Stephen Maher
Encyclopedia
Stephen John Maher is an Irish
professional footballer who currently plays for Dundalk
in the League of Ireland
and is a former Republic of Ireland U21
international.
before progressing to Cherry Orchard
, Shelbourne
and Dublin City
, where he got his first taste of League of Ireland
experience. Maher had spent seven years at Home Farm between the ages of seven and 14, before transferring to Cherry Orchard. He spent a year at Cherry Orchard, during which time he played in the prestigious Milk Cup
, before moving to Shelbourne U16s. Maher also played with Shelbourne U21s before moving to Dublin City where he again played in the U21 side. Towards the end of the 2005 season, Maher became involved in the Dublin City first team as they challenged for the First Division title featuring six or seven times on the bench.
but unfortunately fell ill again.
Maher then signed his first professional contract a two-year deal with English League One
side Yeovil Town
in June 2006. Six months after signing the two-year deal, Maher made his debut for Yeovil Town against Nottingham Forest
on 13 January 2007 in a 1-0 defeat at the City Ground coming on as a late substitute..
However, shortly after, he returned to his native land and spent two months on loan at Shamrock Rovers
. He made his début with an outing against UCD
on the opening day of the campaign, but it was one of only two appearances he made for Shamrock Rovers.
At the start of the 2007/08 season, Maher was due to join Dorchester Town
but it was a deal which never went through despite him signing. After intending to go on-loan to Bournemouth
in the January transfer window – a move which never materialised after they entered administration – he eventually returned to first-team action with Yeovil in March 2008 when making a substitute appearance in a scoreless draw at Gillingham
but after coming on with 16 minutes remaining he lasted just four minutes as he was shown a straight red card for a two-footed tackle on Simon King
. That, however, was just the start of his problems that weekend. After serving his three match suspension he played influential parts in Yeovil's next five league games towards the end of the season, surprisingly though he was released by Yeovil along with six other players at the end of the season.
in the Spanish third division
but ended up going on a few trials here and there until November, and ended up signing for Conference
side Salisbury
on non-contract terms until January.
in early 2009, and while the Saints’ league form was well below-par, they enjoyed a tremendous run in the UEFA Europa League, beating Valletta
(Malta
) and Krylia Sovetov (Russia
) before bowing out to Steaua Bucharest (Romania
). Although mainly deployed as a right back or right winger instead of his more accustomed central role he appeared in 21 of their 36 league games as they finished seventh.
However, shortly after, he began pre-season training with Dundalk
and following two friendly outings against Athlone Town and Shelbourne, he put pen to paper on a one-year deal within an hour of the latter game ending. Having played mostly at right-back during his time at St. Pat’s, Maher reverted to his preferred central midfield role with Dundalk and made his début against Bray Wanderers on 5 March 2010 and he scored his first league goal against Shamrock Rovers
just over two weeks later. In his first season he made 39 competitive appearances, scoring twice, while he also captained the side on four occasions, including in the Europa League at home to Levski Sofia
and on 28 October 2010, just over 24 hours before the Lilywhites’ final game of the season at Bohemians
, Maher penned a fresh one-year deal for 2011.
debut in the Intercontinental Tournament in Malaysia in 2008.
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
professional footballer who currently plays for Dundalk
Dundalk F.C.
Dundalk Football Club is a professional Irish football club based in Dundalk, County Louth. The club currently play in the Premier Division of the League of Ireland. Founded in 1903, they are the second most successful team, in terms of trophies won, in the history of the League of Ireland. The...
in the League of Ireland
League of Ireland
The League of Ireland is the national association football league of the Republic of Ireland. Founded in 1921, as a league of eight clubs, it has expanded over time into a two-tiered league of 22 clubs. It is currently split into the League of Ireland Premier Division and the League of Ireland...
and is a former Republic of Ireland U21
Republic of Ireland national under-21 football team
The Republic of Ireland national under-21 football team, is the national under-21 football team of the Republic of Ireland and is controlled by the Football Association of Ireland and competes in the biennial European Under-21 Football Championship and has competed since 1978.-Competition...
international.
Early career
Maher began his career at his local club Home FarmHome Farm F.C.
Home Farm Football Club is an Irish football club based in Whitehall, Dublin. Originally founded in 1928, the club joined the League of Ireland in 1972 after merging with Drumcondra. Following this merger they were briefly known as Home Farm Drumcondra...
before progressing to Cherry Orchard
Cherry Orchard F.C.
Cherry Orchard Football Club is an Irish football club founded in 1957 known locally as "the Orchard." The club is one of the biggest producers of talent in Ireland. They are linked with Manchester City. Their main rival is Crumlin United, for whom Robbie Keane played at schoolboy level. The club...
, Shelbourne
Shelbourne F.C.
Shelbourne Football Club is an Irish professional football club based in the Drumcondra area of Dublin, currently playing in the League of Ireland Premier Division....
and Dublin City
Dublin City F.C.
Dublin City Football Club was an Irish association football club that played in the League of Ireland. They were formed in 1999 after a split within Home Farm Everton and they originally played as Home Farm Fingal before changing their name for the 2001–02 season...
, where he got his first taste of League of Ireland
League of Ireland
The League of Ireland is the national association football league of the Republic of Ireland. Founded in 1921, as a league of eight clubs, it has expanded over time into a two-tiered league of 22 clubs. It is currently split into the League of Ireland Premier Division and the League of Ireland...
experience. Maher had spent seven years at Home Farm between the ages of seven and 14, before transferring to Cherry Orchard. He spent a year at Cherry Orchard, during which time he played in the prestigious Milk Cup
Milk Cup
The Milk Cup is an international youth football tournament held annually in Northern Ireland. The cup matches are mainly played in the North Coast area of Northern Ireland, with matches taking place in the towns of Portrush, Portstewart, Castlerock, Limavady, Coleraine, Ballymoney, Ballymena and...
, before moving to Shelbourne U16s. Maher also played with Shelbourne U21s before moving to Dublin City where he again played in the U21 side. Towards the end of the 2005 season, Maher became involved in the Dublin City first team as they challenged for the First Division title featuring six or seven times on the bench.
Yeovil Town
Maher had the opportunity to resigning for Dublin City in the Premier Division, however, he decided against it as he wanted to try his luck in English football, Maher was then asked to go to Portsmouth just before Christmas 2005, and he enjoyed a fruitful three days of training before falling ill. Maher then had another trial with ReadingReading F.C.
Reading Football Club is an English association football club based in the town of Reading, Berkshire who currently play in the Championship...
but unfortunately fell ill again.
Maher then signed his first professional contract a two-year deal with English League One
Football League One
Football League One is the second-highest division of The Football League and third-highest division overall in the English football league system....
side Yeovil Town
Yeovil Town F.C.
Yeovil Town F.C. are an English association football team based in Yeovil, Somerset. The club play in League One after having won the League Two championship in 2004–05...
in June 2006. Six months after signing the two-year deal, Maher made his debut for Yeovil Town against Nottingham Forest
Nottingham Forest F.C.
Nottingham Forest Football Club is an English Association Football club based in West Bridgford, Nottingham, that plays in the Football League Championship...
on 13 January 2007 in a 1-0 defeat at the City Ground coming on as a late substitute..
However, shortly after, he returned to his native land and spent two months on loan at Shamrock Rovers
Shamrock Rovers F.C.
Shamrock Rovers Football Club are a professional football club from Dublin, Ireland. They compete in the Premier Division of the League of Ireland and are the most successful club in Irish football history. The club have won the League of Ireland title a record 17 times and the FAI Cup a record 24...
. He made his début with an outing against UCD
University College Dublin A.F.C.
University College Dublin Association Football Club known commonly as UCD is the football team of University College Dublin. They play in the League of Ireland. The club, founded in 1895 was elected to the league in 1979 under the management of Dr. Tony O'Neill. Since the 2008 season they have...
on the opening day of the campaign, but it was one of only two appearances he made for Shamrock Rovers.
At the start of the 2007/08 season, Maher was due to join Dorchester Town
Dorchester Town F.C.
Dorchester Town Football Club are a semi-professional football club, based in Dorchester, Dorset, England, and currently playing in the Blue Square Bet South...
but it was a deal which never went through despite him signing. After intending to go on-loan to Bournemouth
A.F.C. Bournemouth
A.F.C. Bournemouth is an English football club currently playing in Football League One. The club plays at Dean Court in Kings Park, Boscombe, Bournemouth, Dorset and have been in existence since 1899....
in the January transfer window – a move which never materialised after they entered administration – he eventually returned to first-team action with Yeovil in March 2008 when making a substitute appearance in a scoreless draw at Gillingham
Gillingham F.C.
Gillingham Football Club is an English professional football club based in the town of Gillingham, Kent. The only Kent-based club in the Football League, they play their home matches at the Priestfield Stadium...
but after coming on with 16 minutes remaining he lasted just four minutes as he was shown a straight red card for a two-footed tackle on Simon King
Simon King (footballer)
Simon Daniel Roy King is an English footballer who plays for Football League Two club Gillingham as a defender.-Career:King started his career with Oxford United making his debut on, 1 May 2001 against Port Vale in the last competitive match to be played at The Manor Ground...
. That, however, was just the start of his problems that weekend. After serving his three match suspension he played influential parts in Yeovil's next five league games towards the end of the season, surprisingly though he was released by Yeovil along with six other players at the end of the season.
Salisbury City
Maher switched to Bournemouth for the start of pre-season training but due to Bournemouth having a transfer embargo until the first week in August, Maher had a trial with MarbellaUD Marbella
Unión Deportiva Marbella is a Spanish football team based in Marbella, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. Founded in 1997, it currently plays in 3ª - Group 9, holding home matches at Estadio Municipal de Marbella, with a capacity of 9,000 seats....
in the Spanish third division
Segunda División B
Segunda División B is the third level of the Spanish football league system. It is administered by the RFEF. The top two levels are La Liga, also referred to as the Primera División, and the Segunda División. Immediately below Segunda División B is the Tercera Division...
but ended up going on a few trials here and there until November, and ended up signing for Conference
Football Conference
The Football Conference is a football league in England which consists of three divisions called Conference National, Conference North, and Conference South. Some Football Conference clubs are fully professional, such as Luton Town, but most of them are semi-professional...
side Salisbury
Salisbury City F.C.
Salisbury City Football Club is an English football club based in Salisbury, Wiltshire currently playing in the Conference South. They were formed in 1947 and play at The Raymond McEnhill Stadium...
on non-contract terms until January.
St Patrick's Athletic
Maher agreed a deal to return to Dublin and League of Ireland side St Patrick's AthleticSt Patrick's Athletic F.C.
St Patrick's Athletic Football Club is a football club from Dublin, Ireland. They compete in the League of Ireland Premier Division. Founded in 1929, they are based in the Dublin suburb of Inchicore and play their home matches at Richmond Park. They have won the League of Ireland title 7 times and...
in early 2009, and while the Saints’ league form was well below-par, they enjoyed a tremendous run in the UEFA Europa League, beating Valletta
Valletta F.C.
Valletta Football Club is a Maltese football club based in Valletta, the capital city of Malta. Valletta F.C. has the strongest support on the island...
(Malta
Malta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
) and Krylia Sovetov (Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
) before bowing out to Steaua Bucharest (Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
). Although mainly deployed as a right back or right winger instead of his more accustomed central role he appeared in 21 of their 36 league games as they finished seventh.
Dundalk
With no new contract forthcoming at St Patrick's Athletic, Maher was forced to look elsewhere and took part in the PFAI Training Camp at the AUL Complex.However, shortly after, he began pre-season training with Dundalk
Dundalk F.C.
Dundalk Football Club is a professional Irish football club based in Dundalk, County Louth. The club currently play in the Premier Division of the League of Ireland. Founded in 1903, they are the second most successful team, in terms of trophies won, in the history of the League of Ireland. The...
and following two friendly outings against Athlone Town and Shelbourne, he put pen to paper on a one-year deal within an hour of the latter game ending. Having played mostly at right-back during his time at St. Pat’s, Maher reverted to his preferred central midfield role with Dundalk and made his début against Bray Wanderers on 5 March 2010 and he scored his first league goal against Shamrock Rovers
Shamrock Rovers F.C.
Shamrock Rovers Football Club are a professional football club from Dublin, Ireland. They compete in the Premier Division of the League of Ireland and are the most successful club in Irish football history. The club have won the League of Ireland title a record 17 times and the FAI Cup a record 24...
just over two weeks later. In his first season he made 39 competitive appearances, scoring twice, while he also captained the side on four occasions, including in the Europa League at home to Levski Sofia
PFC Levski Sofia
"Levski Sofia" redirects here. For the sports club, see Levski Sofia .PFC Levski Sofia, otherwise simply known as Levski or Levski Sofia, is a professional football club based in Sofia, Bulgaria...
and on 28 October 2010, just over 24 hours before the Lilywhites’ final game of the season at Bohemians
Bohemian F.C.
Bohemian F.C. , more commonly referred to as Bohemians, is a professional football club from Dublin, Ireland. Bohemians compete in the Premier Division of the League of Ireland and are the third most successful club in League of Ireland football history, having won the League of Ireland title 11...
, Maher penned a fresh one-year deal for 2011.
International career
Maher has played for Ireland U18s and made his Ireland U21Republic of Ireland national under-21 football team
The Republic of Ireland national under-21 football team, is the national under-21 football team of the Republic of Ireland and is controlled by the Football Association of Ireland and competes in the biennial European Under-21 Football Championship and has competed since 1978.-Competition...
debut in the Intercontinental Tournament in Malaysia in 2008.