Background
Hayes was born in 1840 the son of Sir Edmund Samuel Hayes, 3rd Baronet and his wife Emily Pakenham, daughter of Lieutenant-General the Honourable Sir Hercules Pakenham, a son of the Earl of Longford.
Hayes was born in 1840 the son of Sir Edmund Samuel Hayes, 3rd Baronet and his wife Emily Pakenham, daughter of Lieutenant-General the Honourable Sir Hercules Pakenham, a son of the Earl of Longford.
He was educated at Harrow, and succeeded his father Sir Edmund Samuel Hayes, 3rd Baronet as baronet in 1860 and inherited the family estate of Drumboe Castle in County Donegal. They left no issue. Hayes signed up to the 10th (North Lincoln) Regiment of Foot on 13 March 1858 and became Lieutenant on 30 August 1859, and promoted to Captain in the 2nd Regiment of Life Guards 27 February 1867. He retired from the army in 1872.
He was a magistrate and Deputy Lieutenant for the County of Donegal, and served as High Sheriff of Donegal from 1884 to 1887.