Tipperary's stylish defender reflects on another busy hurling season and the challenges ahead as he chats to KEITH DUGGANin San Francisco

PÁDRAIC MAHER’S season officially ended in San Francisco. The Opel GAA-GPA All-Star match took place at 10.30 in the evening (Irish time) at Treasure Island, the little man-made island smack in the middle of the bay. Nobody in Tipperary was waiting to hear the result.

The game marks the close of another outstanding season for the exceptional Thurles defender. He collapsed in dismay after the final whistle in Croke Park last September but has since reflected on that afternoon and is able to talk about it now with no great difficulty.

Although he is only 22, Maher has already experienced the full range of emotions the All-Ireland season generates and his take on Tipperary’s failure to win their second consecutive title is level-headed and practical.

“It is hard to explain what happened. We just didn’t perform on the day. We were very flat and Kilkenny were well up for it. That showed in their performance.

“Still, we can take positives out of it too because we didn’t perform at all and we were still there with only a few minutes to go – there was only a goal in it and a small thing could have swung it.

“But we can learn from it. We learned from 2009 and we are building for next season now and hopefully will get a good start in the league and work from there.”

In 2010, Tipperary benefited from a perfect storm of factors. The knowledge that they could, and maybe should, have beaten Kilkenny in the 2009 final meant they could prepare to take on one of the most feared teams in the history of the GAA with absolute belief.

They had the ravenous appetite of a young, talented team. And in the final, they got goals when it mattered.

Last September was different. They had journeyed through the summer like All-Ireland champions often do, making it to the final without fully opening up.

They went into the game as favourites and the belief was that they would be able to elevate the quality and aggression of their performance when it counted.

Maher was one of those who spoke out about the importance of tapping into that element before the match, expressing the hope the referee would give the players enough rein.

He did and it was Kilkenny who made the most of it, putting the vaunted Tipperary forward line through a test of endurance in which only Pádraig’s namesake, Bonnar Maher, seemed to thrive.

“It hurts to this day but we did lose the physical battle on the field. Kilkenny hit us straight away and we had no answer to it all. I know we clawed our way back but we were only working off breaks, we weren’t really hurling well at all. We talked about the physical battles before the game.

“The way the game was going, we were just hoping that something might go wrong for Kilkenny and that we might get a slice of luck. In fairness, everyone tried their hardest.”

This year’s championship was ultimately a reflection of Kilkenny’s wonderful ability to adapt and endure. But Maher believes it showed sufficient signs that the gap between Tipp and Kilkenny and the other contenders is diminishing. And he believes the new managerial appointments will make for some fireworks next year.

“I suppose you’d say that for the last three years Tipp and Kilkenny were that bit ahead. But Dublin are coming: they might have beaten us in the semi-final. And it is going to be interesting this year with so many teams having new managers so they are going to be going hell for leather.

“In the Munster championship Limerick have a new manager and if we manage to beat them, Cork are there with a new manager. Clare have a new manager. Waterford have a new manager. So the Munster championship is going to take on a life of its own this year because teams will be out to prove a point to those managers.”

Tipperary’s league season will begin in familiar colours; they play Kilkenny in Nowlan Park. A few years ago, that fixture would have been crucial to Tipperary’s season. A good performance could set the tone for their season.

But receiving one of the lessons that Kilkenny habitually administer in Nowlan Park could be damaging. Maher reckons the teams have met so often in recent years their league games no longer hold the same significance.

“I am not sure about laying down a marker. We have gone past that stage. We know each other so well now. We are just looking forward to coming back and training as hard as we can.

“We will go out to win the league and Munster championship and then September is the pinnacle.

“The minute the New Year comes, you are back into it. So we will make the most of it. But I’m looking forward to it as well after what happened last year.”