Kyle Hayes - Siobhan from Liveline has logged into the chat

It was very inconsistent to say the least. Dozens of people around but nobody else saw what the two guards saw.

There was a noticable shift in tone from Kiely on the case in both his pre and post match comments.

Some of the Limerick’s here should take note.

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Wishful thinking by you muddying the waters because you know him. Kyler kicked a fella in the face lying on the ground and a guard saw him and testified to same. I’ll take the guards word over you.

Yet the guards evidence was rejected.

Explain how it was rejected?

He was found not guilty.

You’ve been told multiple times but you kept repeating it.

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Jayses, for a night out , it’s handy money. Covered his beer for the night and then some

What are you on about. He was found guilty of assault inside and outside the nightclub and given a 2 year sentence. A guard literally saw him kick the victim in the face. @Dollars explained this

You are trying to muddy the waters that he was somehow found not guilty of kicking the lad in the face. He wasn’t.

Here’s @dollars explaining it for anyone reading these lies.

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You’re ranting and raving for months about this case.

You keep saying he was convicted of kicking the lad he wasn’t. He was found not guilty.

The guards inconsistent evidence was rejected.

He all sorts of wrong and has no idea what happened.

It’s amazing how stupid lads are on here and can’t actually see what happened here.

You can’t show the evidence was rejected because it wasn’t. Dollars post explains you and the others trying to muddy waters with half truths and lies due to the nature of the convictions. You can’t be found not guilty of kicking someone in the face ffs

He was done for violent disorder outside the nightclub. A guard saw him kick the victim in the face along with others. He was given a prison sentence. Those are facts. Deal with it.

He was found not guilty.

The guards evidence was rejected.

You’re lying again

Fast And Furious Family GIF by The Fast Saga

What’s amazing is you restating this for post after post after post, whilst being unable to say what did happen.

Dark forces are at play here

I don’t want to interfere with an ongoing investigation is all.

:joy::joy::joy:

Moving on won’t be easy for Kyle Hayes

TUE, 26 MAR, 2024 - 06:30

A unique exchange on X last week gave some insight into how Limerick reacted to the news of Kyle Hayes’ two-year suspended sentence for violent disorder.

One Ger Downes posted that as a self-proclaimed lifelong Limerick diehard he felt “Kyle should have gotten a term in jail and not be eligible to play for us this year". Responding to it, another Ger Downes, GAA games development administrator and former Limerick U20 selector, felt he had to clarify: “There is more than one Ger Downes in Limerick, and I do not share any of these views!

“Wishing JK (John Kiely), Declan (Hannon), Kyle, and all the Limerick senior hurling team every best wish in 2024, standing behind everyone (sic) of our boys 100%, as always. Luimeach abu!!!”

Everyone, it seemed, was having their spake. Satirical website Waterford Whispers published a piece headlined “People Planning Violent Assaults Urged To Take Up Inter-County Hurling To Avoid Jail”.

We can’t recall the same fuss being made over former Ireland international Anthony Stokes receiving a suspended two-year sentence in 2017 for headbutting a man in Dublin four years previous.

But that’s not the point. The argument here is Hayes may not been serving a custodial punishment but his acumen as a sportsman also means he has and will continue to pay a heavy cost for what he did that December night in 2019. What may be considered his saving grace is also a cross to bear.

Nothing he is subjected to will compare to what Cillian McCarthy has faced. “Everyone knows me now as the guy who was attacked,” he told the court last Wednesday. As the genuine victim, he shouldn’t have to suffer any further and shame on anyone who considers him a pariah in his own city and county.

As a group that demonstrated leadership in not bringing the Liam MacCarthy Cup to pubs in 2018, divorcing themselves from the drinking culture their predecessors had in some cases unfairly become associated with, Limerick should take similar proactive steps to show that this is not them.

Minor matters like how the case was reported on should be parked. The differences John Kiely aired with RTÉ about their coverage of it at last Thursday’s Munster senior hurling championship launch were slightly reminiscent of those Jim Gavin had with the national broadcaster in 2017 and 2018 when Dublin were reaching the peak of their powers.

That first disagreement centred around how RTÉ’s Sunday Game’s assessment of Diarmuid Connolly’s behaviour in an incident involving linesman Ciarán Branagan in the Leinster quarter-final victory over Carlow. Connolly was later hit with a 12-week ban. The second concerned the availability of match footage the Dublin camp had sought from Montrose.

Gavin eventually returned to giving interviews to RTÉ and Kiely was back on speaking terms with them two days after the row in Cahir.

“It’s a disappointing end to our league campaign,” he told them about the loss to Kilkenny. “We came here with the intention of winning the game to go on to a league final, that was part of our preparations for the championship, and now we have been unceremoniously kicked out of it by a much better team on the day.”

Kiely, it appears, made his point on Thursday and was leaving it at that, which was the sensible move. In this year of all years, to be making a cause out of something when the greatest wrong was committed on their side would be ill-advised.

It hasn’t been the easiest time for him either. In light of his support for Hayes, people have questioned just how committed he is to condemning violence but it’s known he has taken a series of disciplinary measures against players during his time as Limerick manager. In one case, a player was dropped for a season; on two other occasions, squad members missed part of a season.

It’s understandable that Kiely and Limerick will want draw a line under what has happened. They are realistic to understand it’s not as simple as that. Hayes can expect abusive comments from the stands and terraces and sledging from opponents, as regrettable as it would be, has to be anticipated too. As he experiences his freedom, they are small prices to pay.

There will be cheers for him as well, of course. Some good-natured in an attempt to drown out the boos and jeers, others triumphalistic which will benefit only those self-serving fans with the sick notion that their boy somehow got away with it when in many ways he hasn’t and won’t.

It’s almost trite to reflect that in the four years he has been waiting for his case to be heard Hayes has won four All-Stars in helping to win Limerick four All-Irelands, four Munsters, and two National Leagues while being shortlisted twice for hurler of the year.

But they are the facts as is that he has two convictions of violent disorder. For Hayes and McCarthy, they will be told and they will tell themselves that life moves on because it simply must. But it’s unlikely to ever be the same.

I had a word with him…