John Martin Hayes (11 November 1887 – 30 January 1957) was an Irish Catholic priest and the founder of Muintir na Tíre, a national rural community development organisation.

[1] Hayes came to national prominence with the foundation of Muintir na Tíre in 1931, a rural development organisation which had core principles of neighbourliness, self-help and self-sufficiency.

It was to act as a rural self-help group based on collective parish organisation with a strong emphasis on the teaching of the papal encyclicals Rerum Novarum (1891) and Quadragesimo Anno (1931).

Hayes was successfully able to draw on the power of the media, Irish newspapers and radio, to promote Muintir na Tíre and quickly became a figure of national prominence in doing so.

A lifelong teetotaller, a highlight of Hayes' career was his address to the Pioneer Total Abstinence Association in Croke Park in June 1949 to celebrate their 50th year of operation.