Former Laois manager Willie Maher set to be appointed GAA’s new national head of hurling

His brief is to lead the overall strategic development of the game and includes a focus on improving the sport in weaker counties.

Ballingarry man Maher was manager of the Laois senior hurling team for the past two seasons. He stepped down in July after they reached this year’s Joe McDonagh Cup final and claimed the Division 2A title.

Prior to that, he had been in charge of Cuala, leading them to senior Dublin titles in 2019 and ’20. In 2014, he was a selector alongside Derek McGrath in Waterford having managed Tipperary to an All-Ireland minor title two years earlier.

Maher was also one of Ken Hogan’s selectors when The Premier County won the 2010 All-Ireland U21 title. He was manager of their U21s in 2016 and ’17. In recent times, he has also managed and coached Kilkenny club Bennettsbridge.

The 45-year-old, who captained his county to an All-Ireland minor title in 1996, is believed to have been offered a five-year contract and he has been assured his role will have authority.

Maher has an MBA from Waterford IT and is currently a director of industrial relations in Emisar, a subsidiary of UnitedHealth. Essential criteria in the job advertisement included a third level degree in a relevant associated field and a minimum of three years’ experience in a similar role either in a voluntary or professional capacity.

It was reported by the Irish Daily Mail last week that former national hurling coordinator Martin Fogarty had resigned from the HDC in protest at the nature of the appointment process and treatment of applicants.

Fogarty filled the position from 2016 to ’21 and articulated his grievances in a letter to the body, criticising the decision not to interview candidates in person.

“I am sorry to be ‘bailing out’; that is how I see it,” he wrote, “but I just cannot bring myself (I tried at the last meeting) to sit around a table pretending that everything is ok.”

The Erin’s Own man also claimed the HDC’s proposals for expanding the game “wouldn’t cut the mustard” and unless there was an intention to implement his proposals there would be no progress made.

In October, HDC chairman, Antrim’s Terry Reilly, insisted the role would have teeth. “You have a member of management chairing it who is very focused and we have a committee that’s keen, eager, willing and able to assist this person to bring the best possible programme we have ever.

“Martin Fogarty didn’t have, as far as we can establish, the strategic back-up of a committee that rolled out a programme on a strategy basis as opposed to games development…”

The GAA advertised the head of hurling role in September and it is expected Maher’s appointment will be announced in the coming weeks. Responsibilities include managing hurling development officers at provincial and county levels.

The position also entails assisting The Camogie Association in promoting and developing the sister game.

Fogarty was originally not listed on the HDC earlier this year but later added to join the body, which includes Maher, his fellow Tipperary men Brendan Cummins and Darragh Egan, Brian Cody who Fogarty assisted in guiding Kilkenny to six All-Ireland SHC titles, Antrim’s Neil McManus and former Cork defender Seán O’Gorman.

Maher is to become the second Tipperary man to front the development of hurling in a full-time capacity after Drom and Inch’s Paudie Butler, who was the game’s national coordinator between 2006 and ’11.