John Kiely: I never hesitated in picking Kyle Hayes

Five-time All-Ireland winner Hayes made his return for the National League title holders and struck a point in their 3-30 to 1-18 defeat of Dublin.

BACK IN ACTION: Limerick’s Diarmaid Byrnes and Kyle Hayes after the game. Pic Credit: Morgan Treacy, Inpho.

Limerick manager John Kiely has insisted he had no second thoughts about selecting Kyle Hayes for Saturday evening's big National League win over Dublin.

Five-time All-Ireland winner Hayes made his seasonal return for the National League title holders and struck a point in their 3-30 to 1-18 defeat of Dublin.

The wing back was recently before the courts and is awaiting sentencing following a violent disorder conviction but was one of a number of hugely experienced players to return to the team.

Boss Kiely spoke briefly about the Kildimo/Pallaskenry man when the issue was raised in the post match press conference.

Asked if he hesitated when picking Hayes for the Round 3 game given the off-field circumstances, Kiely shook his head.

"Never, never hesitated in picking him," he responded.

Similarly, Kiely gave a brief response when asked to analyse Hayes' overall performance. The number seven played the entire match and was an influential figure, scoring a point.

"I thought he did great, yeah," said Kiely.

Speaking last month, Kiely suggested that Hayes deserved a 'second chance' whilst offering a character reference for the 25-year-old.

"I know him seven years," said Kiely at the time. "We are in contact on an almost daily basis. He is somebody I trust."

On tonight's game and Limerick's third win on the trot in the campaign, Kiely was pleased.

"Listen, delighted to get the result," he said. "Pleased with many aspects of our performance. I'd be disappointed with a few other areas that could have been better. But overall, very happy with the energy we brought and it was a significant up-tick from the last day out. Yeah, happy with that.

"For us, you could see the guys that came back that hadn't game time gotten this far needed game time tonight and are going to need more in the weeks coming as well and that's just where we're at at this stage of the season, trying to re-integrate players, get players back up to full match practice and match speed and that's where we'll be keeping our focus for the next number of weeks, working hard and getting more and more guys back into the picture."