Ronan Maher glad to see the back of 2022

By Shane Brophy

2022 is a year best forgotten in terms of the Tipperary senior hurlers and even more so for defender Ronan Maher.

Not only did he skipper Tipperary in a winless Munster Championship campaign, he didn’t even have the club season to soften the blow as a broken shin sustained in the first county group game against Borris-Ileigh saw him miss much of the campaign, only returning as a late sub in their preliminary quarter final loss to Clonoulty/Rossmore.

“It has been a long time since I had a break like that,” Maher admitted, speaking at the launch of the Coop Superstores Munster Hurling League, which begins for Tipperary on Tuesday, January 3rd with a clash against Waterford in Fraher Field, Dungarvan.

“I find I have to get a lot of work done because I have been out for a long time with the leg, so I didn’t get that base with the club, so I am working really hard on my own fitness. Everybody is trying to do the same thing.

He added: “It could have been a lot worse, and I was lucky in some ways. I had plenty of good lads around me, even the Tipp lads even though we were done, to get the rehab done so they were really good that way and I am really supportive of it.

“We were out of both championships early so I am really looking forward to attacking the year.”

FRESH APPROACH

Maher is one of the few players on the panel that hasn’t worked under the guidance of new manager Liam Cahill and coach Michael Bevans at underage level.

Ronan would have been a clubmate of Liam Cahill’s during his brief spell playing with Thurles Sarsfields, but he would have seen and heard about the energy they brought to underage teams in Tipp, and with Waterford.

“They are a really exciting bunch,” he said. “You can see the energy they brought to Waterford.

“A lot of the younger lads would have played under Liam and Mikey and are all getting on really well. It is refreshing at the moment, and we can really see the energy they bring to training, and they are really good at it is as well.

“It is good, and we are really looking forward to the year. Things will pick up even more after Christmas and facing into the Munster League and the National League.”

Also among the management is Ronan’s brother Padraic who is on board as a selector, less than a year after is enforced retirement due to injury. He would have experienced Padraic as a selector with Thurles Sarsfields last year so he doesn’t foresee having a brother on the management as too big of an issue.

“It is strange enough,” he said, adding: “It is great to have him back and he has huge experience to bring to the table. He is good to have on the management team and good to have around.

“I am sure if there is anything that has to be said to me it will come through Liam anyway.”

CAPTAINCY

One of the first conversations Liam Cahill had with Ronan Maher after announcing his panel was to confirm Noel McGrath as the new captain, bringing to an end his brief time as skipper.

“Obviously, I was disappointed,” Ronan admitted.

“He spoke to me about it. It is a New Year and a new management team, I was never going to be guaranteed to be captain. Noel has been a great servant for Tipperary over the years and deserves to get his go at it.

“I enjoyed my time as captain, even if things didn’t go well for us which was disappointing but hopefully, I will get another crack at it at some stage.”

YEAR GONE BY

“We just never played up to our standards,” was how Ronan Maher reflects on a disappointing 2022 with Tipperary where they won just three of the ten competitive games played but was still surprised when it was announced that Colm Bonnar wasn’t being retained as manager.

“I was surprised but it was a tough year for both players and management,” he added.

“It was really disappointing for everybody in Tipperary, so we just need to be accountable for ourselves going forward and next year is the time to set the standard for that.

“There were a couple of games there we could have nicked, against Waterford and Limerick where we were playing up to our high standard.

“But a lot of things didn’t go right either. The fight and the heart were still there to represent the blue and gold jersey, but we weren’t up to our standard and we have to change that going forward into next year.”

He added: “There are a load of new heads in there that I wouldn’t have known myself and it is good to get in around and mix with them. It is refreshing, they all set high standards, especially those that played under Liam (Cahill) already as they know what they are bringing so it is really refreshing.

“It is great to be involved with them all, but it is no good unless we gone on achieve something together. We can talk about it, but we have to make a push this year and bring Tipp back to where we should be.”