Séamus Hayes keeps rolling back the clock for Carbery Rangers

Seamus Hayes of Carberry Rangers: “Twenty-plus years playing, it doesn't even need saying that I wouldn't be doing it unless I absolutely loved it. That's the bottom lime.” Picture: Eóin Noonan/Sportsfile

At 37 years young, you’d have thought Séamus Hayes could ill afford a lost season.

Part of the Carbery Rangers furniture since 1999, an abandoned GAA season - which was the strongest of possibilities at the height of lockdown in late April - would have taken precious time from a playing career that surely can’t have many more chapters left to run.

Hayes is 22 seasons on the go with Rosscarbery - he lets out the heartiest of laughs when asked when he made his debut and initially replies, “I don’t know if I should disclose that” - but rather than view lockdown as time lost, it was in fact time gained.

The Carbery Rangers forward struggled with a knee injury in 2018 and 2019. Put simply, he was less than pleased with his contribution these last two seasons. The injury still hadn't cleared heading into 2020 and so the evergreen Hayes wasn’t overly optimistic of an improvement in his form.

Then arrived three months of blanket inactivity on the GAA front.

“The lockdown gave me a break to do my own thing,” says Hayes ahead of tomorrow’s winner-takes-all premier senior Group B fixture against Newcestown.

“I got a rehab programme from the physio Brian O'Connell and I went at it meticulously every day in a bid to improve the knee. Thankfully, it worked out.

When you do get that little bit older, you are more appreciative to be out playing because you know there aren't too many more years ahead or that it could be your last game or whatever. 

"So yeah, you would be fierce keen to make sure you are leaving no stone unturned.

“In terms of me getting my knee right, the time off was a godsend. There wasn't the pressure to be at training or games because there was simply nothing happening. It meant I had the time to just focus on myself and my rehab. It worked out to perfection for me.

“Twenty-plus years playing, it doesn't even need saying that I wouldn't be doing it unless I absolutely loved it. That's the bottom lime.” 

Despite the high mileage on the clock and the fact that he has worn the Rosscarbery shirt across four different decades, let no one be under the impression that Hayes is anyway a bit-part player where the class of 2020 is concerned. 

He top-scored during the defeat to Castlehaven first time out and again in the subsequent victory over Ilen Rovers.

Indeed, his on-field responsibility has arguably increased during this truncated season given the injuries to younger brother John and Cork senior John O’Rourke. The latter, who missed the Haven loss, did start against Ilen, but injury concerns continue to surround John Hayes who has only played 15 minutes of championship football in recent weeks.

“We've been a little bit jinxed and a little bit cursed on the injury front this year,” says Séamus, who has won county junior (2003), intermediate (2005), and senior (2016) medals with the West Cork club.

“Even in the past week we have had two of our younger fellas, Pa Hurley is after dislocating his shoulder and John O'Brien is after breaking a bone in his hand. Darragh Hayes, in a challenge game against Ballingeary before the Ilen game, suffered an unfortunate injury. 

"John and Johno have been struggling with injuries, but they are starting to clear up which would be a huge bonus for us. The injuries are bound to turn at some stage.” 

Having reached at least the county semi-final stage of the Cork championship on all bar two occasions since 2010, it would constitute something of an upset if the seasoned Rosscarbery campaigners were to exit at the group stage tomorrow. 

Both Newcestown and themselves boast a win apiece but with the former holding a superior score difference, only a win will suffice for Haulie O’Sullivan’s charges.

“The last number of years, we have been there or thereabouts come the business end of championship. We were very disappointed to lose to the Barr's last year in a [Round 3] game we felt we should have seen out. 

"Sunday is knockout championship at its best. You can only imagine how big the West Cork crowd would have been if the gates were open."