The John Fogarty interview: Bring on Joe Hayes

Nerves may have held him back from being a Tipperary great, but few players are remembered more fondly than the hilarious Clonoulty-Rossmore man, Joe Hayes. As he recalls the great battles with Cork ahead of Sunday’s clash, it’s obvious few players enjoyed their hurling more either, writes John Fogarty.

September 10, 2001. The night of Tipperary’s All-Ireland final win over Galway. Joe Hayes arrives into the lobby of the then Burlington Hotel to the same applause that had greeted the players a couple of hours earlier. A firm fan favourite going back to his playing days, the rapturous greeting is no surprise but delight soon turns to curiosity about what Hayes, with that roguish look, is carrying under his arm. From a plastic bag, soil spills out onto the floor before he slaps it up onto the reception desk, hands over a €5 note to the night porter, and announces, “That’s for Deccie!” to the cheers of everyone in the vicinity.

The Deccie he is referring to is Declan Ryan, his friend and Clonoulty-Rossmore clubmate who earlier in the day claimed his third All-Ireland medal, each of them having been achieved in different decades. Hayes knows what most people have been guessing: The game is to be the last in the blue and gold for 31-year-old Ryan. So, Hayes, in inimitable fashion, has decided to commemorate the passing of a great career.