Demons from the past 'have to be pushed to one side'

Tullamore Court Hotel Offaly SFC final preview

By Kevin Egan

Once George Digan took the call from Ferbane and agreed to take the reins at the helm of his home club’s senior team, it was always likely that he would get in touch with Joe Maher and ask the former Offaly forward to come back for another tilt at senior football.

A combination of engagement, house-building, postgraduate study, meniscus surgery and the emotional toll of a series of bitterly disappointing near misses in the Dowling Cup race led Maher to drop back to intermediate football for 2025. But having played ball with Maher himself, the incoming manager was bound to use that connection to twist Maher’s arm.

The injury to Cathal Flynn made the decision even more important. Flynn, who was Offaly Footballer of the Year in 2025 and was described by Mickey Harte as a player on par with Paudie Clifford for his creative ability, was the fulcrum around which Ferbane built their strategy in 2025. This year, particularly in their semi-final win over Shamrocks, Ferbane let Maher use his experience, guild and passing ability to play a somewhat similar playmaking role, albeit from a more advanced position – even if the man himself downplays the comparison.

“I don't think anyone can replace Cathal and what he does, he's very unique in his style of play in Ireland, not just in Offaly,” was how Maher responded to the comparison.

“I'm really enjoying my football – I’m probably not scoring as much, it's a different sort of role. It's a completely different game than it was five or six years ago as well, but part of coming back was sitting down with Colin (Kenny, coach) and looking at videos,” Maher explains, recalling how it was always part of the plan that he would be more of an orchestrator than an assassin in 2026.

“Colin was saying, you need to work on A, B and C. Honestly, he told me some hard truths that I needed to know. Throughout the years, I'd be saying I have to kick five or six points every game this year. But this year, for my game to be what we need, it doesn't really matter who scores. With the team we have now, there’s scorers all over. You're not relying on two or three players inside to get your scores.”

Maher consistently takes of his year at intermediate level as a break, perhaps as a subconscious tell that the desire to come back and win a second senior medal was always likely to draw him in.

“The intermediate was taken serious but not as serious as the senior and I liked that element of it, I just needed a whole break from what senior brings,” is how he describes it.

“I played with George, he asked was I interested in coming back, it could be an impact sub or it could be a starter, and I said, 'look, if I can help out in any way, I will'. I did miss it as well as I was away from it, so it did me a lot of good as well.”

As a coach himself, having guided Gallen Community School to an All-Ireland title two years ago, Maher also feels that the experience he’s gained on the sideline has changed his game, not to mention alerting him to some of the outstanding players that were set to come into the Ferbane senior panel.

“It definitely opened up my eyes to the whole management and coaching. I think it has actually helped me on the field as well, seeing the game and how things are going.

“Jake (Maher) is a first cousin of mine, he’s having the year of his life after coming up from minors and he won an All-Ireland in school with a lot of other very good players, so, I knew what was coming.

“Georgie knew what was coming through as well, the club is in a really good place here. And if I can add something to it here, it might be an impact sub or it could be just a person in the dressing room to speak.”

And what kind of message would he like to impart?

“Speaking to Jake and speaking to James Wren and a few others, we were here in 2019 and I was a lot younger at the time, people said we’d be back here every year.

“But here we are in 2026 and I only have one medal in my back pocket. So I'm telling the boys that this is a start for you, but grasp it, go at it, because county finals are just so hard won.”

That leads on to the elephant in the room, that Ferbane have found them particularly hard to win. 2019 was a special year for the club but they also lost two finals in the three years before that, as well as the last three finals, with plenty of hurling heartbreak with Belmont mixed in as well.

“For us on Sunday, those demons have to be pushed to one side,” Maher says, confronting the issue head on.

“We know it's going to come down to the last five or six minutes, a single ball either way. Game management, a breaking ball, a referee’s call, it could be anything on the day that makes all the difference. We just have to be ready for everything.”