Brian Hayes (dual player)
Irish Gaelic footballer and hurler
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Brian Hayes (born 2001[1]) is an Irish Gaelic footballer and hurler who plays for club side St Finbarr's and at senior level with the Cork county hurling team. He usually lines out as a forward.
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Native name | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 2001 (age 24–25) Cork, Ireland | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Occupation | Operations analyst | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 4 in (193 cm) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Hurling | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Corner Forward (Hurling), Midfield (Football) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| * club appearances and scores correct as of 21:22, 31 January 2026. **Inter County team apps and scores correct as of 21:22, 31 January 2026. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Early life
Born and raised in Cork, Hayes played hurling and Gaelic football to a high standard as a student at Presentation Brothers College (PBC). He was captain of the PBC senior football team in 2019.[2] Hayes later studied at University College Cork and was part of their Fitzgibbon Cup panel.[3][4]
Club career
Hayes began his club career at juvenile and underage levels as a dual player with the St Finbarr's club, before progressing to adult level in 2019. It was as a Gaelic footballer that he claimed his first silverware when, in 2021, he won a Cork PSFC medal as midfield partner to Ian Maguire after a one-point defeat of Clonakilty in the final.[5] This was followed by a Munster Club SFC medal after a 2–09 to 1–10 defeat of Austin Stacks.[6] Hayes was the St Finbarr's team's top scorer from play when they won the Cork PSHC title in October 2022 after a 2–14 to 1–07 defeat of Blackrock.[7]
Inter-county career
Hayes never played for Cork at minor level but lined out as a dual player with the respective under-20 teams.[8] He claimed his first All-Ireland U20HC medal in August 2021 after coming on as a substitute in the four-point win over Dublin in COVID-19-delayed 2020 All-Ireland U20 final.[9] Hayes collected a second winners' medal when Cork retained the title after scoring 1-02 from play in the 4-19 to 2-14 defeat of Galway in the 2021 All-Ireland U20 final.[10] As a member of the under-20 football team, Hayes won a Munster U20FC medal after captaining Cork to a ten-point win over Tipperary in 2021.[11]
Hayes was drafted onto the Cork senior football team for the 2022 season and made a number of appearances for the team, including the All-Ireland quarter-final loss to Dublin.[12] He joined the Cork senior hurling team in December 2022.[13]
Hayes lined out at left corner-forward for Cork's 3–29 to 1–34 extra-time defeat by Clare in the 2024 All-Ireland final.[14] He ended the season by being names on the Sunday Game Team of the Year.[15] Hayes claimed his first senior silverware in April 2025 when Cork won the National Hurling League title following a 3–24 to 0–23 win over Tipperary in the final.[16] This was later followed by a Munster SHC medal after Cork's penalty shootout defeat of Limerick in the 2025 Munster final.[17]
Personal life
Hayes's father, Paddy Hayes, was a member of the Cork senior football team that won the All-Ireland SFC title in 1990.[18] His uncle, Ger Cunningham, won All-Ireland SHC titles with Cork in 1984, 1986 and 1990.[19] His cousin, Ben Cunningham, has also lined out with the Cork senior team.[20]
Career statistics
Club
- As of 23 November 2025.
| Team | Year | Cork PSHC | Munster | All-Ireland | Total | Cork PSFC | Munster | All-Ireland | Total | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Score | Apps | Score | Apps | Score | Apps | Score | Apps | Score | Apps | Score | Apps | Score | Apps | Score | ||
| St Finbarr's | 2019 | 1 | 0–0 | — | — | 1 | 0–0 | 2 | 0–0 | — | — | 2 | 0–0 | ||||
| 2020 | 3 | 0–9 | — | — | 3 | 0–9 | 5 | 0–8 | — | — | 5 | 0–8 | |||||
| 2021 | 3 | 1–6 | — | — | 3 | 1–6 | 6 | 0–6 | 1 | 0–3 | 1 | 0–0 | 8 | 0–9 | |||
| 2022 | 6 | 4–16 | 1 | 0–2 | — | 7 | 4–18 | 5 | 4–9 | — | — | 5 | 4–9 | ||||
| 2023 | 5 | 2–3 | — | — | 5 | 2–3 | 4 | 1–5 | — | — | 4 | 1–5 | |||||
| 2024 | 3 | 1–3 | — | — | 3 | 1–3 | 5 | 2–4 | — | — | 5 | 2–4 | |||||
| 2025 | 3 | 2–3 | — | — | 3 | 2–3 | 4 | 2–5 | 2 | 3–4 | — | 6 | 5–9 | ||||
| Career total | 24 | 10–40 | 1 | 0–2 | — | 25 | 10–42 | 31 | 9–37 | 3 | 3–7 | 1 | 0–0 | 35 | 12–44 | ||
Inter-county
- As of 26 April 2026
| Team | Year | National League | Munster | All-Ireland | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Score | Apps | Score | Apps | Score | Apps | Score | ||
| Cork | 2023 | Division 1A | 6 | 0–06 | 3 | 1–00 | — | 9 | 1–06 | |
| 2024 | 4 | 1–06 | 4 | 0–05 | 4 | 2–08 | 12 | 3–19 | ||
| 2025 | 7 | 5–08 | 5 | 3–07 | 2 | 2–02 | 14 | 10–17 | ||
| 2026 | 6 | 6–09 | 2 | 0–03 | 0 | 0–00 | 8 | 6–12 | ||
| Career total | 23 | 12–29 | 14 | 4–15 | 6 | 4–10 | 43 | 20–54 | ||
Honours
- St Finbarr's
- Munster Senior Club Football Championship: 2021
- Cork Premier Senior Hurling Championship: 2022
- Cork Premier Senior Football Championship: 2021, 2025
- Cork
- Munster Senior Hurling Championship: 2025
- National Hurling League: 2025
- All-Ireland Under-20 Hurling Championship: 2020, 2021
- Munster Under-20 Hurling Championship: 2020, 2021
- Munster Under-20 Football Championship: 2021 (c)
- Awards
- The Sunday Game Team of the Year: 2024, 2025
- All Star Award (1): 2025