The narrative around Tipperary senior hurling these past few years has been played on a loop and hard to avoid.
Negativity was again fuelled by last year's beating against Cork in a Semple Stadium absolutely decked out in red, supporters not showing up like they used to, Liam Cahill and his management team coming under pressure, and a transition of players away from a golden generation to a much younger squad.
But the county had been struggling to keep apace with the top sides for the previous seasons.
The 2024 Munster Championship saw them earn just one point from four games.
The year before, they gained four points from four games, beat Offaly in the All-Ireland preliminary quarter-final but lost by two points to Galway in the quarter-final proper.
In 2022, with Colm Bonnar at the helm, they lost all four games and in 2021, Liam Sheedy’s last year, they lost the Munster final to Limerick by five points.
However, they have been impressive in the underage stakes, winning two All-Ireland minor titles and a Munster Under-20 crown.
So it has been a mix of good and bad.
This year has been really encouraging so far, with three wins from four in the Allianz Hurling League, beating Galway, Cork and Wexford, losing to Limerick.
Maher is in no frame of mind to tolerate the outside narrative of them being a good league team but vulnerable to fading through summer.
"It has been really beneficial for a team like us to learn lots about ourselves and now we aim to put in a good performance against Kilkenny [on Sunday]."
As a senior player and captain, he looks out for the younger lads, but points out that they are mature beyond their years, used to underage success and can mind themselves just as easily.
Players like Dylan Walsh, Darragh McCarthy, Seanie Kennelly and Sam O'Farrell have all impressed this season and there are several others also working hard in the set-up. Cahill handed six debuts out alone in the game against Galway.
"The younger lads have insight from being part of a development group last year and they have their heads screwed on," their skipper says.
"They know how to win and that is really good for us. They are highly driven and are driving standards, and that’s what needs to happen.
"The bottom line is that application, work-rate and attitude, we went away from those things last year and it caught us.
"So, all our focus is on ourselves.
"Ultimately, the performances last year were not good enough from players. It comes down to us, not anyone else.
"We challenged each other through the winter to get better every single day and in that regard lads are putting themselves forward, doing that every single week."
Tied top of the table with Galway, Tipperary play Kilkenny this weekend at Nowlan Park with the Cats just two points behind them in the race to be one of two teams qualifying for the league final.
"We are looking for another big performance," Maher says.
"It’s a big responsibility to wear that Tipp shirt every single week but as long as we are going out putting in determined performances we know the support will be there for us too."
Maher was just 16 when he hurled minor for Tipp in 2012. Two years later, he made his senior debut for the county and has since won two All-Ireland titles, two Munster titles and a brace of All Stars.
The 29-year-old Thurles Sarsfields man has also seen the good and bad days and along the way he has learned to mute the outside noise.
"For me it's about appreciating what I have in front of me right now and that’s going to the gym or the field with my friends and teammates on a Tuesday evening and getting to put on the blue and gold shirt at the weekend.
"That’s all I ever wanted, from when I was a kid going up and watching Sars training, looking across at the stadium.
"And then on match days then, walking down Thurles Square, and going over the bridge, sitting on the steps with my father looking at the games.
"That was bred into us. Everything we did at home centred around hurling.
"If you saw the Laochra Gael [based on Ronan’s brother, Paudie] we have a little field at home and we were always playing matches so no matter where we went it was hurling, hurling, hurling.
"To this day, no matter what is happening in the outside world, I appreciate every day I can go and train and go out and put on that blue and gold jersey.
"And that’s for all of us on the team. You have seen with the brother how it can all end quickly, and it makes you appreciate it a lot more."
Maher’s displays have been of the usual good quality in 2025, if possible even going to a higher level than his usual lofty standards.
He says the winter was a really tough one, and maybe living with the disappointment of the 2024 season on a daily basis has been a catalyst for what we have seen on the fields so far this season.
"It was a really tough place to be after being knocked out last year, there were lots of questions and demons running through the mind.
"It was a case of the sooner we got back, the better.
"We were waiting to get back in and we spoke about what went wrong, what had to happen and we blocked it all out from there.
"A young group like ours has to do that. We have to take the learnings and focus on good training and it has been really good.
"There is a lot for this young team to learn but we are in that process every day."
