Joe Hayes recalls the Tipp and Cork replay in 1991 which was the Game of his Life

The replay against Cork in 1991 is the game for me. It was as good as any match ever played. I watched it recently, during the Coronavirus lockdown, and I was getting excited just watching the video of it! We had a great rivalry with Cork. We were caught on the hop in 1990 and really, a team should never be. Mistakes were made that year, but we were rectifying them in 91 starting with the win over Limerick then the draw against Cork which was fierce and exciting too. The referee Terence Murray gave us a late free down in Pairc Ui Chaoimh to balance the books so we got out of there alive. The replay was a truly brilliant day and it worked out perfectly for us, on a smashing day in Thurles.

I was gutted ahead of the replay as I was dropped. It was very disappointing. I felt I had played well in the first game but found myself sitting on the bench watching it all happen in front of me. So I was really down until I got the call. Just before half time, I was brought on for Donie O Connell. The atmosphere with all the colour was electric, the place was bursting, well beyond capacity. There must have been nearly 60,000 at it and you couldn't help but feel the magnitude of the day. Things went well for me. It was a frantic pace. I'd always be doing something or saying something, like telling the fella I was on that 'I have you now' when I hit a great ball. I'd talk plenty when it was going well, but I wouldn't be saying much when it wasn't!  But that day, there wasn't a lot of talking because I didn't have the breath to talk! Calling out to the side-line for water, that's about all the calling I was doing! 

We had a great camaraderie with the Cork lads but it was all about the game when we were on the field. Teddy MacCarthy was the Cork man in midfield alongside me that day. I don't remember a lot about the ball coming near me but the main thing for me was the sheer excitement of the day, in particular Aiden Ryan’s goal and that pitch invasion after! There was actually a man from Tipperary town, Murt Crowe, who was a steward that day but he gave the second half letting Tipp supporters onto the field! Rumour has it he brought a wire cutter in with him so people could get onto the pitch as fast as they could! I don't think he was a steward after it! When Aiden Ryan got that goal to put the nail in Cork's coffin, a man was pushed into the middle of the pitch in his wheelchair, but with the excitement of it all, whoever was looking after him lost track of the wheelchair! You wouldn't see the likes of it now!

The atmosphere in Thurles in those minutes stays with me and I think it did for the crowd too. I have heard so many stories from family and friends since. My mother, who celebrated her 94th birthday in 2020, often went to the matches back then. On one occasion I went for a point but missed it and the fella sitting behind her said to her "If ‘twas a pint of Guinness you could be sure he wouldn't miss it!" She wasn't best pleased. A day like that is for your family and your county and you only get one chance at it. I had a great friend called Jimmy Morrissey, he tragically died later in life, but he was also at the match and he brought a big teddy bear with the words "Bring on Joe!" written on it. Cork fella beside him said "Take down that teddy bear!" He wouldn't take it down and the next thing the Cork fella says "Who's this Joe fella anyway?"  Jimmy answered "That's my friend, Joe Hayes and he should be playing". At the end of the match the Cork fella admitted "By God now, Joe wasn't so bad at all!"

Afterwards we had a great time in Thurles and I remember ending up in Declan Carr’s pub in Holycross that night. It was brilliant craic and I will never forget that Monday. The place was packed all day in Holycross. The atmosphere and the supporters were fantastic. Our team had a very close relationship with supporters. They both celebrated with us and commiserated with us. It didn't matter. We knew them and expected to see them after a match. Times were different. There was no such thing as swimming pools or gyms after playing. After the game that day I thought Babs would say ‘well done Joe’ but he surprised me when he said "You’re fair lucky I dropped you because it meant you got to finish on the pitch, you were out on your legs when that match was over!" The previous week I had gone off down to Clonmel and south Tipp bars on a bit of a ‘tour’ as I was so mad he had dropped me from the starting team. I suppose it caught up on me in the last few minutes! Looking back, the 35 or so minutes on the pitch was enough for me, the gas was running low by the time it was over!

We trained hard coming up to the matches and then had great craic after the matches. Some of us gave two days after that one! We'd make it back in time for training on Tuesday night. Declan Carr had the pub at the time so we gave him as much support as possible! It wouldn't have been half as good without the craic. Those days are special so you have to appreciate them. There’s no point celebrating ten years after them. Celebrate the here and the now. These are the days of our lives, and you must live them as best you can. The very sad thing about it now is that so many that were part of our lives then are dead now. Like my great friend Jimmy Morrissey, who had the teddy bear, and our bus driver Matt Kavanagh who died in 2020. We probably didn't fully appreciate the times when we had them, so my advice is live and appreciate the ‘here and now’. 

I was a guard at the time and it was hard at times to get out of night duty and get cover for the big matches. Intercounty was a big commitment but nothing like today when they can't go out without it ending up on social media and people writing nasty comments. I wouldn't care for it now to be honest. The game has changed and not always for the better. Letting fly on a moving ball was great, and it has just gone from the game. My hurleys were 37 inches and I see six foot lads now using 30 or 32 inch hurleys which is unbelievable. I have one in the wardrobe at home I used in the minor All Ireland final in 1980 and it's the nearest thing to a billhook one could imagine! Back then it was the real deal and was made by a master craftsman, Phil Bourke. The hurley changed, much like the times and the game is still an amazing game. Back then we trained hard, played hard and celebrated hard. We had the craic too. I remember one time Babs got a psychologist in for us, but we were doing enough talking so for a finish the psychologist was more concentrating on Babs and the selectors than the players! He was gone after less than three weeks I’d say!

We had great fun under Babs even though I was hurt and disappointed with calls he made the rest of that year. After beating Cork in the replay I only got in for five minutes more that year. A cameo role against Galway. I didn't get on the field against Kilkenny in the final and I was gutted with that. Ger Canning said it on the telly that day, 'Joe Hayes will be in now soon' but I didn't get in. Look, that's the way it goes but I was so heartbroken that the All Ireland didn't mean anything to me after. The win meant nothing. 

After the final, I went away out of there as soon as the whistle sounded. I was so gutted I went straight to a tavern at the final whistle and met the great writer Con Houlihan. That was my All Ireland. It was played out in 'The Shakespeare'. When they were getting the cup in Croke Park, I was supping in that tavern on the north side. Con was a genius that I greatly admired. He was never critical of players but could put words together about a game like no other. Brandy and milk was what he drank and I asked him 'Why don't you drink a pint?' He replied 'I only drink a pint when I'm thirsty'. I didn't go to the reception in the Burlington. Instead I gave the evening with Con. It was a beautiful evening. He gave me a great write up the following evening in the Herald newspaper. If I had gotten the 'Man of the Match' award I wouldn't have got the write up he gave me!

Even though I was hugely disappointed it is a great memory to have and I became good friends with Con Houlihan after. Mick Malone of Cork, the only player to win four Under 21 hurling All Irelands, was with us for a while too. That evening in 'The Shakespeare' stands out, the rest of them were celebrating at the other side of the city. The following day I met Con again in 'The Palace Bar' before heading back to Tipp. When we came back to Thurles I got a wonderful reception from the people. There were 35,000 or more in Thurles all chanting my name when I got the cup and lifted it up in the air. I got great solace from that to be honest about it. The supporters meant a lot to me and they were on my side. At the end of the day, they are the judges really. They gave me a great reception because they knew I was bitterly disappointed. 

My last match was against Galway in the league final in 1994. We were underdogs and probably peaked too soon and were out of the championship a fortnight later. Clare beat us. They were an up and coming team and won the All Ireland the following year. As a county we faded from the big days for a while. Personally, it was hard leaving the jersey. I didn't accept it for two or three years. It was devastating. It's leaving your life. Remember I played minor, Under 21 and senior so for all my adult life I was a Tipperary hurler. Then you’re gone and someone else lives the dream. I found it hard to move on. It's about accepting those things. 

I don't remember a lot about the matches I played in; more about the people that were there. Only for the lockdown during the Coronavirus I wouldn't have seen any of the matches I played in! You enjoy the friends you make from hurling more than the matches. I enjoyed the afters from it too! In one way I didn't enjoy playing at the time because I'd be so tense. One mistake and it could be the losing of the match and it would be remembered. I needed to play well as it would eat me up if I didn't. I'd be embarrassed and would take it very personally. I had a lot of anxiety around those matches, getting sick after and maybe before too. I'd be on a high or low during and after the game. The right way is to be in the middle, then you can play your best. Some handle it well like the main man, Pat Fox. He used to be as cool as a breeze! 

That time for that team was like that song 'Glory Days'. Hurling was in a state in Tipp until Babs came along. We were winning Under 21 and minors but it wasn't translating until Babs brought a touch of magic to those times. For me, that replay against Cork was the match of all the matches. I was talking about the game lately, with Pat Fox, when we were out fishing, and by the way, he's a better fisherman than he was a hurler! 

One thing I'm glad of is that I never threw in the towel. I kept fighting and kept going. And to be young and hurling with Tipperary was truly a beautiful thing. No regrets.

The above is an extract from Tipperary Game Of My Life book published by Hero Books