It takes a special player to play not one year, not two years but three years on a county minor team.
From the moment Brendan Maher first wore a Tipperary jersey as a fifteen-year-old, there has always been something special about the Borris-Ileigh club-man. Along with his right hand men Paudie Maher and Seamus Callanan, Maher won a minor All-Ireland in 2006 and he did the same in 2007, this time as captain. Patrick Maher and Noel McGrath had joined the team by that stage and all over Tipperary, there was the sense that something special was brewing in the county.
That there was. By 2009, this golden generation was now back-boning the Tipperary senior team that pushed Kilkenny all the way in one of the greatest All-Ireland finals ever. At the age of 20, Maher was left half back on the team and in a brilliant All-Ireland final display, full of skill and hurling smarts, it was a sure sign of things to come.
By the following year, Maher and the class of '89 had helped Tipperary to the promised land when they stopped the drive for five to win the Premier's first All-Ireland title in nine years. It was just six days later when they followed it up with an All-Ireland under-21 crown that had the whole country braced for a period of Tipperary domination.
Kilkenny didn't go away though and it wasn't until 2016 when Maher was back on the steps of the Hogan Stand, collecting the Liam McCarthy Cup as captain of the team. That will undoubtedly go down as the greatest honour of this great career, which, for his club Borris-Ileigh, will surely bring more great memories and moments like those from the winter of of 2019.
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At 32, Maher this morning called time on an inter-county career that brought memories, inspiration and success. He will rank as one of his county's finest players.
“After 13 years playing with Tipperary, I have decided that now is the right time to announce my retirement from inter-county hurling. It was a huge honour and privilege for me to wear the Tipperary jersey and I am very grateful to have played with so many top-class players and to have enjoyed many successes with them. The inter-county game requires very significant commitment, and I am happy that I can look back on my career with no regrets having given everything that I could during my time with Tipperary.
“Firstly, I want to thank the Tipperary players sincerely, I have made lifelong friendships with so many of them. I am also very grateful to the managers and backroom teams who gave me so much support and guidance.
“As a player, I always received immense support from the Tipperary County Board, Tipperary Supporters Club and Associations, Tipperary team sponsors and the GPA. I want to thank all of them. Thanks also to the Tipperary supporters who I have always been so proud to represent.”
“To my club, Borris-Ileigh, where it all began, a huge thank you. I look forward to what the next few years will bring as we continue our journey. My friends have also been hugely supportive of me and helped me in so many ways over the course of my career, for which I am very grateful.
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“My parents, Johnny and Anne, have done everything they possibly could to support and encourage me and there are no words to describe my gratitude to them. I have always looked up to my three older brothers, Sean, Declan, and Martin, to whom I am very grateful for instilling such self-belief and will to win in me. My nieces, nephews and extended family have always been very loyal supporters and I want to say thanks to all of them.
“I am very lucky to have had such constant support and encouragement from my fiancée, Aoife. She has helped me get through the toughest of times and being able to share so many wonderful moments with her has made it all extra special.
“Finally, I wish Tipperary all the very best for 2022 and beyond. I have no doubt that the players and management will do everything in their power to bring more success to the county in the years ahead.”
