Pat "Diamond" Hayden (26 March 1916 – 16 January 1979) was an Irish hurler who played as a full-back for the

Kilkenny Kilkenny ( , meaning 'church of Cainnech of Aghaboe, Cainnech'). is a city in County Kilkenny, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is located in the South-East Region, Ireland, South-East Region and in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinst ...

senior team. Born in

Gowran Gowran (; ) is a town on the eastern side of County Kilkenny, Ireland. The historic St. Mary's Collegiate Church is in the centre of Gowran, close to Gowran Castle. Gowran Park race course and Golf Course are one kilometre from the centre of ...

County Kilkenny County Kilkenny () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster and is part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. It is named after the City status in Ir ...

, Hayden first played competitive hurling whilst at national school. He arrived on the inter-county scene at the age of twenty-nine when he first linked up with the Kilkenny senior team. He made his debut in the 1945 Four Counties League, while also playing for the county junior team. Hayden went on to play a key part for Kilkenny for over a decade, and won one

All-Ireland All-Ireland (sometimes All-Island) is a term used to describe organisations and events whose interests extend over the entire island of Ireland, as opposed to the separate jurisdictions of the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. "All-Irelan ...

medal and three

Leinster Leinster ( ; or ) is one of the four provinces of Ireland, in the southeast of Ireland. The modern province comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Meath, Leinster and Osraige, which existed during Gaelic Ireland. Following the 12th-century ...

medals. As a member of the

inter-provincial team at various times throughout his career, Hayden won one

Railway Cup The GAA Interprovincial Championship () or Railway Cup (''Corn an Iarnróid'') is the name of two annual Gaelic football and hurling competitions held between the provinces of Ireland. The Connacht, Leinster, Munster and Ulster GAA teams are co ...

medal in 1954. At club level he won one

championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this sys ...

medal with Éire Óg, after beginning his career with Castle Rovers.

References

1916 births 1979 deaths Éire Óg (Kilkenny) hurlers Kilkenny inter-county hurlers Leinster inter-provincial hurlers All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship winners People from Gowran 20th-century Irish sportsmen {{Kilkenny-hurling-bio-stub