HAYES WAS SPARED FRONT-PAGE IGNOMINY
KYLE HAYES was this week’s luckiest man in two ways.
Firstly, the multiple-All-Ireland-winning hurler didn’t go to prison when he faced sentencing on Wednesday.
Instead, he got a €10,000 fine and a suspended two-year prison sentence for his crimes of violent disorder, for which he was convicted on two counts.
He is now fully available to Limerick’s five-in-a-row effort and there is little doubt that he will be selected, such is his excellent ability as a hurler.
Secondly, his sentencing barely made the news pages or broadcast headlines, as everyone correctly focused on that day’s shock resignation by Leo Varadkar. Whatever blushes he might have experienced were spared – remember that this is a young man who pleaded not guilty and has expressed no remorse for his crimes since – as, for example, this newspaper’s coverage on Thursday was restricted largely to two excellent analysis pieces in the sports pages.
He was the back page lead, not the front. However, attention will now focus on his indulgent hurling manager John Kiely. If his support at the sentencing hearing was notable, far more so was his incredible decision to give Hayes a game at Croke Park last month when Limerick faced Dublin.
Little was said at the time because of the pending sentencing, but Kiely reacted brusquely on Thursday when asked legitimate questions at the launch of the Munster Senior Hurling Championship.
The court’s decision has to be respected and there is nothing to prevent Hayes from wearing his county’s jersey on the pitch.
But a degree of humility might be displayed. He and others should remember that there are stars in other sports who have lost their contracts based on evidence heard in court cases, even though they benefited from not-guilty verdicts.