'Anyone that is hurling in Cavan, they have a gra for the game'

Pictured is Cavan Senior hurler, Canice Maher, who has today teamed up with Allianz Insurance to look ahead to the upcoming Allianz Hurling League fixtures. This season, the Allianz Leagues continue to showcase not only the rivalries between teams, but the opportunity for players themselves to claim their spot in the county panel. Mandatory Credit ©INPHO/Evan Treacy

From All-Ireland winning Kilkenny minor to Allianz League finalist with Cavan, via a stint with the Dublin seniors, it's been some hurling journey for Canice Maher.

It's far from over either and with a Division 3B final coming up against Longford or Leitrim, and big ambitions for the Lory Meagher Cup, he could even end up back at Croke Park at some stage.

Maher captained the Kilkenny minors there in 2009 when they lost to Galway in the All-Ireland decider, a year after they beat the Tribesmen in the 2008 showpiece.

Maher lined out alongside current Cats icons Walter Walsh, Cillian Buckley, Conor Fogarty and Eoin Murphy in those Kilkenny teams but is chasing a different dream to them these days.

Respectability was initially the target this year with Cavan after a terrible run of results in 2022, Maher's first year with the Ulster outfit, when they lost all nine league and championship games that they played.

But with the Muckalee man fully firing again - he has struck 1-34 from four games so far - they have emerged as one of the success stories of the entire Allianz League.

"Anyone that is hurling in Cavan, they have a gra for the game and you can tell that straight away from fellas' touches, or even just from the way they talk about hurling, that they're really into it," said Maher, who is married to a Bailieboro woman and playing with the East Cavan Gaels club.

"I wasn't surprised when I went into the county setup to see that there were serious hurlers around. You won't get an easy man to mark in any of the club games here. Although there's only four clubs, you're going to be on a serious hurler no matter who you're playing.

"The talent is definitely there in Cavan. It's good to see that it's coming out now with the results we're seeing at the moment."

Maher played with the Kilkenny U-21s and got a taste of Walsh Cup action with the Cats.

He was largely overlooked in the Brian Cody era though and after joining Dublin side St Jude's was called into Ger Cunningham's Sky Blues squad, featuring competitively in 2017.

"The likes of Donal Burke, he was young when I was there but you could see he was a serious prospect," said Maher of the Dublin attacker. "It's no surprise to me anyway that he's dominating as their top forward at the moment. It was nice that when I didn't get the chance at Kilkenny senior level, that I got to sample it with Dublin, even if it was only for a couple of months."

Cavan beat Leitrim 0-21 to 2-11 last weekend to secure their Division 3B final spot. Between Maher and Nicky Kenny, another former Kilkenny minor who won back-to-back All-Ireland club titles with Cuala, they struck 0-13. Current Cuala players Cillian and Colum Sheanon also play for Cavan. Dillon Mulligan, a Dublin SHC winner with Kilmacud Crokes, is another recruit.

Antrim man Ollie Bellew and Galway's Tomas Mannion oversee operations and have put together a tight and ambitious unit. It's only five years since Cavan returned to the Allianz League after a seven-year absence.

"Getting out of our division this year would definitely be the target because those higher quality games will bring everything on," said Maher. "We're in the league final so we want to win it. Then it's looking forward to the Lory Meagher. Last year was disappointing in that competition but we seem to be playing at a different level now this year so we can't wait for it to be honest."