Tipperary legend makes confident prediction for county's future as quarter-final vs Galway looms large
THE appearance of green shoots in Tipperary helped to convince Patrick 'Bonner' Maher it was time to bring an end to his days in blue and gold.
As a three-time All-Ireland SHC winner, the Lorrha-Dorrha half-forward played a prominent role in Tipp's greatest days of the recent past.
Advertisement
2
Maher is an ambassador for the Electric Ireland GAA All-Ireland Minor Championship
Credit: Inpho
2
Oisin O'Donoghue, 15 and Darragh McCarthy, 13, amongst teammates after beating Kilkenny in May's All-Ireland U20 final
And Maher, who
Three weeks since
The All-Ireland Under-21 triumph of 2010 was an important launchpad for what Maher went on to achieve at the highest level.
Promising youngsters such as Darragh McCarthy, Oisín O'Donoghue and Sam O'Farrell are already making a similar transition now.
Advertisement
Read More On GAA
Maher said: 'It's great to see and there's huge potential in that Under-20 squad to come up and get into that senior panel.
'From our perspective back in 2010, it was huge for us to get into the senior panel and get involved in senior games, so that will bring them on immensely as well.
'There's a good few of them boys that I think will have a bright future and long careers ahead of them wearing a Tipperary jersey.'
For Maher, there was no fairytale ending as his swansong season was utterly wretched.
Advertisement
Most read in GAA Hurling
Liam Cahill's men were dumped out of the Championship with a game to spare in the Munster round robin.
Just five years after the county's 28th Liam MacCarthy Cup triumph, it painted a bleak picture for the state of Tipp hurling. Nevertheless, Maher viewed the situation from a different perspective.
'Just in time for Father's Day' - Dublin GAA legends welcome the birth of precious baby daughter
He explained: 'Coming to the end of 2024, I know the campaign didn't go well but I could see the green shoots that were in there around the group and I knew Tipperary would do well moving forward.
'Another thing I kind of said to myself was maybe the time for me to step away is now and give some younger player, one of the Under-20s, an opportunity to come into the panel and to take a place and get an opportunity to drive it on from there.'
Advertisement
COMING GOOD
Having come under intense scrutiny following the failure of last season, Cahill has overseen an impressive response in 2025.
A victory over Galway in
Maher continued: 'It's just one of those things when you train so hard to peak at a certain time and it just doesn't happen for whatever reason.
'But the group got back together. They went hard at it early this year and the fruits of that are showing now.
Advertisement
'An awful lot of these younger players, the likes of Jake Morris and these boys, are stepping up, which is huge and it's needed.
'Ronan Maher is always a leader, Mikey Breen, there's an awful lot of these boys putting their hands up to show that they have the leadership quality there that they always potentially had.
"But they're really shoving it on this year, which is great to see.'
MAGICIAN MCGRATH
While the injection of youth is serving Tipperary well, Maher also hailed stalwart Noel McGrath, 34, who is still central to the cause in his 17th season.
Advertisement
The two-time All-Star said: 'Noel is a generational player. He's always had it since we were playing together at minor and I suppose Under-16 level.
"He's always had something special about him. Fair play to him, he's some operator.
'It was a joy to play beside him for so long. You probably don't see half the work that he does away from the field to get himself into the condition.
"He looks after himself fierce well to still be able to operate at the level he is. It's great to see that he's still doing the job and it looks like there's plenty left in the tank with him too.'
Advertisement
PATRICK 'BONNER' MAHER is an ambassador for the Electric Ireland GAA All-Ireland Minor Championship.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Times
31 minutes ago
- Irish Times
Leaving Cert physical education (PE): Students pushed for time with longer questions
The higher-level physical education (PE) paper was fair and had lots of choice and popular topics, although students were pushed for time with the longer questions. Brian Gregan, a PE teacher at the Institute of Education, said that there was more choice than in previous years. 'Entering into this exam, students will have already completed two projects and have 50 per cent of their grade locked in,' he said. 'This final push will see students racing through some sections only to be faced with more daunting long answers that will keep them writing until the final second.' READ MORE In section A, which focuses on short questions, Mr Gregan said that there was a great range of ideas but Students with a slight emphasis on topic five (promoting physical activity). 'While not always a popular topic, the questions were clear and to the point meaning that few will struggle to have something to say,' said Mr Gregan. 'Topic five synthesises well with topic seven, inclusivity which was a prescribed topic for this paper, so everyone should be prepared for these ideas. 'Questions on coaching will be popular with those who are up to speed on their principles of training, and the ever-popular topic of doping appeared twice. Tricker topics like vectors and scalers were absent or while others like stereotyping were avoidable through lots of internal choice.' However, Mr Gregan said that section B's compulsory case study will have ground some student momentum to a halt. 'The text was denser, and students needed to pay attention to every aspect of the pages to ensure they had the correct material,' he said. 'You couldn't simply skim the text on move on - the details really mattered. As a result, some will feel that time ebbed away in this section. Overall, the case study on throwing was a good mixture of Topics one, two, five and six – all of which will be familiar but the fact there was little choice meant that they really needed to know their stuff. Skipping sections wasn't an option.' Section C's long questions reiterated the previous two sections' relationship in miniature: a swift start that loses speed in longer essay questions, said Mr Gregan. 'PE isn't like other subjects that are heavily essay based, but long questions do demand the students cover a good amount of material in order to safeguard against any ambiguity in the marking scheme. In terms of the material, there was nothing unexpected here: questions on components of fitness and principles of training would all have been banker topics heading into the exam.' Mr Gregan said that, while all the questions were viable, question 15 was a great balance of principles of training, ethics and coaching that will draw many people in. 'This was a fair paper, but students will find themselves in a sprint to the finish to fill everything in,' he concluded.
RTÉ News
2 hours ago
- RTÉ News
All-Ireland camogie championship: All you need to know
SATURDAY Glen Dimplex All-Ireland Senior Championship Group 1 Cork v Clare, SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh, 2pm Limerick v Tipperary, Cappamore GAA, 1pm Glen Dimplex All-Ireland Senior Championship Group 2 Kilkenny v Galway, UPMC Nowlan Park, 4pm Waterford v Dublin, Walsh Park, 3pm ONLINE You'll find score updates and match reports on RTÉ Sport Online and RTÉ News app. Kilkennyv Galway is live on Camogie Association YouTube channel. RADIO Score updates on RTÉ Radio 1's Saturday Sport. WEATHER Saturday: While warm sunshine is expected, a scattering of showers will occur too, some heavy and possibly thundery. Top temperatures of 19 to 25 degrees, warmest across the eastern half of the country, all in a light to moderate southwest wind. For more, visit GROUP 1 Cork v Clare Clare are clearly benefiting from John Carmody's decision last season to blood a number of young players. They have reached a Very League Division 1B final this year and are in contention for qualification to the knockout stages of the All-Ireland Championship. They are not expected to beat champions Cork in the Páirc, which isn't to say they can't, but every score will count in their battle for a place in the last six. At present, the Banner lie in second in the table on a vastly superior score difference to Limerick, who they drew with. Limerick have already played Cork, however. As a result, Clare have 32 points in hand on their neighbours, so a competitive outing will put them on the brink of progression. Limerick v Tipperary Limerick are under a little more pressure than Clare in terms of making the quarter-finals due to their vastly inferior score difference. Cork beat them by 38 points in their first round and it said a lot for what Joe Quaid has begun to build that they bounced back to beat Wexford and then draw with Clare, thanks to a late equaliser by their totem, Caoimhe Costelloe. The level of that first round defeat leaves them with a steep mountain to climb but if they can account for Tipperary, who are a point back in fourth with one game less played, they will be through. It would count as a shock, given the level both teams have been operating at for most of the past decade or so and especially for the past five years. Victory would also put Tipp through, having beaten Wexford by 32 points after losing to Cork by 18. GROUP 2 Kilkenny v Galway Group 2 looks far more straightforward than Group 1, with three teams level at the top on six points. This game pitches second against third on score difference, but this is Kilkenny's last game and they have already lost to Waterford, while Galway possess a 100% record. If Waterford beat Dublin in the other game, these two will be assured of qualification but this result will be significant with direct progression to the semi-final, or seeding in the quarter-finals at stake. Waterford v Dublin Dublin's mission is straightforward. Anything other than victory and last year's All-Ireland semi-finalists will not emerge from what was a very difficult group. They lost by six points to Galway and five to Kilkenny, so have been very competitive but now take on a Waterford side that opened their campaign with a seven-point victory over the Cats and followed up with a facile home triumph over Derry. With Galway still on the Déise's set list, they will want to make sure of qualification this weekend.
Irish Daily Mirror
2 hours ago
- Irish Daily Mirror
Galway are due one huge display but I dread thought of penalties
There'll be no trophies given out in Limerick on Saturday evening, but the result will determine which of Micheál Donoghue or Liam Cahill ends the season in All-Ireland semi-final would represent Cahill's best performance yet as Tipperary manager. But lose and it'll be an anti-climax after a very decent showing in Munster, much like two years the last four would represent a decent year's work for Donoghue. Anything less and it will mean that they will have failed in the three biggest tests put down to them in this year's Championship.I would doubt if either side can take out Cork, if that's how it works out, but reaching a semi-final is not to be sniffed have struggled for consistency all year. Two things stand out with them for me - the lack of a goal threat and their inability to get up for every game. Worryingly, their work rate varies from match to they scored six goals against Antrim, but we were a man down and weren't set up as we normally would be they have to come with that bite this time. They had it against Dublin. It wasn't there against Kilkenny until it was too late. Kilkenny, for example, always have that bite. Galway need to find it more often.I feel that they are committing too many bodies back the field too. I can understand that to a degree, but sometimes they only have two in the opposition fairness to Donoghue, this is his first year with a different group to when he last managed Galway. It takes time. Cahill has had three years Tipp side were very hardworking against Limerick and had a massive game in Ennis against Clare which was all the more impressive for the fact that they withstood a fierce second half comeback, dug deep and found a way to win. They showed resilience when things were going against them - something that wasn't too apparent last year. Cahill made some big decisions in the off-season when cutting a couple of regulars from the panel, which can sometimes cause a manager to lose a group. But it appears to have had the opposite work rate and intensity is way up from 2024, especially from the forwards, who are tracking back in numbers but also getting back up the field swiftly. Fitness levels need to be off the charts for Doyle, Michael Breen and Eoghan Connolly have been very solid in the full-back line. Ronan Maher has played a captain's role at centre-back, or wherever he's asked to front, Jason Forde, Darragh McCarthy and Jake Morris are playing really well and, crucially, working extremely McGrath has recaptured some of his old form, which is great to see, and then you have the likes of his brother Noel, Oisin O'Donoghue and Sam O'Farrell coming off the bench, underlining their strength in depth up full-back line of Pádraic Mannion, Daithí Burke and Fintan Burke has been solid too and while Gavin Lee is a very talented hurler, I'm not sure he's holding the middle well enough for Fahy has done ok at wing-back but I feel he'd be a better option at Mannion is a top class forward who will score from anywhere and I'd expect that Tipp will man-mark him. Who that will be, I'm not sure. It won't be Maher, maybe Craig Morgan might be the Galway need Mannion no deeper than the middle of the field. He's too dangerous to be working back in Whelan is a player I've always rated highly but he hasn't hit the levels yet this year. I'd like to see him closer to goal in a two-man inside line alongside Brian Concannon, with Kevin Cooney drifting out. That's an inside line that could wreak serious havoc and supply the goals that Galway are Fleming is a different type of forward with a high workrate and is worth his spot, but Conor Cooney's struggles to break into the side puzzle me. He's a serious forward with goals in him.I expect that the game will be really tight and Tipperary have earned their status as favourites. But I believe that there's a big one in Galway and I'm going to give them the slight course, it could go to extra time and beyond. I only wish they wouldn't resort to penalties to decide the outcome and give the two teams a replay. On paper, Limerick should have way too much for Dublin and while I expect that they'll win, it mightn't be as straightforward as people have improved under new management this year, though they will have been very disappointed with their performance against Galway. They lacked the grunt that day that had been apparent in other games. I expect that it will be back I would imagine that losing their Munster title will have a massive impact on Limerick's attitude. It should fuel their hunger even interesting that the game isn't in a strictly neutral venue, as is normally the case for quarter-finals. Obviously Limerick are taking up the opportunity to play in Croke Park with an eye on an upcoming Park is a massive field with wide open areas and Limerick are so good at working the ball short that they will utilise every pocket of space that is I love about Limerick is how they vary their play. How they use the short ball to get to the half-forward line to take a long range score, or how they can bypass the opposition half-back line, with their ability to win 50-50 ball why I believe it's a smart call to play at Croke Park - it suits their style of Dublin, Paddy Smyth and John Bellew have been good at the back but it's Chris Crummey that makes them we were preparing to play Dublin with Antrim, one of the things that stood out was how much ball goes through Crummey out of defence. He's a solid defender but links up so well with the midfielders and forwards. But a huge aspect of this game is whether Crummey will sit back in the pocket or push forward on Cian Lynch and mark conundrum there is that you can't leave a big space in front of Aaron Gillane no matter how good the defender marking him is but, on the other hand, you can't give a playmaker like Lynch the freedom of the park can hope that a midfielder will drop and pick him up but that's a 50-50 situation; it will only come off some of the time. So Dublin need to pick someone to man-mark him and it's a big call because so much of Limerick's play goes through midfield battle should be interesting. Adam English has brought a lot to Limerick there.I expect Dan Morrissey to pick up the imposing John Hetherton and no better man for the job. Morrissey is an outstanding defender and, if there was a transfer market, he'd be highly sought Dublin forwards will need to work tirelessly to stop Limerick building from the back but, collectively, they'll need to scale new heights just to give themselves a chance Limerick will likely be in an uncompromising mood after the Munster final and should set up a mouth-watering semi-final with Kilkenny.
