A big loss for the county, but great news for Portumna
Hot on the heels of Dublin’s All-Ireland winning captain Bryan Cullen quiiting the inter-county scene, now Galway stalwart Damien Hayes is following suit. The Portumna man has been on the scene for well over a decade (he was on the subs bench for the 2001 All-Ireland final defeat) but at 33 he has decided to quite the inter-county game.
In a statement on the GPA website Hayes, a three time All Star said: “I’ve loved my time with Galway and don’t regret a single minute of it. Yes, not winning an All-Ireland was unfortunate. But I see that as a disappointment, not the end of the world.
“I’m extremely proud to have won a Leinster and two National League medals, I made great friends in the Galway dressing-room and I will always back the current players to win that first All-Ireland since 1988.”
In the very first minute of Galway’s 2010 League final success over Cork, Hayes scored what is probably the goal of his career. Skill, pace, power, Hayes had it all. Enjoy the retirement Damien.
