‘Trusted and admired' court reporter Aodhan O'Faolain dies aged 50
Tributes have been paid to journalist Aodhan O'Faolain who has died aged 50.
Mr O'Faolain, who had been diagnosed with cancer, worked as a reporter on High Court, Appeal Court and Supreme Court cases for national media organisations.
Ray Managh, who worked with Mr O'Faolain for many years in the High Court, said: 'Aodhan was especially trusted and admired for his professionalism and work ethic, his ever-present chirpy smile and his most casual of dress codes, a stand-out feature amid the austere garb of the judicial and legal eagles who deeply respected and admired him ...
'Integrity is defined as moral uprightness, honesty, wholeness and soundness, a single word that describes Aodhan O'Faolain as the outstanding person he was in his personal and professional life. No other news reporter acknowledged better the importance and humanity of integrity in his caring court coverage of some of the saddest civil and criminal cases he had been called upon to cover.'
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Mr Managh noted 'Aodhan was an avid supporter of the Irish rugby and soccer teams' as well as Connacht Rugby and Athlone Town AFC for which he had frequently acted in a public relations capacity.
Mr O'Faolain, who formerly worked at Clonmel Nationalist newspaper, died at St Vincent's University Hospital in Dublin. He is survived by his wife Janet, and parents Micheal and Maura.
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Cork, propelled into that recent round-robin tie on a tide of anticipation, departed less than two hours later nursing the kind of traumas that must have invaded their night time imaginings ever since. With Hayes rampant, Limerick were again a force of invincible self-belief, a reborn team delivering perhaps the magnum opus of John Kiely's star-spangled reign. In full flight and fizzing like a well-fletched arrow across a rectangle of grass, their number six offered a jolting reminder of why he rates among sport's most arresting and magnificent vistas. Watching again the footage of his wonder goal against Tipp in the 2021 Munster final, different elements of his jinking, jaw-dropping solo gallop — a run at once thunderous and balletic — evoke Lamine Yamal, Rudolph Nureyev, Roger Federer, the Road Runner confounding Wile E Coyote, a Lamborghini Aventador and an 18-wheel juggernaut. Tipp's defence appear as helpless as traffic cops trying to stop a runaway buffalo from breaking a red light. The fever of excitement surrounding Hayes that afternoon, his capacity to deliver such irresistible moments, was a key component in Limerick's four-in-a-row champions announcing their separation from the rest of the field. His success in combining demonic intensity with flourishes of artistic beauty in the most recent meeting with Cork — the player exhibiting what one Joe DiMaggio biographer describes as a 'glint of godhood' — strengthens the arguments of those who are happy to declare the 26-year-old the greatest hurler in the country. He is unquestionably the most divisive. If Hayes has one or two rivals for the title of Ireland's most influential hurler — led by his Limerick teammate, the lyrical master conductor Cian Lynch — he is unrivalled as the most contentious. Ahead of tonight's rematch, there will be discussion of a sporting life bejewelled by achievement, a freakish talent who combines an engraver's touch with the kind of physical dimensions that might eclipse the sun. As he swatted the Rebels aside 20 days ago, a rampaging Hayes had Dónal Óg Cusack flicking through the history books in search of a meaningful reference point. 'This Limerick we ever seen a better team than them? What a machine they looked, so well engineered, resilient, strong, every part is working and up for the fight everywhere.' Anthony Daly was just as effusive: 'Hayes is like a gazelle. It's not just his breaking out, it's the tackling, it's the handling at the last second, it's the whole package he gives you there at six.' 'Hayes is the leader of this Limerick team,' was the unequivocal verdict of Ger Loughnane's one-time sideline Sancho Panza, Tony Considine. 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'Trump's psychological equilibrium requires the constant rejection of his responsibility for the abrasive reality he churns up,' wrote Blumenthal. Whether or not Hayes is entangled by his conscience or is armoured against self-examination only he can truly say. What is certain is that he will race onto a Shannonside meadow this evening and the arena will rise to a fever pitch. Some to acclaim a phenomenal player, one they believe has advanced into the territory of competitive excellence accessible only to the all time greats. Others to toss their disgust like a Molotov cocktail onto the wildfire triggered every time Kyle Hayes steps onto one of summer's great stages.
