*Dermot Hayes. Photograph: John Mangan
DERMOT Hayes (71) has been remembered for his three decades of activism after his passing on Saturday.
Dermot Hayes passed away peacefully on January 3 surrounded by family at the Mater Hospital, Dublin, in the care of their ICU team.
“For now, we will take a pause, to reflect, grieve, and to hold Dermot’s family gently in our hearts,” the Clare Leader Forum shared about their founder.
Originally from Kells, Corofin, Dermot was an integral part of the Clare community with his immense activism work. Only last month, he was honoured for his 35 years of work as a leading disability activist in Clare.
The Clare Leader Forum continued, “There are no words to fully describe how shattered and how deeply grateful we are for the extraordinary human being Dermot was. His compassion, integrity, humour, and unwavering commitment to justice shaped this forum and each of us in ways that will endure.”
Dermot co-founded the Disabled People of Clare (DPOC) in 1992 and reignited the Clare Leader Forum in 2014, paving the way for independent living, cultural participation, and a wider push for justice and human rights among people with disabilities.
“Dermot has been a strong supporter of the Clare Volunteer Centre since we opened our doors in 2008, recognising the invaluable role that volunteers play in our communities and leading by example in the tireless advocacy and campaigning on behalf of so many in our communities that shaped his life and made a difference in the lives of so many,” the Clare Volunteer Centre tributed. “We will miss his humour, his energy, his honesty and his smile.”
More than 150 people attended to witness Dermot receive his lifetime achievement award at the ‘People Power’ conference held by the Clare Leader Forum at The Temple Gate Hotel. In May 2025, Dermot received another award recognising his lifelong commitment to activism and volunteerism from the Clare Older People’s Council.
Dermot launched his memoir ‘The Road The Rises’ in 2023. He credited numerous people at the book’s launch in Corofin for helping him with his book, such as his ghost writer Breda Shannon, Dominic Taylor of the Limerick Writers Centre, and his family.
“It was a privilege to work with a man who never took his feet off the road, no matter how big the setbacks, he never gave up fighting for rights,” added Breda during the book launch.
Dermot’s sister, Andrea Barry, told him on the day, “You have always put your troubles aside and have never heard you say ‘Why me?’. Huge respect, comrade.”
The book was funded using a GoFundMe page set up by his long-time friend Gabriella Hanrahan. “To my surprise and my delight, over 180 people donated from all over the world,” Gabriella commented at the time.
Dermot helped to reignite the Clare Leader Forum’s “Nothing About Us Without Us” movement and contributed to their 2024 ‘We Are Human Too’ book. “We campaigned for rights, not charity and promoted the independent living model,” Dermot told The Clare Echo in March 2024 after the passing of his fellow DPOC founder, Thomas Connole.
“More participation and inclusion was our goal.” The pair, along with other founders such as Ann Marie Flanagan, Donnacha Rynne and Declan Considine, travelled regularly to Dublin and other counties to meet and support other groups. They also visited the EU Parliament to lobby for Personal Assistance legislation and funding.
Dermot became involved in trade unionism in his youth, fighting for rights for his fellow workers. In recent years, he was a regular participant in the weekly Ennis demonstrations in solidarity with the people of Palestine. In 2024, Dermot was elected chairman of the Irish Kidney Association. As part of his role, he launched a national fundraising drive and information campaign in March of last year.
While living in Ennis, the activist ran in three location election campaigns for the Workers Party in 1985, for Labour in 2014 and independently in 2019.
In Ennis’ Abbey Street Car Park stands a painting of Dermot on an electrical box, created in 2023 by Rachel MacManus as part of the Negative Space Collective. The painting of Dermot, alongside 11 other Clare figures, was scattered all over the town to honour their relevance in the community.
