Mr. Ronan played the majority of his professional career in the National Hockey Association. His only season in the NHL was in 1918–19 as a member of the Ottawa Senators where he appeared in 11 games. He had previously played for Ottawa in the NHA for 3 seasons and was eventually re-acquired by Ottawa in a trade with the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for Harry Hyland.
Mr. Ronan made his professional debut with Pittsburgh Bankers of the Western Pennsylvania Hockey League in 1908–09, then would break his contract to leave to play with the Toronto Professionals, finishing with a few games for the Haileybury team in the Temiskaming Professional Hockey League.
From 1910 to 1916, Mr. Ronan would play with a succession of NHA teams:
He would play some senior games for Ottawa Munitions of the Ottawa City League until 1918, when the Senators of the NHL picked him up for one final season for the Senators in 1918–19, but was released after eleven games.