The Big Interview: Padraic Maher has had a great career and has a great future ahead of him despite retirement setback

It seemed impossibly intrusive sitting down with Padraic Maher last week to discuss retirement from the game of hurling, his state of health and the future of the Premier County team.

Just mere hours after he had shocked the GAA world with his announcement, the Thurles Sarsfields man faced a barrage of questions, the deep probing of which, from some journalists suggested that there was more to the departure than meets the eye. However, true to form, and as he has done throughout his glorious on-field career, Padraic tackled the probes with a forthrightness, brutal honesty and no shortage of skill either - with time on his hands now, politics could seem like the perfect fit for so skilled a communicator.

It’s hard to reconcile the fact that this son of Tipperary, hewn from granite, could actually be prone to a fissure. Limestone is permeable and perceived to be weak - granite is not regarded as being vulnerable. But, ask any hurling man and they’ll tell you that Maher was the definition of granite. Still is, in fact. Apart from an issue with his thumb and a slight ankle problem, he’s as fit as a fiddle. And, he was ready to go again; ready to be that column of steel which supports the entire defensive structure.

But then, there’s the kryptonite which has disabled this hurling superman.

Padraic knew something was just not right with everything. A man who knows his body inside-out and who has strained every ounce of his being to ensure that absolutely nothing was left to chance in his preparations for the onslaught, something told him between the county semi-final and the drawn final, that all was not right.

Vertigo. All the symptoms were there - headaches, dizziness etc. The headaches would persist; the dizziness apparent during those high octane games against Loughmore Castleiney - and it wasn’t from trying to keep tabs on the McGrath’s; the treatment and meds were not doing the trick. He wasn’t himself on the field and off it; he knew he had to take action.
Sarsfields team doctor, Paul Ryan, is also the Tipperary doctor - a stroke of luck perhaps for Padraic. Dr Paul knew the story; wasn’t happy; and arranged for scans. Those scans found a fissure in the granite that no hurler, analyst, coach or tactician could. Padraic Maher was vulnerable. He was human after all.

The damage to his neck which has forced his full retirement from all contact sport, has forced him to take stock and think of his future. He didn’t have a decision to make; this was a black and white one - no grey area. He did not wish to have his fiance and future wife Claire carrying him from the couch to the bed - that was the risk he would take if he continued to hurl. That’s the way it was put to him by his consultant. A no brainer then.

Padraic is a bit frazzled by it all and who could blame him. He would have expected his club career with Thurles Sarsfields to outlast his inter county one, by a good few years. He is in a whirlwind having emerged from the inter county bubble. Everything he did for the last thirteen years was geared towards hurling - eat, sleep, drink, gym, job, work, family life, holidays - all geared towards creating the correct environment for an elite athlete to shine.

Elite he was and shine he did. Three All-Ireland senior titles mined from an era when his early days were marked by clashes with the most successful hurling team ever, across the border in the east; and his closing chapters were similarly bookended by the emergence of another seemingly untouchable giant and the western side of the Premier County. Limerick have won three All-Ireland’s - the same as Padraic; and Brendan Maher; and Bonner Maher; and Seamus Callanan; and Noel McGrath. The last three remain on in search of a fourth - Padraic and Brendan have now turned their attention to supporting the blue and gold.

Above: Padraic's brother Ronan is now the Tipperary senior hurling captain

And support the team he will - “Of course, I’ll be there at all the games to support Ronan and the boys,” he says when questioned about last weekend's Allianz National Hurling League opener with Laois. The difference now though is he’ll be able to stop for a few pints on the way home to discuss the game - heretofore, it would have been home to bed and begin the recovery process.

Padraic is reluctant to pick a favourite All-Ireland. His first (2010) and last (2019) were both captured through the backdoor, while he describes the middle one (2016) as a “pure All-Ireland” with Munster picked up en-route to the ultimate crown. But a favourite? Difficult to say - all were won at the expense of Kilkenny.

Not so hard perhaps to choose a most difficult opponent, and he came up against a few real beauties - Joe Canning, Henry Shefflin, Aaron Gillane, TJ Reid, Johnny Glynn, Patrick Horgan - the list of suggestions goes on and on. But Padraic has his answer - Richie Power of Kilkenny.

Richie Power in action against Limerick - Padraic singled him out as a player he always had to be on his toes to mark

“I always knew going out against Richie that you had to be tuned in. He could do it any way he wanted - on the ground, in the air, whatever. If he got the ball 40 yards out from goal, he was thinking about a goal and was never content with taking the easy score. I always found him a big challenge and you had to be really right, in mind and in body, for him. But there were great players in all those teams and the challenge for me was always seeing how I could measure up to them,” he says.

But for Kilkenny, Padraic could have won five All-Ireland’s - 2011 and 2014 are particularly galling, even now. But, he knows too that his lot was not a bad one - for club and county. He mastered a number of positions in defence but his preferred station was on the right flank. The full back jersey he occupied in his formative years, was to be the one he would occupy in his last outing for club and county, only a few weeks apart. But, it is a position which changed immeasurably in line with the changing nature of the game. And, he was loving it there, felt comfortable enough and was looking forward to more of the same this season, until fate intervened. His willingness to adapt and to work relentlessly on his game meant that he emerged from being the swashbuckling, traditional style full back, to being a modern-day defender who could play it in a number of ways.

Perhaps now it is his brother Ronan who will be sent to fill the void at number 3 - he will certainly be one of the main men again for Tipperary in ‘22.

“There is still a lot of experience in the Tipp squad and the likes of Ronan and his group will have to drive the thing on and help to bring on the younger boys. They are level headed lads and they have seen a lot already. I wouldn’t be one bit worried about Tipp at all - they’ll be fine and I’m looking forward to watching them. I’d love to be still in there with them but that’s not happening now so I’ll be in the stands instead,” he says.

While a lot of the focus over the last few days has been on Maher’s past, there is much to ponder for the future now. His career in An Garda Siochana; his up-coming wedding to fiance Claire - a mad roaring Clare hurling lady; growing and developing his coffee shop, co-owned with Seamus Callanan. Located in Liberty Square, Thurles and aptly titled ‘Heyday’ it is somewhat of a haven for hurlers and will be a welcome retreat for Padraic over the coming weeks and months.

Then, there’s golf. He played off 12 at one stage, but says that is likely to have risen considerably in line with the layers of dust on the clubs - hurling and golf, at a competitive level, do make compatible bed-fellows, and it was the clubs which suffered in deference to the hurley. So, a return to the green is on the cards, along with cycling, running and swimming - nothing with too much twisting on the body, head and neck, he has been advised.

Padraic receives the Dan Breen Cup from then County Board chairman, Michael Bourke

Coaching? Well, he has worked under some of the best in the business and was influenced by some of the finest, starting with his parents and uncles - the McCormack’s and the Mahers. Then, there’s the formative hurling education he received in Scoil Ailbhe where he is so revered, and in Dúrlas Óg where he is regarded as the best ever player to emerge from its ranks. Thurles Sarsfields and Tipperary; Munster and Garda College - he has seen a lot, learned a lot, stored away a lot of knowledge. All of that could, one day perhaps, be put to good use on the sideline. Time enough for all that though - there’s still a lot of adjusting to be negotiated.

Blues Brothers - Padraic will miss the buzz of playing with his friends in Thurles Sarsfields

There has been a real sense of sadness and loss since news of Padraic’s departure emerged. But, there was also a sense of celebration - celebration of a great man; a great career; a magnificent role model; a Premier warrior; a legend in our lifetime. We’ve heard the stories and read the accounts of Doyle; and Stakelum; and Meagher; and Wall; and Brennan; and Treacy; and Semple; and many more. But, we’ve witnessed this legend in the flesh; marvelled at his supremacy; raved about his bravery; spoke in hushed tones of his humility; and applauded his sheer, unadulterated honesty.

Heyday - how prophetic a name for the business opened a few months ago. In his heyday, Padraic Maher was unrivalled and he is remembered so warmly by teammates and opponents alike for all those many great outings.

Today, and for many years to come, he will remain in Heyday. But, for now and forever in our minds, we remember his hurling heydays.
Because, they were mighty.