Gaelic Games

John Kiely says he was not condoning actions of Kyle Hayes with character reference

Limerick hurler was handed two-year suspended sentence for violent disorder

Limerick manager John Kiely. Photograph: Bryan Keane/Inpho

Gordon Manning
Thu Mar 21 2024 - 19:35

John Kiely says he was not condoning the actions of Kyle Hayes when providing a character reference for the Limerick hurler during his trial.

The case against Hayes came to a conclusion on Wednesday at Limerick Circuit Criminal Court when Hayes was handed a two-year suspended sentence for violent disorder, and ordered to pay €10,000 in compensation. However, he avoided a custodial sentence.

In January, Kiely attended the trial to provide a character reference for Hayes.

“I think my presence, I wouldn’t have gone there unless I wanted to show him that I was there to support him but also that it doesn’t mean I’m condoning what happened at all, quite the contrary,” said Kiely at the launch of the 2024 Munster SHC at The Cahir House hotel on Thursday.

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“Listen, it’s over, it has been dealt with by the courts, we move on. I’m glad that it has come to an end. Very much looking towards the future now. I know Kyle is looking towards the future as well and pushing on. That’s it really. Just glad that it has come to a conclusion.”

The details which emerged during the trial hung over Limerick’s league campaign and the sentencing took place this week, just three days before Limerick league semi-final against Kilkenny.

“Listen, none of this is easy for anybody and you’d rather not be in that situation,” added Kiely when asked about the trial.

“These challenges are obviously there for everybody involved. But ultimately it’s down to the individuals who are directly involved. For all their sakes, I’m sure they’re glad that this part of it has come to a close.”

Hayes played during this year’s league, featuring in Limerick’s win over Dublin at Croke Park. However, he will not play in Saturday’s Division One league semi-final at Páirc Uí Chaoimh because of injury.

“Kyle won’t be participating on Saturday, no, he’s still injured. Kyle has trained really well over the last number of months. He has a bit of an ankle injury at the moment,” continued Kiely.

[ Kyle Hayes green for go for Limerick after two-year suspended sentence ]

[ Limerick hurler Kyle Hayes ordered to pay €10,000 compensation for violent disorder ]

Kyle Hayes arriving at his Sentencing Hearing at Limerick Circuit Court. Photograph: Brendan Gleeson

“He’s very much enjoying his hurling in the last couple of months but obviously there’s a challenge there when you pick up injuries in terms of trying to get back to a position where you’re finding improvements.

“For every player who picks up an injury, and we have quite a few injured at the moment, at this time of year you’d rather be training because you want to be getting stronger, you want to be getting sharper and you want to be involved.

“You don’t want to be inside in the gym or on a physio table so all the lads that are injured at the moment are very anxious to get back on the training field.”

Limerick are now hoping to move all of the attention back to on the field matters, and a victory over the Cats would the reigning champions return to another league decider.

With Clare facing Tipperary in the second league semi-final on Sunday, there is the possibility of a Limerick-Clare league decider just two weeks before the counties meet in the opening round of the Munster SHC.

“Listen, the theorists will say this is far from ideal but what do you do? You go out and play each game as best as you can, you go out to try win every game you can,” said Kiely.

“I think everybody who knows us by now knows we don’t contemplate like that, I don’t believe any of the teams do, to be honest with you. In my opinion every team goes flat out every day to try and win.

“So we’ll be going flat to the mat to try win each game we get an opportunity to play in, Saturday night, semi-final, that’s where our focus is.

“If we qualify for a final, great and we’ll go after that then but for the minute let’s try get out of our semi-final first. Anything after that is so far down the road it’s not on the radar.”

Although the Limerick manager believes the calendar would be better served by not having league semi-finals included in the schedule – as it would allow teams an extra week to prepare for the championship.

“In an ideal world you would like a little bit more time between the competitions – I think another week would actually be plenty,” stated Kiely.

“Is there a need for semi-finals? I don’t think there is, really. The league is the league, decides who is top and there are plenty of variables in there to separate teams by points, head to head, score difference, goals for, goals against, points for, points against, there are a huge amount of factors that can help you to separate out teams.”

Gordon Manning

Gordon Manning

Gordon Manning is a sports journalist, specialising in Gaelic games, with The Irish Times

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