Mikey Maher

Mikey Maher

Personal information
Irish name	Mícheál Ó Meagher
Sport	Hurling
Position	Centre forward
Born	Tubberadora, County Tipperary
Height	6’3”
Nickname	Big Mikey
Club(s)
Years	Club
	Tubberadora
Inter-county(ies)
Years	County
1890-1900	Tipperary
Inter-county titles
Munster titles	5
All Irelands	5

Mikey Maher (1870–1947) was a famous Irish sportsperson. He played hurling with his local club Tubberadora and with the Tipperary senior inter-county team from 1890 until 1900. Maher is one of only three players to captain a team to three All-Ireland successes.

Biography

Mikey Maher was born in Tubberadora, County Tipperary in 1870. He was educated at the local national school and later worked on the family farm.

Maher was the second eldest in a family of four boys, all of whom had a great interest in the game of hurling. Maher’s older brother, Jack, won two All-Ireland medals in the 1890s. Two of Maher’s nephews, Sonny Maher and Michael Maher, won All-Ireland medals with Tipperary in the 1950s and 1960s.

In retirement from hurling Maher returned to working on the family farm. In 1918 he moved to a farm in Galbally, County Limerick where he spent the rest of his life.

Mikey Maher died in 1947.

Playing career

Club

Maher played his club hurling with his local Tubberadora club and enjoyed much success. He won senior county championship titles with the club in 1895, 1896 and 1898. Tubberadora never again won another senior county title.

Inter-county

Maher first came to prominence on the inter-county scene with Tipperray in 1890. Cork, however, were the standard bearers in the province of Munster at the time. In 1895 Maher was selected to captain the Tipperary senior hurling team. That year Tipp faced Limerick in the provincial final and the game turned into a rout. Tipperary won the game by 7-8 to 0-2 giving Maher his first Munster title. Tipperary later played Kilkenny in the All-Ireland final to be played at what is now Croke Park. Tipp took a 1-6 to 1-0 lead at half-time and went on to hammer ‘the Cats’ by 6-8 to 1-10 at the final whistle. Tipperary’s Paddy Riordan is said to have scored all but one point of his team’s total as Maher collected his first All-Ireland title.

Maher was captain again in 1896 as Tipperary played Cork in the Munster final. That game had to end before the official finish and a replay took place. Tipp easily won the replay by 7-9 to 2-3. The subsequent All-Ireland final saw Tipperary play Dublin at the famous Jones’s Road ground. Tipp scored a goal in the very first minute and took a 4-6 to 0-1 lead at half-time. The game turned into a rout as Tipperary won by 8-14 to 0-4 giving Maher a second All-Ireland title. This game still holds the record as the most one-sided All-Ireland final.

Tipp surrendered their provincial crown in 1897, however, the team took on Cork in the 1898 Munster final. That game had to be abandoned due to fading light, however, Maher collected a third provincial title as Tipp easily defeated ‘the Rebels’ in the replay. Galway fell heavily in the penultimate game of the championship, allowing Tipp to advance to the All-Ireland final against Kilkenny. In a high-scoring and exciting game Kilkenny were on top for the first twenty-five minutes. In the second-half Tipp took the upper hand with Maher scoring three goals. A 7-13 to 3-10 score line gave Tipp the victory and gave Maher a third All-Ireland title as captain.

1899 saw Tipperary defeat Clare in the provincial decider giving Maher his fourth Munster title. It was another rout as the 5-16 to 0-8 score line suggests. This victory allowed Maher’s team to advance directly to the All-Ireland final where Wexford provided the opposition. Wexford held Tipp for the first fifteen minutes; however, they still took a 2-6 to 1-3 lead at half-time. Maher’s side went on the rampage in the second-half and finished with a score of 3-12 to 1-4. The Wexford team walked off the field with ten minutes left in the game because they couldn’t find a substitute for an injured player. Tipp were awarded the title and Maher collected his fourth All-Ireland title.

In 1900 Tipperary trounced Kerry by 6-11 to 1-9 in the provincial final, giving Maher his fifth Munster title. Tipp later narrowly defeated Kilkenny in the All-Ireland semi-final before trouncing Galway in the ‘home’ All-Ireland final. This was not the end of the championship campaign because, for the first year ever, the ‘home’ finalists had to take on London in the real All-Ireland final. The game was a close affair with both sides level at 0-5 with eight minutes to go. London then took the lead; however, they later conceded a free. Maher stepped up, took the free and a forward ‘charge’ carried the sliothar over the line. Tipp scored another goal following a weak puck out and claimed the victory. It was Maher’s fifth and final All-Ireland title. He retired from inter-county hurling shortly afterwards.

Sporting positions
Preceded by	Tipperary Senior Hurling Captain 1895-1896	Succeeded by
Preceded by	Tipperary Senior Hurling Captain 1898	Succeeded by Tim Condon
Achievements
Preceded by Stephen Hayes (Cork)	All-Ireland Senior Hurling winning captain 1895	Succeeded by retained
Preceded by retained	All-Ireland Senior Hurling winning captain 1896	Succeeded by Denis Grimes (Limerick)
Preceded by Denis Grimes (Limerick)	All-Ireland Senior Hurling winning captain 1898	Succeeded by Tim Condon (Tipperary)

Teams

References

• Corry, Eoghan, The GAA Book of Lists (Hodder Headline Ireland, 2005).
• Fullam, Brendan, Captains of the Ash (Wolfhound Press, 2002).

External links

• Munster final winning teams
• Tipperary GAA honours

Persondata
Name	Maher, Mikey
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	1870
Place of birth	Tubberadora
Date of death	1947
Place of death