrounded by the Pyramids. That was truly stunning."
He pulled off some memorable results after winning his first international tournament in Hungary in 1993. "I beat Peter Nicol, who would on to become world No 1, in the quarter-finals of the Pakistan Open. At the time, he was ranked No 3 and I was No 16. It was a good win. I then played Jansher in the semi-finals in front of his home crowd, which was a memorable occasion. In Kuwait in 1998, I had beated Robert Eyles, who was then world champion, in the semi-finals, before going out to Peter in the final."
He looks back on his career with satisfaction. "I was never going to be world best at a time when Jonathan Power, Jansher Khan and Peter Nicol where all getting to No 1. Top 30 would have been a big deal when I started but as I improved, my goal became the top 10 and I made that, when I was ranking No 7 in 1999."
Locally he won eight nationals titles, second behind his great rival Willie Hosey, who has ten titles. Taking over as Irish No 1 in 2001 was Liam Kenny. By then Ryan was ready to retire.
"I was sick and tired of all the travel and I was starting to get small injuries. So in 2002 I retired from the professional circuit and soon after, started a course in physiotherapy at Salford. It gave me a structure and something to work on, which I needed as I made the transition from sport to ordinary life."
Squash, he is delighted to see, is experiencing something of a revival. "In the UK, as well as the clubs, a lot of multisports facilities have at least one squash court. So it is easy to get a game. Internationally, tournaments are a lot bigger and better. In Ireland, we have had a slight slump, but we now have some very good junior players - Eoin Ryan (no relation) had worked tirelessly with a lot of young players - and we have a squad system where they train twice a week on strength and technique."
Now back in Ireland for almost two years, Ryan works as a physio with Sportsmed Ireland in Dublin and continues to play league squash with Fitzwilliam , the current Irish champions.
He reckons he is good for maybe one season more as an international player, playing at No 3 or 4. "Will I make 200 caps - no chance! Having a 40 year old on the team would be an embarrassment and I'm 38 now. There are plenty of good players coming along
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