Keith Hayes - A Tribute
Keith Hayes - A Tribute
After the high comes the fall!
Never was the saying so apt than what the events of the past two weeks brought to the community of Nenagh Ormond RFC.
After the elation of victory in the recent playoff series for our club senior team, thoughts amongst members were turning to the new season and brighter days ahead. None would have been more satisfied with how the end of the season played out than our President Keith Hayes.
There were few prouder men in Lisatunny on April 30th than Keith. Over the past week the picture of him celebrating Peter Coman’s try that day, as printed in these pages just two weeks ago, has been referenced again and again. In fact, he had apparently told many in the days after seeing it in this paper that he intended to have it printed and mounted at home as a memory of the happy note his year of presidency had ended on.
In the dark days of November and December, as the team languished at the bottom of the table and prospects of escape seemed bleak, myself and my fellow committee members were constantly reassured by Keith at our meetings that he was convinced of better days lying ahead, that our luck would change, that the corner would be turned. His sheer joy at seeing the job through and seeing the club secure its status in the country’s top thirty clubs is all right there in one moment in time in that picture.
A week unfortunately can change everything. None of us who knew Keith will forget the shock of hearing the news of his sudden passing a week later on May 8th. At such a young age and being as active as Keith was, the news just didn’t make sense and of course still does not. In a moment our club lost a trojan worker and those of us lucky enough to work alongside him lost a dear friend and colleague.
Most devastatingly though Keith’s wife Deirdre lost her beloved husband, his sons Aaron and Adam their proud dad, his mother Frances her dear son and the extended Hayes family was left bereft of a most cherished member. It is with all of them that our thoughts as a club lie right now and nothing I or anyone else can say will ease the pain of their loss.
I do however wish to make some effort to outline Keith’s contribution to our club and attempt in some way to express what he meant to all of us in Nenagh Ormond.
Keith’s involvement with the club began at the age of eighteen on his completion of secondary school at King's Hospital in Dublin. This was at a time when juvenile rugby was yet to be established at our club. He followed a path already well travelled by his older brothers in joining the club and continued what at this point is a several decades long line of Hayes family representation in club senior teams.
Shortly afterwards he had his first notable success on the field winning a Tipperary Cup at Under 18 level. Over the following years college placements and subsequently employment took Keith to various corners of the country. His involvement in rugby however was a constant, representing teams such as Arklow, Carrick-on-Suir and Dungarvan at various times along the way. His affiliation to Nenagh Ormond, however, was never in doubt and unsurprisingly once work brought him closer to home once more Keith was straight back into action in the red and white.
His playing days, like those of many of us were filled with highs as well as lows. Luckily for Keith though some of the club’s best days, as a Junior club especially, happened on his watch. His achievements were many, firstly having the honour of following in the footsteps of his brothers George and Mervyn by captaining the club. Later he was part of the team to win promotion from Division 2 to the pinnacle of Munster Junior Rugby and Division 1 in 1999. He then achieved a trio of honours that only a select few in the province can boast by winning Junior Challenge Cup, Junior Cup and Garryowen Cup medals in the year 2000. This achievement was all the sweeter for having been gained alongside his brother Roy.
Despite finishing their playing days in the early noughties, the Keith and Roy double act was far from through. Over the next number of years, they would throw their lot in to developing the next generation of adult players for the club by assuming the coaching and management duties with the club’s Under 20 side. It was here at the age of eighteen that I first came to know Keith and started on a journey of involvement alongside him that would continue right through to the present day in a variety of roles for both of us. I was of course only one of a huge number of players and club members that worked with Keith in the following years but each of us will have been left all the better for the influence he had on us.
How do I sum up Keith? Keith was an eternal optimist. No matter how grave the situation, either on the field or off, he would only ever countenance a positive outcome. Likewise in managing people, especially players, Keith would accentuate the positive attributes above all else. You could walk off the field beaten by forty points, bloodied, and beaten yet in a quick jibe, a note of encouragement or a reminder of a positive contribution Keith would flip your whole mindset 180 degrees.
It was perhaps inevitable therefore that when many of us who were brought through by Keith and Roy at Under 20 level started to graduate to the senior ranks, the club made the wise call to appoint Keith as the senior manager. By this point the club had made the leap to senior ranks and blazed a trail as Tipperary’s first team in the All Ireland League.
I’m sure there were many both inside and outside the club at the time that feared we had flown too high and may not sustain this level of achievement. This attitude would never have washed off on Keith though and on taking up the senior management role in 2007/08 his only motivation was to keep moving things forward.
Through a succession of coaching teams and constantly altering playing squads; over the next eight years or so Keith, Roy and their great friend Eddie “Eagle” O’Meara were the constant backroom presence that drove the club to new heights of achievement in Senior Rugby. A Division 3 final appearance in 2009 was followed by a league victory in 2014, Munster Senior Plate successes in 2014 and 2015 and also promotion to Division 2A in 2015.
Alongside all this involvement in a rugby sense with the club, Keith was also an almost constant presence in the administration of the club. Having already been a member of numerous club committees dating back to his time as club captain, Keith would have stepped up his off-field involvement on stepping away from team management in 2016. As a key player in organizing events like the annual club golf classic Keith’s contacts and networking abilities, honed over a long career in the financial industry made him a vital figure in the fundraising efforts of the club. As a Munster Branch delegate of the club in the past number of seasons too, he always made the voice of our club heard in the workings of the wider Irish rugby system.
With such a wide range of involvement in so many aspects of club life it was perhaps inevitable that Keith would assume the role of Club President. On assuming the role in June of last year Keith stayed true to his principles. I have already mentioned his unstinting positivity despite some truly challenging times in the past season.
Keith’s other bedrock was his devotion to teamwork. I, like all my fellow committee members this year simply couldn’t say no to Keith’s invitation to join him. He made a point at every meeting of thanking everyone for their work, of involving everyone fully in every decision and most of all empowered people to give their all to their various assigned roles. Without doubt Keith’s involvement was not going to stop with his presidency. In fact, he spoke regularly about his enthusiasm for the upcoming season and beyond. Alas that unfortunately was not to be.
The last week has been incredibly challenging for all at the club coming to terms with Keith’s loss. We are however heartened by the incredible support and kind messages received from the rugby community in Ireland and all over the world. It says everything about the game and the esteem in which Keith was held within it. We are immensely proud too of our own members both past and present, young, and old who turned out in such huge numbers on the day of Keith’s funeral to line the path for his final journey. Well done and thank you to one and all.
Platitudes can be heaped on people cheaply at times, especially at times of loss but in Keith’s case his dedication, loyalty, and commitment to the good of our club and the people within it cannot be questioned. We are beyond distraught at the suddenness of his loss and will desperately feel his absence as we try to move forward.
While we are the poorer for his absence, we can reflect on how privileged we were as an organization and as individuals to have had Keith in our lives while he was with us. Once more as a club we express our heartfelt condolences to Deirdre, Aaron, Adam, Mrs. Hayes and all our dear friends in the Hayes family. While we will miss our great friend terribly, we cherish the memories of him which we hold dear.
Words - Fergal Brislane PRO
Club Update
As a mark of respect to Keith Hayes, and in light of the state of mourning the club finds itself in, all club activity is currently paused. Our Split the Bucket fundraiser will resume and include backdated draws at an appropriate time.
Members will be updated in due course. In the meantime, we thank all patrons for their patience and ongoing support. Activity on the club social media channels will also be paused except for any updates deemed essential. Any queries in relation to club matters will of course still be managed. Please get in contact by emailing norfcsec@gmail.com should the need arise.