William Edward Hayes (7 November 1915 – 22 April 1987) was an Irish

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who played for

Huddersfield Town Huddersfield Town Association Football Club is a professional association football club based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England. They compete in , the third tier of English football league system, English football. Huddersfield Town we ...

, Cork United and

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2021 population of 78,266. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River B ...

. As an international, Hayes played for both Ireland teams – the FAI XI and the IFA XI. Like fellow dual international, Billy Walsh, he also represented England Schoolboys. Another William Hayes also played for Ireland during the 1940s.

Club career

Huddersfield Town

Hayes moved to England as a youth and played junior football in the

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, situated south of Leeds and east of Manchester. The city is the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire and some of its so ...

area before being spotted by

as a teenager. In two spells with Town, either side of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, he made 184 league appearances and scored 5 league goals. He also made 21 wartime league appearances for the club during the 1939–40 season. Hayes won all six of his senior international caps while playing for Town.

Cork United

During the

, Hayes returned to Cork where he played for a very successful Cork United team. His United teammates included, among others, Jack O'Reilly, Florrie Burke, Owen Madden, Jackie O'Driscoll, Frank O'Farrell and Tommy Moroney. Hayes helped United win five

League of Ireland The League of Ireland is a national association football Sports league, league consisting of professional clubs in the Republic of Ireland and Derry, Derry City in Northern Ireland. It is governed by the Football Association of Ireland. It was ...

titles and in 1942 they won an

FAI Cup The Football Association of Ireland Senior Challenge Cup (FAI Cup), known as the Sports Direct FAI Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a knock-out association football competition contested annually by teams from the Republic of Ireland (as well as D ...

/ League double. While with the club he also represented the League of Ireland XI on two occasions.

Burnley F.C.

In February 1950 Hayes left

and signed for

. He made his debut for Burnley on 18 February 1950 in a home game against Chelsea. He played his final game for the club on 20 January 1951 against

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Since th ...

. After making just 12 league appearances he was released in May 1952.

Irish international

When Hayes began his international career in 1937 there were, in effect, two Ireland teams, chosen by two rival associations. Both associations, the Northern Ireland – based IFA and the

Irish Free State The Irish Free State (6 December 192229 December 1937), also known by its Irish-language, Irish name ( , ), was a State (polity), state established in December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty of December 1921. The treaty ended the three-ye ...

– based FAI claimed jurisdiction over the whole of Ireland and selected players from the whole island. As a result, several notable Irish players from this era, including Hayes, played for both teams.

IFA XI

In 1937 and 1938 Hayes made 4 appearances for the IFA XI. He made his international debut on 23 October 1937 in a 5–1 defeat against

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. He then helped the IFA XI earn a 1–1 draw with

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

on 10 November 1937. He played again against Scotland in 1938 before making his final appearance for the IFA XI in a 7–0 defeat against England on 16 November 1938.

FAI XI

In 1938 Hayes missed out on two opportunities to play for the FAI XI. He was initially called up to play against

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

on 18 September. However

were unable to release him as they not only had a game the day before but also the day after. He was then called up again to play against

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

on 13 November. However this time Hayes found himself in the same predicament as Tommy Breen had a year earlier. He had also been called up by the IFA to play against

on 16 November and, like Breen, he chose to withdraw from the FAI selection. Hayes eventually made 2 appearances for the FAI XI in 1946 and 1947. On 30 September 1946 he was a member of the first ever FAI XI to play against

. Hayes was injured during the game and was reduced to the role of a limping passenger. Despite a credible performance, the FAI XI lost 1–0. He made his second and last appearance for the FAI XI on 4 May 1947 in a 2–0 defeat against

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

. During this game Hayes missed a penalty, shooting yards wide just after half-time. ''The Boys In Green – The FAI International Story'' (1997): Sean Ryan
/ref>

Honours

Cork United *

: 1941, 1942, 1943, 1945, 1946 *

: 1942 * League of Ireland Shield: 1943 * Munster Senior Cup: 1941, 1945, 1946

References

External links

Northern Ireland's Footballing Greats
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hayes, Bill 1915 births 1987 deaths Association footballers from Cork (city) Huddersfield Town A.F.C. players Cork United F.C. (1940–1948) players Burnley F.C. players Pre-1950 IFA men's international footballers Ireland (FAI) men's international footballers Dual Irish men's international footballers Republic of Ireland men's association footballers League of Ireland players League of Ireland XI players Men's association football defenders English Football League players