St Joseph's College Maher first came to prominence as a hurler with St Joseph's College in
Borrisoleigh. He played in every grade before eventually joining the senior hurling team and lined out in several
Harty Cup campaigns.
Mary Immaculate College Maher studied at
Mary Immaculate College in
Limerick between 2006 and 2009 and joined the senior hurling team in his second year. On 7 March 2009, he was named
man of the match when Mary Immaculate College defeated the
University of Ulster by 1–12 to 1–05 to win the
Ryan Cup.
Borris-Ileigh Maher joined the
Borris–Ileigh club at a young age and played at all grades in juvenile and underage levels. He joined the club's senior team as a 16-year-old during the 2005 North Tipperary Championship. On 7 August 2005, Maher was selected on the bench when Borris–Ileigh faced
Nenagh Éire Óg in the
North Tipperary Championship final, however, in a late change he was drafted onto the starting fifteen. He ended the game with a
winners' medal after a 1–12 to 0–13 victory. Maher lined out at right wing-forward when Borris–Ileigh renewed their rivalry with Nenagh Éire Óg in the North Tipperary Championship final on 9 September 2007. He scored a point from play and claimed a second winners' medal in three seasons following a 0–19 to 0–16 victory. On 2 September 2017, Maher lined out at centre-back when Borris–Ileigh faced Nenagh Éire Óg in the North Tipperary Championship final once again. He ended the game with a third winner's medal following the 2–19 to 0–18 victory. On 8 October 2017, Maher was selected at midfield but spent much of the game at centre-back when Borris–Ileigh faced
Thurles Sarsfields in the
Tipperary Senior Championship final. He top scored for the team with five points from frees in the 1–24 to 0–11 defeat. On 3 November 2019, Maher was at centre-back when Borris–Ileigh faced
Kiladangan in the
Tipperary Senior Championship final. He scored three points, including two long-range frees, and collected a
winners' medal following the 1–15 to 1–12 victory. On 24 November 2019, Maher won a
Munster Club Championship medal after giving a
man of the match display in the 1–12 to 1–11 defeat of
Ballygunner in the
final.
Tipperary Minor and under-21 Maher first played for
Tipperary as a member of the minor team during the
2005 Munster Championship. He was an unused substitute throughout before Tipperary exited the championship on 4 May 2005 following a 2–14 to 1–06 defeat by
Limerick. On 5 April 2006, Maher made his first appearance for the team when he scored three points from midfield in a 2–13 to 1–08 defeat of
Clare. He retained his position at midfield for the
Munster final, however, he ended on the losing side following a 2–20 to 1–15 defeat by
Cork. Maher was switched to left corner-back when Tipperary faced
Galway in the
All-Ireland final. He ended the game with a
winners' medal following the 2–18 to 2–07 victory. Maher was again eligible for the minor grade for a third and final season in
2007 and was appointed captain of the team. On 8 July 2007, he was at left wing-forward when Tipperary won the
Munster Championship following an 0–18 to 1–11 defeat of
Cork. On 2 September 2007, Maher was switched to midfield for the
All-Ireland final against Cork. He scored three points from play and claimed a second successive winners' medal following a 3–14 to 2–11 victory. Maher was drafted onto the Tipperary under-21 team in advance of the
2008 Munster Championship. He made his first appearance for the team on 17 July 2008 when he lined out at left corner-back in a 1–13 to 0–15 defeat of Limerick. On 30 July 2008, Maher won a
Munster Championship medal after lining out at left wing-back in a controversial 1–16 to 2–12 defeat of Clare. He retained his position at left wing-back when Tipperary suffered a 2–13 to 0–15 defeat by
Kilkenny in the
All-Ireland final on 14 September 2008. On 28 July 2010, Maher won a second Munster Championship medal after lining out at left wing-back in Tipperary's 1–22 to 1–17 defeat of Clare in the
final. He was switched to centre-back for the
All-Ireland final against Galway on 11 September 2010. Maher ended the game with an
All-Ireland medal following the 5–22 to 0–12 victory in what was his last game in the grade.
Senior Maher joined the Tipperary senior team in advance of the
2009 National League. He made his first appearance for the team on 14 February 2009 when he played at right wing-back in a 2–15 to 0–09 defeat of Cork. On 3 May 2009, Maher came on as an 11th-minute substitute for
Declan Fanning in a 2–26 to 4–17 extra-time defeat by Kilkenny in the
National League final. On 31 May 2009, he made his
Munster Championship debut when he came on as a 55th-minute substitute for
Conor O'Mahony in a 1–19 to 0–19 defeat of Cork. On 12 July 2009, Maher started the
Munster final on the bench but was introduced as a 34th-minute substitute for
Paul Curran and ended the game with a
winners' medal following the 4–14 to 2–16 defeat of
Waterford. After making his first championship start in the All-Ireland semi-final defeat of
Limerick, he was selected at left wing-back for the
All-Ireland final against Kilkenny on 6 September 2009. Maher ended on the losing side following a 2–22 to 0–23 defeat. On 5 September 2010, Maher was selected at midfield when Tipperary qualified to play Kilkenny in a second successive
All-Ireland final. He scored two points from play and was described as "outstanding" after claiming his first
All-Ireland medal in the 4–17 to 1–18 victory. Maher ended the season by being included at midfield on the
All-Star team while he was also named
Young Hurler of the Year. A fractured fibula in March 2011 brought Maher's involvement in the latter stages of the
National League to an end, while he also missed Tipperary's opening games of the
Munster Championship. On 10 July 2011, he won a second Munster Championship medal after coming on as a 63rd-minute substitute for
Pádraic Maher in a 7–19 to 0–19 defeat of Waterford in the
Munster final. On 4 September 2011, Maher was selected on the bench when Tipperary faced Kilkenny in a third successive
All-Ireland final. He was introduced as a 29th-minute substitute for
John O'Keeffe but ended the game on the losing side following a 2–17 to 1–16 defeat. On 15 July 2012, Maher lined out at midfield when Tipperary qualified to play Waterford in a second successive
Munster final. He ended the game with a third winners' medal in four seasons following a 2–17 to 0–16 victory. On 5 May 2013, Maher was selected at midfield when Tipperary faced Kilkenny in the
National League final. He scored four points from play but ended on the losing side following a 2–17 to 0–20 defeat. Maher was appointed
captain of the team for the 2014 season. On 4 May 2014, he captained Tipperary in a second successive
National League final against Kilkenny. Maher ended the game on the losing side following a 2–25 to 1–27 defeat. On 7 September 2014, he captained the team to a 1–28 to 3–22 draw with Kilkenny in the
All-Ireland final. Maher again captained the team from right wing-back for the replay on 27 September 2014, however, he ended the game on the losing side after a 2–17 to 2–14 defeat. He ended the season by receiving a second All-Star award. On 12 July 2015, Maher captained Tipperary to a
Munster final appearance with Waterford. He was held scoreless from centre-forward but ended the game with a fourth winners' medal following the 0–21 to 0–16 victory. Maher retained the Tipperary captaincy for a third successive season in 2016. He claimed a fifth Munster Championship medal on 10 July 2016 after lining out at midfield in a 5–19 to 0–13 defeat of Waterford in the
final. On 5 September 2016, Maher captained Tipperary to a second
All-Ireland final meeting in three seasons against Kilkenny. He ended the game with a second All-Ireland medal while he also had the honour of lifting the
Liam MacCarthy Cup following a 2–29 to 2–20 victory. Maher also became only the fifth player ever to captain both a minor and senior hurling team to All-Ireland victory. On 23 April 2017, Maher lined out in his fourth
National League final. He scored a point from midfield but ended the game on the losing side following a 3–21 to 0–14 victory for Galway. Maher played in a second successive
National League final – his fifth overall – on 8 April 2018. Lining out at midfield, he was held scoreless and ended the game on the losing side following a 2–23 to 2–17 defeat by Kilkenny. On 30 June 2019, Maher lined out at right wing-back when Tipperary suffered a 2–26 to 2–14 defeat by Limerick in the
Munster final. On 18 August 2019, he was selected at centre-back when Tipperary faced Kilkenny in the
All-Ireland final. Maher ended the game with a third All-Ireland winners' medal following the 3–25 to 0–20 victory. He ended the season by receiving an All-Star nomination. On 12 August 2021, Maher announced his retirement from inter-county hurling after 13 years with the team.
Munster Maher was added to the
Munster team in advance of the
2012 Railway Cup. He made his first appearance for the team on 19 February 2012 when he lined out at left wing-forward in a 3–14 to 1–16 defeat by
Leinster. On 3 March 2013, Maher lined out at midfield when Munster qualified to play
Connacht in the
Railway Cup final. He ended the game with a
Railway Cup medal following the 1–22 to 0–15 victory. Maher was appointed captain of Munster in his fourth successive season with the team in
2016. On 15 December 2016, he won a second Railway Cup medal after captaining the team from midfield in a 2–20 to 2–16 defeat of Leinster in the
final.
Ireland On 19 October 2011, Maher was named on the
Ireland squad for the
Shinty/Hurling International Series. On 29 October 2011, he lined out at centre-forward when Ireland defeated
Scotland on an aggregate scoreline of 3–25 to 3–19 following a two-game series. Maher was selected for the Ireland team for the second time in his career on 22 October 2013. He claimed a second winners' medal from right wing-forward following Ireland's 5–27 to 2–26 aggregate defeat of Scotland on 2 November 2013. ==Coaching==