'It's badly needed' - Scale of task for new head of hurling Willie Maher

Whilst still only 45, Willie Maher has a lifetime served in the game of hurling.

From Ballingarry in Tipperary, Maher captained his county to the All-Ireland minor title in 1996 before being forced to retire through injury in 2002 .

Ten years later he was back on top of the minor throne, leading Tipp to the 2012 All-Ireland crown, beating Dublin in the final with a side containing John McGrath and Barry Heffernan among others.

From there he has had roles with the Waterford senior team, the Tipperary Under-21s as well as club sides in Dublin and Kilkenny.

Last summer, he stepped down as Laois manager after they fell agonisingly short against Offaly in the Joe McDonagh Cup decider.

Maher was announced as the GAA's new Head of Hurling last week; it’s a role that will see him lead a strategic plan to support the promotion and development of hurling among lower tier counties.

For hurling, it was a badly needed appointment, coming three years on from the end of Martin Fogarty’s reign as National Hurling Co-ordinator.

Like Paudie Butler before him, Fogarty travelled the roads of Ireland in the cause of growing the game, seeking to raise its profile above the line from Dublin to Galway.

The efforts of Butler and Fogarty will now be built on by Maher, who has a wide remit and a broad job description.

At the top level the game has never been better. The Munster Hurling Championship is one of the prized jewels in the GAA’s crown in terms of quality, entertainment, drama and gate receipts.

Munster's report to their annual convention last week highlighted how the senior hurling championship returned a gross gate of €6.79 million last year.

This amounted to 85% of the council's total gate receipts. Overall gate receipts rose from €6.5 million in