INTERVIEW: Tipperary captain Ronan Maher on the brink of Thurles Sarsfields Immortality
Tipperary will face Cork in the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship Final
Thurles Sarsfields has had more than its fair share of All-Ireland winning captains, and Ronan Maher is on the cusp of adding his name to some mighty company.
The 29-year-old Tipperary captain has had plenty of highs and lows in a Tipperary jersey since making his debut all the way back in 2014, and he is now the leader of this most fledgling of iterations of the Tipperary senior hurlers.
Recent years have been amongst the most difficult for him in terms of results, and despite the low ebb the team found itself in coming into the 2025 campaign, captain Maher maintains that the belief was always there that they could leave their mark on the championship.
“I don’t think you’re at much if you don’t believe that you can,” Maher said bullishly.
“That belief comes from the preparation that we’ve done throughout the winter and the work that we’ve put in together.
“We’re a really close group, and obviously, you get confidence from the prep that you’ve put in, and that gives you a belief when you go into the Munster Championship.
“It was always our aim to get out of Munster, and we got out of Munster, and thankfully, we’ve stayed going. We’ve always believed that any day we can go out there, we can beat any team.
“Once we arrive on the field prepared and ready to give it our all, the belief was there from the start of the year.”
He understands the cliché that every team churns out about the collective being tight-knit, but he couldn’t sidestep the fact that he feels that it is certainly the case in camp, and the tough days of the recent past have only brought the players closer together in their want to right the wrongs of last year.
“Having a tight group is everything, sure. I suppose we try to block out everything. We block out all social media.
“Some of us don’t go on social media, so you’re not listening to that outside noise. But obviously in Tipperary, our supporters can be tough at times and rightly so.
We’ve always been like that. If results aren’t going your way, you will hear about it. And that’s where your tight group comes in.
“I suppose it’s focusing on training every single night that you go up. And like I said, the tighter we are as a group and the harder we work through the pre-season, we know that we have ourselves present.
“It’s just to focus on ourselves rather than on the outside noise. But it’s definitely something, it’s a skill that you have to learn as you go on through the years. But like I said, it’s a tight group and I feel like we’ve got a lot tighter this year.
“And I think I’ve seen that on the pitch as well. It’s impacted us hugely. And it’s not false either. It’s really good, close group players together, and thankfully paying off so far.
He continued: “And on that, when you go through those hard times as well, it brings you that bit closer because you’re having those conversations with lads.
“So it definitely helps. And the closer you are as a group of players, there’s nothing false then in training.
“There’s nothing false in the environment. It’s a good environment to be in. It’s a healthy environment to be in.
“And when you go to the trenches and the games are tough, then the lads will pull you out. So like I said, it’s come through the hard times as well.
“We’re just hoping now that we can keep driving on and keep improving as a team. As a collective, just to go after things.
“Obviously, there are things to go after since Sunday in the semi-finals. So we’ll get back to training and we’ll focus on all those things.”
The tough conversations were had, and, as captain, Maher said the group didn’t shy away from the hard questions and self-reflection that comes with it. The role bestowed on the Thurles man is one he never takes for granted.
“As captain, you do have to have those conversations and there were a lot of tough conversations between everybody the past while.
“But I’m just hugely honoured to be captain of such a great team that has, I suppose, come up a few levels this year.
“And there’s so many leaders in that group. And so many lads that have been around for a good few years. So I’m really just thrilled and honoured to represent them.
“But there’s plenty of leaders underneath me as well. And we’re all driving this group as much as we can. Like I said, that’s what gets you through these tough games.
“Having those leaders in the group, it’s a really healthy environment at the minute.
“It’s just our next focus. It’s just the next game. And that’s the way we’ve worked it through the year. And we’re looking forward to the next two weeks.
“Because obviously, there’s been a big high since Sunday, so it’s about coming back down now and focusing in on the work.
“It’s a hard question to answer, I suppose,” Maher said when quizzed about the big difference between this year and last. A lot of people ask you that now, what do you think has changed?
“I suppose we put in the work with our strength and conditioning with Angelo (Walsh), throughout. He’s put in a really good shift for us the whole year, and he’s on top of everything.
“He’s really good. I think it’s just a combination of everybody pulling together and saying, like I said, our fitness levels are through the roof as well, so that obviously helps you when it comes towards the latter end, and lads aren’t getting injured.
“When we came through a tough Munster campaign, we had a couple of weeks off there where you could try and get a few niggles right as well.
“So, that all helps as well, and thankfully, we have no injuries now going into the final so far. We still have two weeks to put down to the final, so you know yourself.
“But listen, I think it’s a hard question to answer but I think it comes from the professionalism of everybody now as well, like the way they’re looking after themselves as well.
“It’s just the way the game has gone that everybody has devoted themselves and gone to new heights, like recovery, and if you do get niggles, you get on top of it straight away.
“It definitely comes from the likes of Angelo, everybody contributing with him as well to get us in the best position to go out into the field.”
Maher will know more than most the opportunity that lies before him.
He has walked past the Thurles Sarsfields captains of old, emblazoned on the face of the Sars Centre outside Semple Stadium on countless occasions in his life.
He could join the other eight clubmen who have lifted Liam McCarthy as Tipperary captain. Jim Stapleton (1887), Tom Semple (1906 & 1908), John Joe Callanan (1926), Jim Lanigan (1937), John Maher (1945), Tony Wall (1958), Mick Murphy (1964), and Jimmy Doyle (1962 & 1965) all come before him and the prospect of joining such exalted company has surely run through his mind.
There is just the small matter of trumping an in-form Cork side who have impressed hugely this championship, and with the massive wave of support behind them, come into the game as strong favourites to end a 20-year wait to bring Liam MacCarthy back to Leeside.
Tipperary played the Rebels three times this year, defeating them in the league before succumbing to big losses in the League Final and Munster round robin, so a big turnaround will be required in Croke Park.
Those losses threatened to derail Tipp’s league progress, but they managed to steady the ship each time. However, the manner of the loss in Munster will bring with it plenty of motivation for the Tipperary players.
“They weren’t all great now, to be honest with you, but listen, they’re all hard to take. Any day you go out, you lose by a point, you lose by 10 points, I never like losing, so listen, they were all tough ones and that’s what we want to do, try and right them wrongs now.
“It’s a real test now of the group if we can make it, take the learnings from those three difficult defeats and try and bring it forward to Croke Park in two weeks’ time.
“But like, it’s really about implementing our own game plan as well and bringing that to the best, to the field as best we can, but I suppose the League Final was tough and to go into the Munster Championship losing to them.
“I suppose going a man down, that was a difficult day for us but I would like to think that the lads that were instead on the field we fought it, we fought on our back for the 70 minutes and like I said, it was a difficult day but I just think that showed where we were as a group though, we put in a big shift to the remainder of that game with 14 men,” he finished.