Ronan Maher of Tipperary poses for a portrait during an Allianz Hurling League media conference at the Rivercourt Hotel in Kilkenny. Photo by Brendan Moran/Sportsfile.
By John Harrington
The Tipperary hurlers have looked like men on a mission so far this year.
Top of Division 1A after three wins from four matches, their work-rate, physical intensity, and sharpness on the ball has been highly impressive.
Team captain, Ronan Maher, has typified this resolve with a series of excellent performances from centre-back and says he and his team-mates have a point to prove after failing to win a match in last year’s championship.
“I love playing hurling for Tipperary and I suppose this is a totally new group of players and I suppose we really want to rectify a couple of wrongs that have went by the last few years and that's really driving me as a player,” Maher told GAA.ie
“It'd be really nice to get some silverware with this group, a lot of lads are similar age to myself and you know there is a lot of hurt there but you can only fuel that in the right ways going forward.
“Sport is like that I suppose, you get setbacks and it's how you respond. So that's one thing that's driving me as well, and just to represent everybody at home and get Tipperary hurling back to where everybody knows it should be and where it belongs and we're trying to do that."
Maher believes the players fell short of the standard required to be Tipperary hurlers last year and there was a collective acceptance in the group that it just wasn’t good enough.
“Yeah I suppose, listen, it had to be, I suppose something had to change and it definitely did,” said Maher.
“There's a big responsibility playing for Tipperary and putting on the blue and gold jersey and I think maybe not everybody realised that, but they do now and I suppose there's a lot of hurt that carried through from last year.
“But like I said, we've parked that, we've spoke about what had to change and we've made changes and we've done that and players, individuals, everybody knows going forward for the year what's expected of them and what needs to happen to represent Tipperary if you want to represent Tipperary.
“So there has been changes and listen, it's not like we don't train hard, we're a really honest group and we train really hard, everybody trains really hard and it's just about keeping those standards within the group going forward and like I said it's about getting those performances consistently out every weekend.”
Last year Tipperary supporters were outnumbered in Semple Stadium for their two home matches in the Munster Championship by Cork and Clare supporters and there seemed to be a disconnect between the Premier County faithful and the team.
Player of the match Ronan Maher of Tipperary is interviewed by Darragh Maloney of RTÉ after the Allianz Hurling League Division 1A match between Tipperary and Cork at FBD Semple Stadium in Thurles, Tipperary. Photo by Brendan Moran/Sportsfile
This year it looks like that’s on the way to being mended because a large and very vocal crowd roared them to victory in their last League game two weeks ago against Cork.
“Yeah there was a great buzz there against Cork in the league and I suppose when it's going hard and when things are tough...last year I suppose it was probably disheartening not to see the crowd supporting us,” says Maher.
“But listen, the Tipp supporters can be tough on you at times when things aren't going your way and that's just the way it's always been. But it was great to see a good turn out against Cork.
“Listen we've placed last year in the back of our heads now, we've taken our learnings from it and it's all about moving on as this group and I think we've done that fairly well now starting out this year.
“We've took our learnings from it but that's the past and we're looking into the future now. Our next focus now is just getting a performance against Kilkenny in Nowlan Park and I'm sure there will be more Tipp support following us this weekend and as the year goes on.
“So it's about putting in those performances every day we go out and I know no matter what the result, once the Tipp supporters see you putting in a good performance, a good bit of heart and determination, then the Tipp supporters will always follow you then. But it's important to be bringing out those performances.”
Tipperary supporters are surely enthused by the talented young generation of players that are breaking onto the team this year.
The likes of Robert Doyle, Joe Caesar, Sean Kenneally, Dylan Walsh, and Oisín O’Donoghue all look like promising talents but the pick of the bunch so far has been corner-forward Darragh McCarthy.
Darragh McCarthy of Tipperary during the Allianz Hurling League Division 1A match between Limerick and Tipperary at TUS Gaelic Grounds in Limerick. Photo by Seb Daly/Sportsfile
He scored five classy points from play in that win over Cork two weeks ago and looks like he has all the tools required to become a top-class inside forward.
“He's a really good young fella, he's really mature for his age,” says Maher of McCarthy.
“He's hitting the frees for us there as well and he looks like he's been playing there for the last five, six years.
“He's carefree, takes everything in his stride and he's a really good lad to have around the dressing room as well, everybody really gets on with him and he drives everybody on.
“It's not like it's his first year on the panel, he's one that's really driven and I think you can see that with the performances he's putting out in the field as well at the moment.
“He's taking it in his stride and it's really refreshing for us and everybody around him. He's been really good underage for Tipp and everybody's seen that. But to get off to a really good start in the league this year for him must be a good confidence boost.
“He's got great lads around him as well, really good lads around him that are supporting him and I could say the same for the rest of the lads, Oisin Donoghue, Sam Farrell, there's loads more lads there that you could name to have really settled into it.
“All have really good heads on them, down to earth fellas and that's what we want, driving really, really high standards in the set up as well.”
Maher hasn’t played a championship match in Croke Park since the 2019 All-Ireland Final but is hopeful that Tipperary will soon be capable again of competing on the biggest stage of all.
“It's been difficult to watch because Tipperary should be at the latter stages of it and it feels like a long time since we were in Croke Park challenging at that time of the season and that drives you on massively,” he says.
“I know there's been changes to the panel over the last couple of years. But it's really about getting us back to that stage of the year and it excites me to think about getting to that end of the year.
“The Munster Championship really excites me, even looking at the National League now it's really exciting. You're looking forward to Munster and anything that can happen, down to the very last game and I think the last few years have proven that.
“It has been tough not being at the latter end of the stages and not going to Croke Park but I'm sure if we keep our heads down and we keep concentrating on ourselves, concentrate on getting good performances and staying consistent every day we go out onto the field, that's going to come sooner rather than later.
“It will be really nice to get back up to Croke Park and bring this group of players I suppose to new levels. It's definitely not out of reach anyway.”
