Hayes Hotel not just GAA history

“Down the Mardyke through each elm tree” is one of the great Irish lyrics just as Slievenamon’s “To see our flag unfurled”.

They evoke a sense of belonging, not to mention a stirring of imagination. Hayes Hotel is bricks and mortar and yet it holds the same charms.

Just what it would have been like to be there this month 129 years ago? It’s a thought that has surely crossed most Gaels’ minds passing by the Liberty Square hostelry.