Maurice Hayes (8 July 1927 – 23 December 2017) was an Irish public servant and, late in life, an independent member of the 21st and 22nd Seanads. Hayes was nominated by the Taoiseach,

Bertie Ahern Bartholomew Patrick "Bertie" Ahern (born 12 September 1951) is an Irish former Fianna Fáil politician who served as Taoiseach from 1997 to 2008, Leader of Fianna Fáil from 1994 to 2008, Leader of the Opposition from 1994 to 1997, Tánaiste a ...

, in 1997 and re-nominated in 2002. He also served, at the Taoiseach's request, as Chairman of the National Forum on Europe in the Republic of Ireland. Hayes was voted European Person of the Year in 2003.

Early life

Hayes was born in

Killough Killough ( ; ) is a village and townland in County Down, Northern Ireland. It lies on the Irish Sea shore near Ardglass, five miles southeast of Downpatrick. It is a conservation area notable for its sycamore-lined main street. In the 2001 Censu ...

County Down County Down () is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. It covers an area of and has a population of 531,665. It borders County Antrim to th ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label=Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is #Descriptions, variously described as ...

, in 1927. He completed a PhD in English at the

Queen's University Belfast , mottoeng = For so much, what shall we give back? , top_free_label = , top_free = , top_free_label1 = , top_free1 = , top_free_label2 = , top_free2 = , established = , closed = , type = Public research university , parent = ...

, then taught at St Patrick's Grammar School in

Downpatrick Downpatrick () is a town in County Down, Northern Ireland. It is on the Lecale peninsula, about south of Belfast. In the Middle Ages, it was the capital of the Dál Fiatach, the main ruling dynasty of Ulaid. Its cathedral is said to be the b ...

. He left teaching to become town clerk of Downpatrick the then administrative centre of County Down, succeeding his father in the role.

Public service career

In the troubled politics of

, where political parties tend to be sharply split along pseudo-ethno-nationalistic lines, Hayes was viewed as an even-handed observer. He wrote or contributed to major policy reports, such as the Patten Commission dealing with reforms to the

Royal Ulster Constabulary The Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) was the police force in Northern Ireland from 1922 to 2001. It was founded on 1 June 1922 as a successor to the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC)Richard Doherty, ''The Thin Green Line – The History of the Roya ...

(RUC), the police force later renamed the

Police Service of Northern Ireland The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI; ga, Seirbhís Póilíneachta Thuaisceart Éireann; Ulster-Scots: ') is the police force that serves Northern Ireland. It is the successor to the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) after it was reform ...

(PSNI).

Writing

Hayes also wrote numerous pieces of journalism, notably, and regularly, for the ''Irish Independent''. He was the author of three books of memoirs, ''Sweet Killough: Let Go Your Anchor''; ''Black Puddings with Slim: A Downpatrick Boyhood''; and ''Minority Verdict: Experiences Of A Catholic Civil Servant'', as well as author or editor of works on conflict research, community relations and Irish writing.

Memberships

Hayes was a former

Northern Ireland Ombudsman The office of the NI Ombudsman, now known as the Northern Ireland Public Services Ombudsman (NIPSO), was first established in Northern Ireland in 1969. The role of an independent ombudsman was originally created as a response to the Northern Irelan ...

and Boundary Commissioner, and was Permanent Secretary of the Department of Health and Social Services. He was a former chairman of the Community Relations Council and the Acute Hospitals Review Group. He was chairman of

The Ireland Funds The Ireland Funds are a global fundraising network for people of Irish ancestry and friends of Ireland, dedicated to raising funds to support programs of peace and reconciliation, arts and culture, education and community development throughout t ...

in the Republic of Ireland, a branch of a major charitable group with worldwide contributors, which has made significant grants to groups dealing with social and business problems. Hayes was also a long-serving non-executive director of Independent News & Media Plc, retiring in 2009 towards the culmination of a long running battle for control of the group between the O'Reilly family and Denis O'Brien led to a re-structuring of the Board. Hayes was nominated by the Taoiseach,

, in 1997 and re-nominated in 2002. He also served, at the Taoiseach's request, as Chairman of the National Forum on Europe in the Republic of Ireland. The approach he devised to educate the population on the arguments over European issues was so successful that many other European countries adopted similar methods. In later life, Hayes was a member of the

Royal Irish Academy The Royal Irish Academy (RIA; ga, Acadamh Ríoga na hÉireann), based in Dublin, is an academic body that promotes study in the sciences, humanities and social sciences. It is Ireland's premier learned society and one its leading cultural ...

and the Research Ethical Committee of

medical school, and a governor of the

Linenhall Library The Linen Hall Library is located at 17 Donegall Square North, Belfast, Northern Ireland. It is the oldest library in Belfast and the last subscribing library in Northern Ireland. The Library is physically in the centre of Belfast, and more g ...

, Belfast. He was a long-serving member of the Scholarship Board of the

O'Reilly Foundation The O'Reilly Foundation is a personal charitable trust set up in 1998 by media magnate, and former CEO of Heinz, Sir Anthony "Tony" O'Reilly. Its stated function is the funding of educational projects; the two main work areas in its active per ...

. He was also a board member at Regtel. Hayes was asked by Mary Harney, when she was the Minister for Health in the Republic of Ireland, and the HSE to conduct a review into a scandal in the radiology department at

Tallaght Hospital The Tallaght University Hospital ( ga, Ospidéal Ollscoile Thamhlachta) is a teaching hospital in County Dublin, Ireland. Its academic partner is the Trinity College Dublin. It is managed by Dublin Midlands Hospital Group. History The hospit ...

on the outskirts of Dublin.

Personal life

Hayes was a county hurler, who in the mid-1950s became County Secretary of the Down

Gaelic Athletic Association The Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA; ga, Cumann Lúthchleas Gael ; CLG) is an Irish international amateur sporting and cultural organisation, focused primarily on promoting indigenous Gaelic games and pastimes, which include the traditional ...

(GAA) and set a ten-year plan for the county football team to become the first from

to win an All-Ireland football final. Within five years, Down had won their first All-Ireland trophy in 1960. They followed it with further successes in 1961, 1968, 1991 and 1994. No other Northern team won an All-Ireland title until

Derry Derry, officially Londonderry (), is the second-largest city in Northern Ireland and the fifth-largest city on the island of Ireland. The name ''Derry'' is an anglicisation of the Old Irish name (modern Irish: ) meaning 'oak grove'. The ...

won the football title in 1993. Hayes died in

Downe Hospital Downe Hospital ( ga, Ospidéal an Dúin) is a local hospital in Downpatrick, County Down, Northern Ireland. It is managed by the South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust The South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust (SEHSCT) is a health or ...

after a long illness on 23 December 2017 at the age of 90.

Awards

Hayes was voted European Person of the Year in 2003. He also received honorary doctorates from his alma mater; from both

and

University of Ulster sco, Ulstèr Universitie , image = Ulster University coat of arms.png , caption = , motto_lang = , mottoeng = , latin_name = Universitas Ulidiae , established = 1865 – Magee College 1953 - Magee Un ...

in the UK, as well as Trinity College, University of Dublin and

National University of Ireland The National University of Ireland (NUI) ( ga, Ollscoil na hÉireann) is a federal university system of ''constituent universities'' (previously called '' constituent colleges'') and ''recognised colleges'' set up under the Irish Universit ...

in the Republic of Ireland.

References

External links

The O'Reilly Foundation - Scholarship Board, photo and short profiles
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hayes, Maurice 1927 births 2017 deaths Civil servants from Northern Ireland Down County Board administrators Down hurlers Independent members of Seanad Éireann Independent News & Media Irish Independent people Irish sportsperson-politicians Male non-fiction writers from Northern Ireland Members of the 21st Seanad Members of the 22nd Seanad Members of the Royal Irish Academy Nominated members of Seanad Éireann Ombudsmen in Northern Ireland O'Reilly Foundation People from County Down Secretaries of county boards of the Gaelic Athletic Association 21st-century writers from Northern Ireland