Stephen Hayes (1860 – 15 September 1929) was an Irish hurler. He played with club side Blackrock and at inter-county level with Cork. Hayes captained Cork to a third All-Ireland victory in-a-row in 1894.
Career
Hayes had his first hurling success when the Blackrock Nationals club won the inaugural Cork County Hurling Championship in 1887.[1] It was the first of five such victories in seven seasons, with Hayes captaining the team in 1891 and 1894.[2]
Hayes first played for Cork when he captained the team for the 1899 Munster Championship. He captained the team for a second time during Cork's unsuccessful 1891 campaign. Hayes returned for a third stint as captain when Cork beat Tipperary by 3-04 to 1-02 to win the Munster Championship in 1894.[3] He later captained the team to a 5-20 to 2-00 defeat of Dublin in the 1894 All-Ireland final, in what was a record third successive title for Cork.[4] A dispute with the GAA resulted in Cork withdrawing from the 1895 All-Ireland Championship, a move which brought Hayes's inter-county activity to a close and ended the possibility of the team winning a fourth successive title.[5]
Personal life and death
Hayes was born in Carrigtwohill, County Cork, but later settled in Blackrock where he worked as a steamship fireman. He married Mary Cotter in 1886 and the couple had ten children, seven of whom survived infancy.[6]