Waterford FC is excited to announce the appointment of Barry Ryan as our new Waterford FC Women’s Academy Development Lead – a first role of its kind at the club.
Ryan joined our academy coaching set-up earlier this year, bringing his vast experience & qualifications to our academy, now becomes our first-ever Women’s Academy Development Lead at the Blues.
The Tipperary-native gained experience in the SSE Airtricity Women’s Premier Division this year, having spent the start of the season leading Cork City Women, after spending the year before with their WU19 side.
Along with his club credentials, Ryan has worked closely with Presentation Secondary School Thurles, where he has transformed the school into one of the leading Girls Schools in Irish football.
Barry has spent recent months working with our WU17 side, where the group only last weekend secured the WU17 League of Ireland Shield title, defeating Finn Harps 3-0 in the Athlone Town Stadium.
Ryan will step into his new role ahead of the 2027 season, working closely with our Academy Director Johnny Dunleavy & Head of Academy Coaching Paddy Carey.
Speaking on his new role with the Blues’ Academy, Ryan outlines the potential our Academy has, and his focus at getting straight to work:
“Johnny Dunleavy reached out to me in July to come in and join the academy to complete my UEFA A licence. Immediately when I came in, I was blown away by the facilities in SETU ARENA and working with Paddy Carey on the grass every night opened my eyes to what elite level coaching should look like.
Conversations with Johnny about his vision for the Academy & the direction he wants things to go convinced me that there is no better place to be, and after speaking with Richy Walsh [Waterford FC Chief Operating Officer] around this new role and his vision for the female side of the club, it showed me that the club are completely aligned.
We’ve already shown in the last few weeks with the WU17s where we can take this, and I’m really excited to get working with the players & staff, with my sole focus on developing players in our academy to become senior players.”
Waterford FC Academy Director Johnny Dunleavy is delighted to have someone of Barry’s calibre lead our Women’s Academy Development at the club, stating:
“We’re delighted to welcome Barry to our club & academy. Barry is someone with a wealth of experience in this area, and we’re excited to continue to build our academy forwards.
To be able to bring in someone of Barry’s calibre to the academy is a real statement of intent for our Women’s side, and shows our commitment to Women’s football, and the development of players within our academy, and we’re looking forward to working closely with Barry over the coming months as we prepare for the 2027 League of Ireland Academy season.”
