Tony Hayden was a

Gaelic football Gaelic football (; short name '')'', commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA, or football, is an Irish team sport. A form of football, it is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score ...

er from

County Leitrim County Leitrim ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht and is part of the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the village of Leitrim, County Leitr ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

. Hayden represented his county and his province, Connacht, with distinction during his playing days, playing in two

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 ...

finals in 1954 and 1955. He was also a member of the Leitrim side which played in four Connacht SFC finals in a row between 1957 and 1960, but on each occasion, as in the inter-provincial competition, Hayden ended up on the losing side against the great

Galway Galway ( ; , ) is a City status in Ireland, city in (and the county town of) County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay. It is the most populous settlement in the province of Connacht, the List of settleme ...

five-in-a-row men. At club level Hayden captained his native Bornacoola to the

Leitrim Senior Football Championship The Leitrim Senior Football Championship is an annual football competition contested by top-tier Leitrim GAA clubs. The Leitrim County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association has organised it since 1890. Mohill are the title holders (2024) ...

and league double in 1957. Three years previously, he was also victorious on the other side of the county border having helped Craobh Rua to the Sligo senior crown. Hayden was picked at left half back on the Leitrim Team of the Millennium.

References

* http://hoganstand.com/ArticleForm.aspx?ID=144032 Leitrim inter-county Gaelic footballers Bornacoola Gaelic footballers Craobh Rua Gaelic footballers Year of birth missing Possibly living people {{Leitrim-gaelic-football-bio-stub