He attended the local C.B.S. school and later Westport vocational school.
He has been a Teachta Dála (Territorial Decoration) for the Mayo constituency since June 1994, and is the Minister of State for Tourism and Sport. Angelus Park, Westport. A former auctioneer, he first stood for election to Dáil Éireann at the 1992 general election but was unsuccessful.
He was first elected to the Dáil at a by-election in June 1994 for the Mayo West constituency, caused by the appointment of Pádraig Flynn as European Commissioner.
On 10 March 2011, he was appointed as Minister of State for Tourism and Sport. Since first being elected to the Dáil in 1994, Ring has been returned at every election since, most recently at the 2016 general election.
A member of Mayo County Council from 1999 to 2004, Ring was Fine Gael spokesperson on Social and Family affairs from 2002 to 2004, and party spokesperson Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs from 2007 to 2010.
He was a member of the British–Irish Parliamentary Assembly.