Hayden Dynasty At the centre of Carlow effort for better things. Brendan, Joe and Colm following in the proud footsteps of Brendan senior. Whatever else about gaelic football on the provincial or All-Ireland stage in the last few seasons, it hasn't been boring. While the action served up by Down, Meath or Donegal etc may not have equalled the quality and excitement of the fare produced by the Dublin-Kerry clashes of the seventies, games have never descended into banality. Indeed, the meetings of the new arrivals, so to speak, have probably lent themselves into making football much more interesting and unpredictable. Likewise it has been much the same with hurling where the emergence of Galway and Offaly and the return to the big time of Babs Keating's Tipperary has really opened a can of thrills, spills and frills. The eighties were an especially glorious era for hurling itself and for fans, well, it was positively invigorating stuff. Like it or not, the GAA is now knee deep in the bubbling waters of the expansive entertainments market and in this department, the thrills etc are the stuff from which bottoms are coaxed on to seats. More than any other factor, its the excitement generated by the new kids on the block which converts spectator interest into player participation. In short, the GAA needs newcomers like skiers need a good fall of snow. How welcome the emergence of Carlow hurlers would be in the nineties! Strange days indeed these are for Carlow GAA folk however. The 1992 season has been a sort of mongrel of a time in essence. Being catapulted into the limelight has never been a regular feature of things down the Barrowside way, but for varying reasons recently, Carlow have hit the headlines. It's been a real case of mixed fortunes for Carlow GAA's senior football and hurling county teams, and indeed, club standard bearers and now proud Leinster club finalists - Eire Og. Carlow footballer's salutary lesson, suffered against Cork just over two weeks ago grabbed the country's attention for the wrong reason, the failure of Alan Larkin's men to record a single score was not what Carlow had anticipated nor what they could have expected. Gaels across the county can take great consolation though in the brilliant form displayed this year by county football champions Eire Og and the county senior hurling ambassadors. Both truly represent Carlow success stories in 1992. The Hayden family from Carlow town can feel well pleased with their contribution to the cause of both camps. Between them Joe, Brendan and Colm Hayden have done more than most clans in the country to keep the GAA flag flying in areas where, if success was the only criteria for hoisting the gaelic colours, the GAA flat would be left constantly hanging at half mast. The Hayden's commitment to our native games is hardly surprising though and those privy to the Carlow GAA scene would have you know that they're merely following the ways of their kith and kin. For the born and reared Springfield Drive family of Hayden's could hardly have escaped being imbued with a gra and feel for things gaelic given the GAA pedigree inherent in their ancestry. Back in the days when Carlow could hold their own in any football company, the Hayden family name was synonymous with Leinster title wins. Brendan Hayden senior, a former full forward from Tinryland, some four miles from the Eire Og base, was a household name in the eastern province throughout the fifties and sixties. In a star spangled career, numerous club, county and provincial medals were hauled in by Brendan, an achievement which his sons, in whom he is well pleased would like to try and emulate in the seasons ahead. The Hayden's offspring's GAA pedigree was copper fastened by the decision of Brendan senior and local lass Breda Dooge to enter into wedlock. Breda's brother, Ned was a gargantuan figure in Leinster football circles also, a star with the O'Hanrahan's club and a hugely influential figure with successive Carlow county football teams during the time when the Barrowsiders were a big fish in a big pond and not just expectant minnows operating on a wing and a prayer. Assimilation of the young Hayden troupe into the local Eire Og GAA club was an automatic progression of the natural order of things. Underage street leagues organised by the club represented the Hayden's first introduction into competitive hurling and football action and with expert coaching from club mentors such as Pat O'Brien, Andy and Eamon Ellis, the young Hayden boys began to take on all the appearances of mirror images of their father and uncle at their prime. Rival mentors from O'Hanrahan's and Askea readily affirmed such comparisons. Underage success at club level came thick and fast for all the Hayden brothers of which Martin (a former Carlow Footballer of the Year in 1984 and a Crystal Palace FC trialist), was arguably the most skilful player of the family. For his part Brendan junior, a defender cum midfielder at both hurling and football, helped himself to a hat trick of under 14 county hurling championship medals to go alongside a similar decoration gained in the football arena. Such success helped compliment and reward endless practice sessions in both codes for the Hayden quartet. Clockwide practice matches and challenge matches after school were the order of the day in Saint Mary's Academy and the local Christian Brothers School. Brendan recalls, with some measure of appreciation, the work put into underage coaching at school by the likes of Noel Murphy and David Barron, teachers at the respective educational establishments frequented by the Hayden's of Springfield Drive. Competing in both codes left time for little other sporting involvement but such was the success being gleaned by the brothers in the famed Eire Og colours that gaelic games remained the family's number one sport. In addition, a healthy rivalry among the lads themselves helped to concentrate the mind on gaining further honours. County representative honours were bagged by each brother in turn, as the county championship titles kept rolling in for Eire Og and the Haydens. Four county minor hurling titles and four under 21 football titles were scooped in quick succession. At the advent of the eighties, Eire Og's extremely talented youngsters began to make their presence felt on the senior club scene. Players of the calibre of Richie Moore, Don Walker and Tom Begley formed a highly efficient senior backbone in the club while members of the all conquering Eire Og underage sides, provided the match winning zip and youthful enthusiasm to bedevil the best efforts of challengers like Rathvilly. Employed by Greg Fitzmaurice butchers in Carlow town's Kennedy Street, Brendan junior now concentrates his time on helping to spearhead Carlow's push for hurling eliticism. It's a decision which has seen him limit his football outings to those donned in the colours of his beloved Eire Og, county champions this season once again following on from similar success earlier in 1989 and 1987. "My decision to quit senior county football was brought on basically because of the time that was needed to devote myself to football and hurling. One of the games had to be shelved and so I decided to concentrate on hurling with Carlow but the fact that we (Eire Og) have done so well in the Leinster Club Football Championship this year has been a great bonus for me and something which I think we can repeat next season too," explained the affable 26 year old hurling midfielder. A Kehoe Cup winner with Carlow in 1989 and agin this year (when Kildare were beaten), surprisingly Brendan's only county senior hurling championship medal is that one clinched some four years ago. It was a 1988 victory over Myshall, which was clouded in sadness though for two months earlier the team's left half forward and much loved member of the Hayden family, Martin, had passed away. For Brendan and Joe, the 1988 win was particularly emotional and one which saw them emerge as hurlers of supreme talent. The win also reflected the end of a desperately unlucky period for Eire Og hurlers having lost out in the county championship semi finals of both 1986 and 1987. County under 21 and senior football appearances for 20 year old Colm (a highly rated full forward in the mould of uncle Ned) and consistently impressive performances from brother Joe, alternatively located in the goalkeeper's position or at corner forward on the county's hurling and football teams have added to the Hayden family profile. An apprentice fitter with the locally based Suicre Company, Colm has been signalled out especially as a player with a very bright future ahead of him. As adventurous, cavalier type of attacker, a firm favourite among the Eire Og and Carlow faithful. For Joe's part, he emerged as one of the stars of Carlow's All-Ireland B Hurling success this year and at 29 years of age looks set to play a leading role in Carlow's bid for provincial championship respectively in the summer season ahead. Wife Monica (nee Elliott of Rathvilly) will hope so too. Key members of the Eire Og squad which stymied the ambitions of Skryne, the Meath football champions, then Clane and former kingpins Baltinglass last Sunday, in the Leinster Club Football Championship this year, Colm's two goals tally and Joe's 1-2 score against Colm O'Rourke's side were the highlights of a great team display marked by a tremendous will to win. Trained by former Laois county stalwart Bobby Millar, Eire Og's and the Hayden's star continues to rise in tandem, a fact which can only auger well for Carlow football as a whole. A debutant with Carlow senior hurlers against Wicklow back in 1984, Brendan meanwhile has been pipped by many hurling afficionados as Carlow's next Railway Cup star, following on from Mark Mullins and Johnny Nevin. Such a theory has been fulled no doubt by his sparkling performances in his county's victories over Westmeath and London in this year's All-Ireland B Championship penultimate and deciding matches. His 24th minute rasping goal for Carlow against London was a score pulled out of the top drawer but throughout the championship series, Brendan's consistently passionate and forceful displays epitomised the Carlow camp's resolve and dedication to avenge past disappointments. Brother of Ann (wife of Tinryland's John Lawlor), Olivia (married to Eire Og's John O'Brien) and Marion (a pupil of St Leo's Convent School in Convent town) the way ahead is simple and within Carlow's own grip, according to Brendan. "The B championship win can be a watershed for us but we have to work even harder from here on in. On the club front, Bobby Millar has provided us with great self belief, but it's up to us now." Patience will be required though. Yes, patience and a few more helpings of good old Hayden blood-curdling skill!! Taken from Hogan Stand magazine 27th November 1992 Tweet

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