Brian Maher (footballer)

Last updated

Brian Maher
Personal information
Full name Brian Philip Maher
Date of birth (2000-11-01) 1 November 2000 (age 24)
Place of birth Raheny, Dublin, Ireland [1]
Position(s) Goalkeeper
Team information
Current team
Derry City
Number 1
Youth career
Raheny United
St Kevin's Boys
2016–2018 St Patrick's Athletic
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
2018–2020 St Patrick's Athletic 0 (0)
2020Bray Wanderers (loan) 2 (0)
2020–2021 Bray Wanderers 44 (0)
2022– Derry City 128 (0)
International career
2017 Republic of Ireland U17 10 (0)
2018–2019 Republic of Ireland U19 9 (0)
2021–2022 Republic of Ireland U21 12 (0)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 13:45, 28 February 2025 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals as of 22:46, 20 September 2023 (UTC)

Brian Philip Maher (born 1 November 2000) is an Irish footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for League of Ireland Premier Division club Derry City. He previously played for St Patrick's Athletic and Bray Wanderers.

Contents

Early life

Maher was born in Dublin in 2000 and played for local clubs Raheny United and St Kevin's Boys in Dublin at underage level before signing for St Patrick's Athletic in 2016.

Club career

Maher joined St Patrick's Athletic's under-17 side in 2016 and signed his first contract for the club in 2018, although never made a senior league appearance for the club and left to join Bray Wanderers in 2020, initially as a loan move, but then made permanent later that year. [2] Maher made his debut for Bray in a 4–2 loss to Cabinteely. [3] Maher went on to make 19 total appearances for Bray that season, helping them to a second-place finish. The next season Maher would become a regular for Bray and he would make 29 appearances in the 2021 First Division season.

In 2022 Maher signed for League of Ireland Premier Division side Derry City. [4] It would go on to be a very successful season for Derry and Maher as they would finish second in the table and win the FAI Cup for the first time in 10 years. [5] Maher was shortlisted for 2022 Soccer Writers Ireland Goalkeeper of the Year award. [6] On 5 May 2025 Maher made his 111th consecutive league appearance for Derry City, breaking the record previously set by former goalkeeper Dermot O'Neill. [7]

International career

Maher has been a regular for the Republic of Ireland at underage level since he first played for the U17, and has since went on to play for the country at U19 and U21 level. [8]

Career statistics

As of match played on 27 June 2025 [9]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
ClubSeasonLeagueNational Cup League Cup Europe OtherTotal
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
St Patrick's Athletic 2018 LOI Premier Division 0000002 [a] 020
2019 0000000 [b] 03 [a] 030
2020 0000
Total000000005050
Bray Wanderers (loan) 2020 LOI First Division 2020
Bray Wanderers 2020 180101 [c] 0200
2021 260103 [d] 0300
Total4402040500
Derry City 2022 LOI Premier Division 340502 [e] 0410
2023 360106 [e] 01 [f] 0440
2024 360502 [g] 0430
2025 22000220
Total1280110100101500
Career total1730130001001002060

Honours

Club

St Patrick's Athletic

Derry City

Individual

References

  1. McDonnell, Daniel. "A lot of people around Ireland might think that soccer and Gaelic don't really go together, but this is a real push forward". Irish Independent.
  2. "Maher signs for Bray". braywanderersfc.ie.
  3. "Cabinteely 4-2 Bray Wanderers". www.rte.ie.
  4. "Maher signs for Derry". the42.ie. 25 November 2021.
  5. "Derry win FAI Cup". www.the42.ie. 13 November 2022.
  6. "Maher shortlisted for award". www.derryjournal.com.
  7. Collins, Simon. "Brian Maher 'proud' of record appearance milestone for Derry City". derryjournal.com. Derry Journal. Retrieved 17 May 2025.
  8. "Brian Maher ROI stats". www.fai.ie.
  9. "Republic of Ireland - B. Maher - Profile with news, career statistics and history - Soccerway".
  10. "LOI Premier Division Clean Sheets". Final Whistle. Retrieved 21 Apr 2022.
  11. "LOI Premier Division Clean Sheets". Final Whistle. Retrieved 16 June 2023.