The Duke and the Bull now members of the 100 club
AT FIRST glance John 'The Bull' Hayes and Andrew 'The Duke' Gaul would appear to have very little in common. Indeed you could say they are polar opposites. The 'Bull', six foot four in his stocking feet, weighs in at an imposing 20 stone two pounds.
However, if the Cappamore giant and the Ballinkillen pocket rocket vary in stature, the two long serving veterans do share one statistic: both have recently joined the '100 club'.
The 'Bull', of course, was honoured with leading Ireland out in the recent Six Nations defeat of England, his Twickenham appearance ensuring the Limerick man became the first Irish rugby player to win his 100th full international cap
The Duke joined the Carlow '100 club' in January when lining out against UCD in the Walsh Shield semi-final and brought his magnificent tally to 103 on Sunday.
"Do you remember your first day out with the county?" we asked. "I do, 2001, a Kehoe Cup game against Kildare in Newbridge"
"Where were you playing, backs or forwards, we queried" of a man who has the rare Tommy Walsh type distinction of having been honoured as a Christy Ring Cup All-Star as both a back and a forward.
"I was playing right half back" revealed the Duke who when asked which was his favourite position, fore or aft, declared "I don't mind once I have a starting jersey".
Naturally the highlights of his career to date has been those back-to-back Ring Cup victories with Carlow with whom he won an All-Ireland Minor B medal in 1998.
And what of the story behind the nickname? Surely something to do with cowboy films and John Wayne?
"No, my mother tells me it was the late Breda Foley, who put that name on me. Breda, a good camogie player, was tragically killed in a motor accident in America a few years ago but when I was seven or eight and playing football and hurling in the garden with Breda and her brothers and sisters, she started calling me Duke, I don't know why. The name has stuck with me ever since" he revealed, proof of which came with the fact that every one of the hurls he was carrying were simply inscribed 'Duke.
The 'Duke' is just the 13th Carlow hurler to reach the 100 milestone, following in the footsteps of Ballinkillen club colleagues Tom English and Martin Farrell, Carlow's second most capped hurler of all-time.
The top spot held by Naomh Brid's Johnny Nevin while St Mullins are represented on the exclusive list by Mattie Kehoe (the first to reach the ton) and Pat Murphy.
Myshall's Naomh Eoin have no fewer than six members of the '100 club', John O'Hara, Paddy Quirke, John Byrne, Des Murphy, Damien Roberts and Robbie Foley having given a century of service to the red, yellow and green.
Roberts and Foley, of course, are like the Duke and team captain Eddie Coady of Mount Leinster Rangers, still in a position to add to their 'caps' count.
- Leo McGough
