Ronan Maher (hurler)

Ronan Maher (born 9 October 1995) is an Irish hurler who plays for Tipperary Senior Championship club Thurles Sarsfields and at inter-county level alongside his brother Pádraic with the Tipperary senior hurling team. He usually lines out as a left wing-back.[1]

Ronan Maher
Personal information
Irish name Rónán Ó Meachair
Sport Hurling
Position Left wing-back
Born (1995-10-09) 9 October 1995
Thurles, County Tipperary, Ireland
Height 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Occupation Garda Training
Club(s)
Years Club
2012-present
 Thurles Sarsfields
Club titles
Tipperary titles 5
Munster titles 1
Colleges(s)
Years College
2012-2017
 Mary Immaculate College
College titles
Fitzgibbon titles 2
Inter-county(ies)*
Years County Apps (scores)
2014-present
 Tipperary 36 (0-24)
Inter-county titles
Munster titles 2
All-Irelands 2
NHL 0
All Stars 2
*Inter County team apps and scores correct as of match played 22 May 2022.

Playing career

Thurles CBS

Maher first came to prominence as a hurler with Thurles CBS. He played in every grade before eventually joining the college's senior team and lined out in several Harty Cup campaigns.[2]

Mary Immaculate College

During his studies at Mary Immaculate College, Maher was selected for the college's senior hurling team during his second year. On 27 February 2016, he lined out at right wing-back when Mary Immaculate College faced the University of Limerick in the Fitzgibbon Cup final. Maher ended the game with a winners' medal following the 1-30 to 3-22 victory.[3]

On 25 February 2017, Maher again lined out at centre-back when Mary Immaculate College qualified for a second successive Fitzgibbon Cup final. He scored four points, including three from frees, and claimed a second successive winners' medal after a 3-24 to 1-19 defeat of the Carlow Institute of Technology.[4]

Thurles Sarsfields

Maher joined the Thurles Sarsfields club at a young age and played in all grades at juvenile and underage levels. He won four Tipperary Under-21 Championship medals with the club between 2012 and 2016. Maher was added to the Thurles Sarsfields senior team for the 2012 Tipperary Senior Championship.

On 14 October 2012, Maher was a non-playing substitute when Thurles Sarsfields faced Drom-Inch in the final. He remained on the bench for the entire game but ended with a winners' medal following a 1-21 to 2-15 victory.[5] On 25 November 2012, Maher won a Munster Championship medal when he came on as an injury-time substitute in the 1-21 to 1-16 defeat of De La Salle.[6]

After surrendering their titles in 2013, Maher lined out in a second final on 2 November 2014. He claimed a second winners' medal, his first on the field of play, when he lined out at right wing-back following Thurles Sarsfields 2-22 to 3-11 defeat of reigning champions Loughmore-Castleiney.[7]

On 25 October 2015, Maher was at left wing-back when Thurles Sarsfields faced Nenagh Éire Óg in the Tipperary Senior Championship final. He ended the game with a third winners' medal following the 1-18 to 3-11 victory.[8]

Maher lined out at left wing-back when Thurles Sarsfields faced Kiladangan in the Tipperary Senior Championship final. He ended the game as man of the match in the 0-27 to 1-15 victory.[9]

On 8 October 2017, Maher lined out at right wing-back in a fourth successive final. He scored a point from play and ended the game with a fifth winners' medal following the 1-24 to 0-11 defeat of Borris-Ileigh.[10]

In July 2022, in the first round of the 2022 Tipperary Senior Hurling Championship against Borris-Ileigh, Maher broke a bone in his leg and was ruled out for the rest of the championship.[11]

Minor and under-21

Maher was just 16-years-old when he was selected for the Tipperary minor hurling team in advance of the 2012 Munster Championship. He made his first appearance for the team on 2 May 2012 when he lined out at right wing-back in a 6-21 to 0-11 defeat of Kerry.[12] On 15 July 2012, Ronan won a Munster Championship medal when he lined out at left corner-back in a 1-16 to 1-12 defeat of Clare in the final.[13] He was switched to right corner-back when Tipperary drew 2-13 to 1-16 with Dublin in the All-Ireland final.[14] Maher was again at right corner-forward for the replay on 30 September 2012. He ended the game with an All-Ireland medal following the 2-18 to 1-11 victory.[15]

Maher was switched to centre-back for the 2013 Munster Championship. He played his last game on the grade on 26 June 2013 in a 1-17 to 0-17 defeat by Limerick on 26 June 2013.

Maher joined the Tipperary under-21 hurling panel in advance of the 2014 Munster Championship. He made his first appearance for the team on 16 July 2014 when he lined out at right wing-back in a 5-19 to 1-25 defeat by Clare.[16]

After a disappointing 2015 Munster Championship, Maher was selected for the under-21 team for a third successive season in 2016. On 27 July, he lined out at right wing-back in a 2-19 to 0-15 defeat by Waterford in the Munster final.[17]

Senior

On 12 January 2014, Maher made his competitive debut for the Tipperary senior team in a 3-20 to 0-05 defeat of the Limerick Institute of Technology in the Waterford Crystal Cup.[18] He claimed a winners' medal in that competition on 7 February 2014,as Tipperary defeated Clare by 4-22 to 3-11 in the decider.[19] Maher made his National League debut on 15 February 2014 when he came on as a 59th-minute substitute for James Woodlock in a 2-13 to 0-16 defeat of Waterford.[20] On 4 May 2014, he was an unused substitute when Tipperary suffered a 2-25 to 1-27 defeat by Kilkenny in the National League final.[21]

On 12 July 2015, Maher was selected at left wing-back when Tipperary faced Waterford in the Munster final. He ended the game with a winners' medal following the 0-21 to 0-16 victory.[22]

Maher claimed a second successive Munster Championship medal on 10 July 2016 after lining out at centre-back in a 5-19 to 0-13 defeat of Waterford in the final.[23] On 5 September 2016, he again lined out at centre-back for Tipperary's All-Ireland final meeting with Kilkenny. Maher ended the game with an All-Ireland medal following a 2-29 to 2-20 victory.[24] He ended the season by winning an All-Star award.[25]

On 23 April 2017, Maher lined out at centre-back in his first National League final. He ended the game on the losing side after scoring two points in the 3-21 to 0-14 defeat by Galway.[26]

Maher played in a second consecutive National League final on 8 April 2018. Lining out at centre-back, he ended the game on the losing side following a 2-23 to 2-17 defeat by Kilkenny.[27]

On 30 June 2019, Maher lined out at left wing-back and scored two points from play when Tipperary suffered a 2-26 to 2-14 defeat by Limerick in the Munster final.[28] On 18 August 2019, he was selected at full-back when Tipperary faced Kilkenny in the All-Ireland final. Maher ended the game with a second All-Ireland winners' medal following the 3-25 to 0-20 victory.[29] He ended the season by being named in the full-back position on the All-Star team.[30]

In February 2022, Maher was named as the new captain of the Tipperary team.[31][32]

Career statistics
As of match played 4 February 2023
Team Year National League Munster All-Ireland Total
DivisionAppsScoreAppsScoreAppsScoreAppsScore
Tipperary 2014 Division 1A 50-0100-0010-0060-01
2015 70-0320-0010-00100-03
2016 50-0130-0020-01100-02
2017 70-0410-0040-01120-05
2018 80-1440-04—120-18
2019 60-0250-0530-04140-11
2020 5 0-05 1 0-00 2 0-01 8 0-06
2021 4 0-09 2 0-02 1 0-03 7 0-14
2022 4 0-06 4 0-03 — 8 0-09
2023 1 0-03 1 0-03
Total 520-48220-14140-10880-72

Honours
Mary Immaculate College
Thurles Sarsfields
Tipperary
Individual

References
  1. "Profile: Ronan Maher". Tipperary GAA website. Retrieved 13 July 2015.
  2. "Thurles dance to the tune of Lanigan's ball-striking to make last four". Irish Independent. 18 January 2013. Retrieved 14 February 2019.
  3. Cormican, Eoghan (29 February 2016). "Eamonn Cregan hails heroic Mary I". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 30 July 2018.
  4. Fallon, John (27 February 2017). "DJ Carey hails inspirational coach Jamie Wall as Mary I retain Fitzgibbon title". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 30 July 2018.
  5. O'Flynn, Diarmuid (15 October 2012). "Thurles tyro McCormack helps Sars to Tipp title". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 5 April 2015.
  6. O'Flynn, Diarmuid (26 November 2012). "Big guns fire super Sarsfields to promised land after battle royal". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 5 April 2015.
  7. Moynihan, Michael (3 November 2014). "Speedy start puts Sars on road to 33rd title triumph". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 5 April 2015.
  8. Fogarty, John (26 October 2015). "Tigerish Thurles Sarsfields triumph in titanic battle". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 26 October 2015.
  9. Cahill, Jackie (17 October 2016). "Sarsfields honour 'The Rattler' in fitting style". Irish Independent. Retrieved 19 June 2019.
  10. "Padraic Maher leads powerful Thurles Sarsfields to four in a row". Irish Examiner. 9 October 2017. Retrieved 19 June 2019.
  11. "Tipp star Maher facing lengthy lay-off after leg break, Callanan 'flying it' since club return". The 42. 29 July 2022. Retrieved 29 July 2022.
  12. "McCarthy stars for Tipp". Irish Independent. 3 May 2012. Retrieved 5 April 2015.
  13. Hurley, Denis (16 July 2012). "Double delight for Tipp young guns". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 12 June 2019.
  14. "Winters rescues draw for Dublin Minors". Breaking News. 9 September 2012. Retrieved 12 June 2019.
  15. "McGrath leads red-hot Tipp to promised land". Irish Independent. 1 October 2012. Retrieved 12 June 2019.
  16. Cormican, Eoghan (17 July 2014). "Cunningham to rescue for Clare". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 12 June 2019.
  17. McCarthy, Tomás (28 July 2016). "Waterford find extra gear to claim Munster U21 hurling title". RTÉ Sport. Retrieved 30 July 2018.
  18. "Early days but Tipp ticking along nicely". Irish Examiner. 13 January 2014. Retrieved 5 April 2015.
  19. "Maher on the double as Tipp crush Banner". Irish Independent. 8 February 2014. Retrieved 5 April 2015.
  20. Cahill, Jackie (15 February 2014). "Second half showing sees Tipperary beat Waterford in Allianz Hurling Division 1A". The 42. Retrieved 13 July 2015.
  21. O'Rourke, Steve (4 May 2014). "Kilkenny win third Allianz Hurling League in a row with last-gasp win over Tipperary". The 42. Retrieved 8 July 2019.
  22. McGoldrick, Seán (12 July 2015). "Tipperary claim Munster hurling title with tight win over Waterford". Irish Independent. Retrieved 11 September 2016.
  23. Breheny, Martin (11 July 2016). "Tipp torrents wash Deise hopes away". Irish Independent. Retrieved 11 September 2016.
  24. McGoldrick, Seán (4 September 2016). "Majestic Tipperary are All Ireland champions after victory over Kilkenny in Croke Park". Irish Independent. Retrieved 11 September 2016.
  25. O'Toole, Fintan (4 November 2016). "7 from Tipperary and 4 from Kilkenny - the 2016 All-Star hurling team". The 42. Retrieved 8 July 2019.
  26. Small, Darragh (23 April 2017). "Clinical Galway leave Tipp reeling in league final". RTÉ Sport. Retrieved 12 June 2019.
  27. McGoldrick, Seán (8 April 2018). "Kilkenny whirlwind blows Tipperary away as Brian Cody claims ninth league title". Irish Independent. Retrieved 12 June 2019.
  28. O'Toole, Fintan (30 June 2019). "More glory for Limerick as they lift Munster crown with 12-point win over Tipperary". The 42. Retrieved 1 July 2019.
  29. McGoldrick, Seán (18 August 2019). "Tipperary are All-Ireland champions as Liam Sheedy's men see off 14-man Kilkenny in Croke Park". Irish Independent. Retrieved 16 November 2019.
  30. O'Toole, Fintan (26 September 2019). "11 players from Tipperary as 8 counties feature in 2019 All-Star hurling nominations". The 42. Retrieved 26 September 2019.
  31. "Ronan Maher named captain as Tipp labour to win over Laois". Irish Examiner. 5 February 2022. Retrieved 7 February 2022.
  32. "Ronan Maher devastated by Tipperary's poor year". GAA.ie. 28 June 2022. Retrieved 1 July 2022.
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