Brendan Maher Retires
Best wishes to Brendan Maher Borris-Ileigh who announced last week that he was retiring from Inter County hurling. Brendan made his debut for Tipperary at Minor level in 2006 scoring three points from midfield as Tipperary defeated Clare in the Munster championship.
In 2007 Brendan was appointed as Minor captain and he was a leading figure as he guided his team to Munster and All Ireland success. In 2008, Brendan made the step up to under 21 and between 2008 and 2010 he won two Munster titles and an All Ireland title.
Brendan made his Senior inter-county debut for Tipperary against Waterford in the 2009 Waterford Crystal Cup, lining out at left corner-back in a Tipperary victory. Brendan made his National Hurling League debut against Cork in February 2009, lining out at wing-back.
Brendan made his Championship debut as a substitute against Cork in the 2009 Munster Senior Hurling Championship. Brendan’s first Championship start came at left half-back in the 2009 All-Ireland semi-final vs. Limerick.
Brendan was an ever present at midfield in the 2010 All-Ireland Championship, helping Tipperary to capture the All-Ireland title at the expense of Kilkenny with Brendan scoring 2 points from play in the final. Brendan captained Tipperary to lift the Liam MacCarthy Cup in 2016, playing at midfield against Kilkenny in the final and becoming the fourth captain from the Borris-Ileigh club to lift the Liam MacCarthy following in the footsteps of Sean Kenny (1950), Jimmy Finn (1951) and Bobby Ryan (1989). Brendan lined out with the Tipperary Under 21 Hurlers in 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010, winning Munster medals in 2008 and 2010 and an All-Ireland medal in 2010, playing at centre-back in the final.
Brendan has been nominated for All-Star awards in 2010 (midfield), 2014 (half-back), 2015 (half-forward) and 2016 (midfield), winning an All-Star in 2010 and 2014 in addition to capturing the 2010 Young Hurler of the Year award. Brendan was shortlisted for the 2010 Bord Gáis Energy Breaking Through Player of the Year award.
Brendan lined out with the Munster hurlers in the Inter-Provincial Championship in 2012, 2013 and 2016, winning medals as captain from midfield in 2013 and 2016.
Brendan was Vice-Captain of the Tipperary Senior Hurling team in 2013 and Captain in 2014, 2015 and 2016. Tipperary County Board extends its best wishes to Brendan on the announcement of his retirement from the Tipperary senior hurling panel and thank him for his commitment, dedication and selflessness during his distinguished career at both underage and adult level.
Brendan led by example on and off the pitch and was hugely respected and admired by his fellow players and management teams. Brendan was instrumental in many of Tipperary’s successes and was someone who stood tall when the pressure to perform was at its highest level. We are extremely grateful to Brendan for his service to the county and we wish him the very best of good luck in the future.
To read further, visit https://tipperary.gaa.ie/tipperary-gaa-scene-august-18th-2021/
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