Tommy Maher

Monsignor Tommy Maher (born 1923 in Thomastown, County Kilkenny) is a retired Irish hurling coach and former player. He played hurling with his local club Thomastown and with the Kilkenny senior inter-county team in the 1940s. Maher, who also served as a Roman Catholic priest and teacher, also coached Kilkenny to seven senior All-Ireland titles between 1957 and 1978.

Biography

Tommy Maher was born in Thomastown in 1923. He was educated locally and later attended St. Kieran's College, Kilkenny, a virtual nursery for young hurling talent. Maher later trained as a Roman Catholic priest and returned to St. Kieran's where he taught for many years. He also became heavily involved in coaching the college's senior hurling team.

In 1983 he was appointed parish priest of Mullinavat and immediately became involved in the local hurling scene. He remained at Mullinavat until his retirement in 1998.

Playing career

Club

Maher played his club hurling with the Thomastown club just outside Kilkenny city. He enjoyed some success with the club, culminating in the winning of a senior county title in 1946.

Inter-county

Maher also played hurling with the Kilkenny senior inter-county team in the 1940s. After their expulsion from the championship in the early part of the decade, due to the outbreak of foot-and-mouth in the county, Kilkenny broke his back in 1945. That year Maher won a Leinster title following a victory over Dublin in the provincial decider. He later lined out in the All-Ireland final against Tipperary. However, the Premier County that was victorious on that occasion.

Coaching career

In 1957 Maher joined the Kilkenny senior hurling team as coach. Over the next twenty-one years he would revolutionise Kilkenny's style of play and would preside over an era which saw the county win fourteen Leinster titles and seven All-Ireland titles. In 1983 he immediately became involved in the local hurling scene in Mullinavat. It came as no surprise to anybody that, in 1984, Mullinavat won the Junior Championship, their first success in 45 years, and in 1985, won the Special Junior B Championship.

Teams

External links

• Profile of Monsignor Tommy Maher