Up Close and Personal with...Pádraic Maher

Ever wondered what your favourite GAA star listens to on their iPod? Ever wondered what the country’s top GAA players get up to in their spare time GAA.ie’s latest weekly feature allows you to get ‘Up Close and Personal’ with the stars of Gaelic Games.

Each week, we’ll talk to a top inter-county player and ask him the questions you’ve always wanted answered. And some you’d never have thought of asking!

This week gaa.ie gets 'Up Close and Personal' with Tipperary defender and All-Ireland U21 winning captain Pádraic Maher. 

Factfile
Name: Pádraic Maher
Club: Thurles Sarsfields
Height: 6’1”
Weight: 14st
Position: Half-back
Date of Birth: 9/2/1989
Inter-county debut: v Cork, 2009

What’s on your iPod?
Whatever is in the charts I will try and get onto my iPod and listen to that because I am easygoing. I will get to like it.

What’s your party piece?
I tend to sit back and watch the boys do their own party pieces. You could say that Shane McGrath has a list of party pieces.

What are your hobbies and interests outside the GAA?
I enjoy watching soccer and rugby on television. Obviously, if I can get the odd game of golf in here and there I would enjoy that too.

What’s your favourite TV programme?
Entourage is very good and I suppose I do like to watch Home and Away during the day when I have nothing else to do.

Who is your all-time favourite hurler?
Obviously you have Tommy Dunne and Nicky English but I always admired Ken McGrath (Waterford) because he can play in so many positions.

Who’s your sporting idol?
I have always admired Roy Keane, and Paul O’Connell from the Munster rugby team.

What’s your earliest GAA memory?
Tipperary in 1997 stands out when they lost the Munster final and then came so close in the All-Ireland final as well.

If you could choose one inter-county player to play with your own team, who would it be?
Tommy Walsh (Kilkenny) because he can play so well in so many different positions.

Who is the best player you have ever played with?
A guy that I always found very easy to play with was Declan Fanning (Tipperary).

Who do you share with on away days?
This year it’s Gearóid Ryan. Gearóid likes the odd look at Facebook, he knows too many people on it.

Who is your most confident team-mate?
There is nobody really bursting with confidence. They are confident in their own little ways but they don’t show it.

Who fancies themselves as a ladies man in the squad?
I think a lot of the lads THINK they are good with the women but I don’t really know if they are…

Career Highlight?
Wining the double last year – the U21 and Senior All-Irelands. The fact that I was captain of the U21 team in my home town of Thurles made that special as well.

Pádraic was speaking in an exclusive interview with gaa.ie. He will be in action for Tipperary against Dublin in the GAA Hurling All-Ireland semi-final on Sunday afternoon.