A Tipperary warrior leaves the hurling arena - Maher was among our best ever

There was scarcely a greater sight than seeing Padraic Maher soaring through the air as he attacked a high dropping ball, driving all before him out of his path and tearing upfield before blazing the sliothar between the posts at the far end of the pitch.

We saw that so often during a glittering career that it became a rallying cry for his colleagues and the kind of act which lifted the Tipperary or Thurles Sarsfields supporters from their seats in rapturous acclamation. Maher was something else.

From his juvenile days with Dúrlas Óg and Scoil Ailbhe CBS primary school right through his last outing in the county senior hurling final replay for his beloved Thurles Sarsfields, Padraic rarely had a quiet outing. His level of consistency was remarkable, especially for a player who had accumulated more miles on his bodyclock than most could only dream of.

He relished the challenged; welcomed the rigours of battle; and the harder it was the better he was.

Padraic never shirked his responsibility and the bigger the name he was sent out to marshall and patrol, the more he rose to the task. He mixed it with the best of them - Henry Shefflin, TJ Reid, Joe Canning, Patrick Horgan, Aaron Gillane - it didn't matter - they knew they had rumbled with a titan when they were finished dealing with Padraic Maher.

While his tremendous physicality and the lengths he went to, to ensure that his body was right for the fray have been mentioned widely since news of retirement became known, something which has received little comment was his ability to adapt his game and revel in any kind of scenario.

In his earlier days, it was his swashbuckling approach, his burst from defence scattering a crowd as he went, which stirred the stands. But, as time wore on and the game changed, Padraic changed. His body shape changed considerably and anyone who has tried to alter body composition will testify to how difficult that process is.

Padraic became the quarter-back type of centre back and he defined the role and brought it to such a level that it was copied and taken on to extra levels by some of the finest players in the game, including the likes of triple All-Ireland winning captain Declan Hannon of Limerick.

Maher was so good that many teams elected to leave him on his own and try to hurl around him rather than through him - a fatal mistake because his ability to read the game was second to none. He always just seemed to be where the ball was.
You always got the sense that he really thrived in the Tipperary jersey when his brother Ronan arrived alongside him the defence. Suddenly, that brotherly bond was helping to cement the rearguard and whether they played beside, in front-of, or behind each other, they instinctively knew where to find each other when an out-ball was needed - they didn't even have to look as that instinct had been honed over many years in the back garden in Tonagha and Thurles Sarsfields Outside Field.

When you think of Padraic Maher, you think of bravery manifested. You think of that image of the blood stained blue and gold jersey with the bandaged head and yet playing on. You think of the famed Sarsfields jersey, again with blood and sweat, but again hurling on to the bitter end - the ankle injury picked up in the county semi-final would have felled a lesser man, but Maher, in considerable pain, just strapped up the boot and went again. What a warrior.

Padraic Maher is up there with Tipperary's great defenders - Tony Wall, John Maher, Tommy Doyle, Mickey 'Rattler' Byrne, John Doyle, Pat Stakelum, Tony Brennan - all bar Wall have gone to their rest, but still we speak of them in revered tones.
The comparison between Wall and Maher has been made many times and the fact that they both wore the blue and white, and blue and gold shirts, enhances their esteem and their high regard.

It's hard to believe that Padraic has exited the hurling stage; hard to credit that after all the battles, injury will rob us one more year of this colossus in our midst. For, he was a Premier giant; one of our best ever; and a man against whom our future stars will undoubtedly be compared.

He is some loss to club and county.