Kyle Hayes, man of the match for Limerick in last month's historic All-Ireland final win, has laughed off rumours that the players were individually rewarded by JP McManus.
Hayes said he’s aware of speculation that McManus, their long-time sponsor who this week gifted €100,000 to all 32 GAA county boards, rewarded the Limerick players with cash and cars.
The 20-year-old attacker said the reality is that there was no win bonus payments, no free cars or any such perks as has been suggested.
“I wish that was the case, apparently we were getting 20 grand into our bank accounts as well,” said Hayes. “Yeah, there were rumours going around and it never happened and it never will but it’s funny to see the different stories coming back. I wish we were that well looked after. It’s mad [the rumours] and the stories add tails as they go on. It’s not true at all but I wish it was.”
McManus has been widely hailed for his remarkable gesture of donating €3.2 million in total to county boards, to be distributed out to individual clubs, with clubs in Leitrim benefiting to the tune of over €4,000.
With 66 clubs in Limerick it works out at around €1,500 for each of them and half forward Hayes said his club Kildimo Pallaskenry will find the cash boost particularly helpful.
“He wouldn’t think much of doing that but it means a lot, especially for rural clubs, where there wouldn’t be much members, and they find it hard to do fundraising. It would mean the world to them,” said Hayes.
“It will make a big difference for my club, 100 per cent. For rural clubs like ours it would mean the world because we would find it hard to do fundraisers and that sort of thing and that money will go a long way.”
The McManus family have backed Limerick GAA since 2004 under the Sporting Limerick brand and JP was present in the winning dressingroom after last month’s All-Ireland success.
“You wouldn’t see him at all normally,” said Hayes. “We have only met him once or twice and that was after the match but he wouldn’t want to be involved either, he stays in the background and is very down to earth. If you didn’t know his face you wouldn’t know who he is at all. He’s that kind of guy.”
Hayes was speaking in Dublin after picking up his PwC GAA/GPA Player of the All-Ireland final award. He was joined by forward colleague Aaron Gillane, the player of the month for August, who said that he was equally blown away by McManus's gesture.
“Jesus, it’s hard to comprehend it,” said Gillane. “When you think of it, there’s some amount of clubs in Limerick alone and then you think about all the clubs in Ireland and he’s going to be giving all of them a donation which is madness. It’s just credit to the man. He’s the most humble man ever, pure quiet, he’s not making a big fuss about what he’s doing for people. He just likes helping people, just a nice person.”
Gillane, ironically, will come up against McManus’s club, South Liberties, in the quarter-finals of the county senior championship.
“We’re playing South Liberties all right, is he South Liberties?! Jesus, people will be hoping they beat us so,” the Patrickswell man smiled. “No, it’s just good to have the focus back on the club again and to have something to look forward to like that.”
Hayes, meanwhile, admitted it could all have been so different for Limerick had Galway's Joe Canning succeeded in securing a final replay with his late free attempt.
“It would have been a blow, having been up by so much earlier, seven or eight points but, look, if they’d come back to draw and it was a replay we’d have to do it and we would have done it,” said Hayes. “Nothing really fazed us as a team all year and I’d hope it would have been the same for a final replay.”
