Galway senior footballer John Maher enjoying captaincy role
AS one of Galway’s outstanding players in recent seasons, Salthill-Knocknacarra’s John Maher was ideally placed the receive the honour of captaincy for 2026. The 27-year-old midfielder is well aware of the importance of the role and is embracing the added responsibility of leading his county this year.
‘‘It’s a huge honour,’’ he said. ‘‘When I got the nod, it was a nice surprise, but it’s something I’ve really welcomed and I enjoy the challenge. Seán (Kelly) led the team so well as captain for years; he really led by example every day he went out.
‘‘I don’t think it [captaincy] changes too much for me, apart from a few obligations with the media and things like that. But, in terms of my approach to the team and how I speak to them, it’s something I would have always put a lot of thought into anyway.’’
Maher is very pleased with the impact of the new players in the panel this season and feels they have already added significantly to the strength of the squad.
‘‘I think it’s a testament to the environment that Pádraic (Joyce) and the management have created over the last few years; that young players can come in and really excel at this level. The likes of Oisín Mac Donnacha, Shane McGrath and these guys have brought so much to the group already and it’s been brilliant to see.’’
The 2024 All Star winner is taking nothing for granted this weekend as Galway face off against a high flying Leitrim side, just off the back of a rousing victory over Sligo.
‘‘We saw the scenes at full time and what it meant to Leitrim to win that game. It was a massive win for them and for the Leitrim people. That’s going to give them huge energy coming into Saturday.
"We know they have some serious quality there; the likes of Barry McNulty is top class, and they’re certainly not a one man team either. They’ll fight for everything and it’s going to be a big challenge for us.
‘‘At the same time, we’re really focusing on ourselves now. We’ve put in a lot of work over the last few weeks, and we built fairly nicely during the league as well.
"For us, its all about putting in a performance that we can be proud of and stand over as a team. If we were playing any of the other teams in Connacht, I’d be saying exactly the same thing,’’ added the Galway captain.