Tipp’s Ronan Maher becomes the latest ‘full-time’ GAA player
Tipp star Maher enjoys having just one job
‘It’s a big help when teams are not pulling out of you here and there’
THE era of the full-time Gaelic player is upon us. When Lee Chin announced recently that he was parking any work commitments to concentrate on living the life of a Wexford hurler, it highlighted the demands of the modern game. Last weekend, the same player was in New York as part of a county-sponsored fundraising trip that also involved a number of coaching clinics.
Turns out Ronan Maher, in his own quiet way, is following in the footsteps of Chin. After finishing up an Arts degree in Mary Immaculate College in Limerick, he is also, to all intents and purposes, living the life of a fulltime hurler for the 2018 season.
‘I’m on a year out at the minute, not going back to Mary I,’ he revealed. ‘My plan is to do secondary teaching so I’ve applied for a good few colleges for next year and please God one of them will be offer me a position. I’ve an Arts degree from Mary I. I’m just taking the year out, chilling and concentrating on training.’
Already, he is noting the difference. If his switch to midfield from centreback, where he won an All-Star in 2016 while still an Under 21 player, raised eyebrows, his level of performance has made it seem like part of Michael Ryan’s master plan. Four points — three from play and a sideline cut — suggest his new day-to-day existence is suiting him just fine.
‘From previous years I have been hurling club from U21 up to Christmas and then you are brought straight back into Fitzgibbon and pre-season with the seniors. It’s a pretty hectic time of the year but, I suppose, this year I can concentrate on my county, do all the training, all the pre-season with them, all the fitness and all the gym.
‘It’s a big help, there are not teams pulling out of you here and there, you’re not trying to keep everyone happy and there is not as much pressure on you. It’s nice to concentrate on just the one team at the minute.
‘I did my Leaving Cert when I was 17 and went straight to college and have been studying for the last four years and I wanted to take that break out and be fully tuned in going back to my postgrad, it’s a twoyear course and I will be well prepared for that. But I would probably have taken the year out anyway if I wasn’t hurling and get the head back concentrated on going back in.’ It’s become a common theme with former Footballers of the Year Karl Lacey (Donegal) and Kieran Donaghy (Kerry) taking time out to focus on county careers with Donaghy’s teammate Darran O’Sullivan another. Kilkenny’s Richie Hogan is another who has taken a sabbatical from teaching. Tipperary host Wexford in round three of the Allianz Hurling League at Semple Stadium on Saturday night and some of the main personalities involved tell a tale of the modern game. Another player we spoke to ahead of this weekend’s clash was Wexford’s Diarmuid O’Keeffe, a secondary school teacher at St Peter’s Dunboyne in Meath. The 24/7 demands of the intercounty game make him one of a growing cohort of players who fit the students or teachers mould, the summer break fitting with the hectic schedule.
O’Keeffe, though, likes the sense of balance that his job brings.
‘I quite enjoy having two areas to my life,’ said O’Keeffe. ‘I don’t know if I would love to just be solely dedicating my time to all GAA.
‘Having said that, I haven’t tried it. I get a touch of it during the summer months when I’m off from school. But I think for the moment I’m quite happy to continue the way I’m going.’
If Maher is enjoying the new challenge of playing midfield, it has given him the opportunity to expand his responsibilities, with his haul last time out against Waterford including a beautifully measured sideline cut.
‘I would back myself most of the time,’ he explained. ‘I’ve been hitting them all the time with my club so I’m very used to hitting them but there’s a lot of natural, good forwards in Tipp, Noel McGrath and Bubbles [John O’Dwyer] and John McGrath. If you put one wide you won’t have long standing over the next one. But I remember walking up to the last one the last day and Noel goes, “Do you want to hit it?” I said, “Yeah I do.” I stood over it and forgot that he was after putting one over in the first half. I suppose it was a bit of boldness from me but thankfully it paid off.’
The fact that he had former AllStar corner-back Cathal Barrett riding shotgun with him at midfield in the first round against Clare has made the move even more interesting.
‘It’s just, not to be too predictable, I suppose. Last year we were very predictable. It’s giving new lads opportunities as well, to play in different positions and there’s a lot of new lads coming into the panel so it’s just trying to change things up at the minute, giving everybody their chance.’
He disputes the idea that Tipperary got weighed down by the tag of All-Ireland favourites from a long way out last year, with the 16-point League final hammering by Galway providing a shock to the system.
‘It knocked us back, naturally, we lost that momentum, but we just tried to recover as quick as we could to focus on Cork for the Championship, but it didn’t pay off. We’ll have to have our heads screwed on this year, but I don’t think winning the All-Ireland the year before was weighing us down.
‘That’s just a myth going around, we never thought of it that way. We lost a bit of momentum, we were going well in the League but Galway caught us on the hop, they were really strong and had an exceptional year.
‘We never got going after the League final, we didn’t have that momentum going through to the Championship. But Galway proved last year they were a savage team.’
He is expecting a serious battle from Davy Fitzgerald’s Division 1A table toppers Wexford after the sides clashed in last year’s League semi-final.
‘They have two wins from two in the League and Davy obviously has them primed for a big Championship. We’re expecting a big physical battle in Thurles on Saturday night.’