Just because Pádraic Maher is four years retired from Tipperary hurling, it doesn’t mean he gets to dodge the question of their enduring inability to win back-to-back All-Ireland titles.
For the record, it hasn’t happened for them since Bob Dylan first went electric in 1965. Maher’s three All-Ireland wins with Tipperary – in 2010, 2016 and 2019 – all brought similar talk of ending the long wait for back-to-back titles. It never happened.
“I remember from my own experience, back in 2010, people thought we were going to win the next two or three All-Irelands,” said Maher at Thursday’s Allianz sponsorship launch of the National Leagues. “But it doesn’t work like that. And what Tipp did last year probably won’t be enough for this year. They’ll have to find something extra.
“It has been brought up before, but I certainly think they are well capable of doing back-to-back, going on what we saw last year. And that will be the goal at the end of the day.
READ MORE
“Before all that, it’s about getting out of the bear pit of the Munster championship, see what happens after that. But it’s something the group won’t be afraid of, it’s probably something they will try and attack as the year goes on.”
After Maher’s 2010 win, Tipperary reached the final again in 2011, losing to Kilkenny. That Kilkenny team, like Limerick in recent years, had little problem winning back-to-back titles. After winning the All-Ireland in 2016 and 2019, Tipperary fell short of reaching the final again in 2017 and 2020.
Given their Munster championship form in 2024 and 2023, few people, if any, predicted they’d end up as All-Ireland champions in 2025. Before that back-to-back quest begins in earnest, Tipperary start their Allianz League campaign against Galway at Semple Stadium on Saturday night.
“I think the league helped them last year,” said Maher. “Liam Cahill started getting the players he wanted on the pitch. There were only a couple of changes each game as the rounds went on. He got a bit of continuity in his team and his squad.
“Got to a league final and fair enough, got a bit of a beating in that. But I think long-term, it stood to them, because he got to see his strongest starting 15 from the league. That bore fruit in the championship.
It meant the world to us – one of the proudest days we’d ever had in Croke Park as a family, seeing Ronan lifting the cup
— Pádraic Maher
“So I think they’ll go along similar lines this year, because you have to be right from the first round of the Munster championship. Having a good league is very important.
“I remember this time last year, we were talking about where Tipp were coming from and it’s such a change this time around. It’s all positive and we were all so proud of the year gone. People will be looking at Tipp different now, they’ll be up there as one of the favourites for the championship.”
Maher retired in February 2022, on medical advice, due to a neck injury. It was a week before his 33rd birthday. Younger brother Ronan captained the team to the All-Ireland title last July and is given that role again for 2026 – his fourth season as captain.
“It meant the world to us – one of the proudest days we’d ever had in Croke Park as a family, seeing Ronan lifting the cup,” he said. “After seeing what he went through, him personally and the group of players the last couple of years. There was a lot of negativity around the place.
“But it’s great to have the potential there and with a bit of hard work with it, it’s looking promising.”
