Minor and under-21

After lining out for Cork in the under-14 and under-16 grades, Ronan was later called up to the minor panel, making his only appearance at left corner-forward on 26 June 1996 in a 0-16 to 1-09 defeat by Tipperary in the Munster Minor Hurling Championship.

Ronan subsequently progressed onto the Cork under-21 team and won a Munster Championship medal on 23 August 1998 after coming on as a substitute in Cork's 3-18 to 1-10 defeat of Tipperary in the final. He made the starting fifteen at right wing-forward for the subsequent 2-15 to 2-10 All-Ireland final defeat of Galway on 20 September.

Senior

Ronan was still a member of the under-21 team when he made his first appearance for the Cork senior team on 21 February 1999. He scored a point in Cork's 0-14 to 1-09 defeat of Kilkenny in the National Hurling League. Ronan made his first championship appearance when he was selected at full-forward on 8 June for Cork's 0-24 to 1-15 Munster Championship defeat of Waterford. On 4 July, he won his first Munster Championship medal after a 1-15 to 0-14 defeat of reigning champions Clare. On 11 September, Ronan was at left wing-forward for the All-Ireland final against Kilkenny which Cork won by 0-12 to 0-11.^[6]

Ronan started at left wing-forward for Cork's first two championship games in the 2000 Munster Championship, however, he was dropped from the starting fifteen for the final on 3 July. In spite of this he won a second Munster Championship medal as a non-playing substitute following Cork's 0-23 to 3-12 defeat of Tipperary.^[7]

On 14 July 2002, Ronan was at midfield for Cork's 0-21 to 1-09 defeat by Galway in the All-Ireland Qualifiers.^[8] On 29 November, Ronan and the other 29 members of the Cork senior hurling panel announced that they were withdrawing their services from the county in the hope of better treatment from the county board.^[9] The strike was ultimately resolved in the players’ favour on 13 December, however, Ronan decided to quit inter-county hurling and emigrate to Australia.^[10]

On 20 February 2005, Ronan returned to the Cork senior team and scored seven points in a 1-20 to 0-10 National League defeat of Limerick.^[11] He won his third Munster Championship medal on 26 June after coming on as a substitute in Cork's 1-21 to 1-16 defeat of Tipperary in the final.^[12] On 11 September 2005, Cork faced Galway in the All-Ireland final for the first time since 1990, however, Ronan started the game as a substitute. He came on in the 38th minute but was held scoreless in Cork's 1-21 to 1-16 victory.^[13]

Ronan earned a reputation as an impact-sub during the 2006 Munster Championship.^[14] On 25 June, he won his fourth Munster Championship medal after coming on as a substitute in Cork's 2-14 to 1-14 defeat of Tipperary for the second consecutive year.^[15] Cork subsequently qualified for a fourth successive All-Ireland final, with Kilkenny providing the opposition for the third time. Ronan started the game at left wing-forward but was later replaced by Kieran Murphy in the 1-16 to 1-13 defeat.^[16]

The Cork team went into decline over the next few years, however, Ronan was a regular impact sub throughout the 2007 and 2008 seasons. After playing in three of Cork's games during the 2009 National League he was an unused substitute during Cork's subsequent championship campaign. Ronan left the Cork panel following the conclusion of the 2009 All-Ireland Championship.