Niall Callum James Peter Maher (born 31 July 1995) is an English professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who plays as a defender for

EFL League Two The English Football League Two (often referred to as League Two for short or Sky Bet League Two for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League Two from 2004 until 2016) is the third and lowest division of the English Football Lea ...

side Grimsby Town. He has previously played in the

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

for

Bolton Wanderers Bolton Wanderers Football Club () is a professional football club based in Horwich, Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in . The club played at Burnden Park for 102 years from 1895 after moving from their original home at Pike's ...

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the North West England, northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the Borough of Blackpool, borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, betw ...

and

Bury Bury may refer to: *The burial of human remains *-bury, a suffix in English placenames Places England * Bury, Cambridgeshire, a village * Bury, Greater Manchester, a town, historically in Lancashire ** Bury (UK Parliament constituency) (1832–19 ...

, as well as in the League of Ireland with

Galway United Galway United Football Club (Irish language, Irish: ''Cumann Peile Ghaillimh Aontaithe'') is an List of association football clubs in the Republic of Ireland, Irish association football club based in Galway. They play in the League of Ireland Fi ...

and in non-league football with AFC Telford United and FC Halifax Town. He was voted as part of the National League team of the season for 2021–22.

Club career

Bolton Wanderers

Maher has been with

since the age of ten He made his first team debut on 2 April 2016 at home against Reading. On 22 January 2015, Maher joined

in a one-month loan and he made his

debut as a 57th-minute substitute for

Peter Clarke Peter Clarke may refer to: *Peter B. Clarke (1940–2011), British religious scholar *Peter J. Clarke, U.S. Navy admiral, see Joint Task Force Guantanamo * Peter Clarke (admiral) (born 1951), Australian admiral *Peter Clarke (artist) (1929–2014 ...

on 24 January 2015 in a 7–2 loss against Watford at Vicarage Road.

Bury

At the end of the 2015–16 season, Bolton confirmed that he would be leaving when his contract expired at the end of June. On 24 July 2016 it was confirmed that he had joined Bolton's close neighbours

on a twelve-month contract. He scored his first goal for Bury against Burton Albion in an

EFL Cup The EFL Cup (referred to historically, and colloquially, as the League Cup), currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual knockout competition and major trophy in men's domestic football in England. Organised by the ...

tie on 10 August 2016.

Galway United

On 29 August 2017, Maher joined

League of Ireland Premier Division The League of Ireland Premier Division ( ga, Príomhroinn Sraith na hÉireann), also known as the SSE Airtricity League Premier Division for sponsorship reasons, is the top level division in both the League of Ireland and the Republic of Ireland f ...

side

AFC Telford United

Maher briefly joined AFC Telford United in February 2018, making one appearance for the club, a 1-0 win over FC United of Manchester in the National League North.

FC Halifax Town

On 8 March 2018, Maher signed for National League side FC Halifax Town on a deal until the end of the 2017–18 season. On 18 August 2018, Maher extended his stay by agreeing a new two-year deal. Halifax announced on 17 August 2020 that Maher extended his deal for a further two years. Ahead of the 2021–22 season Maher was installed as the new club captain, replacing the departing Nathan Clarke. After advancing to the play-offs following a 4th place finish, Halifax were defeated by

Chesterfield Chesterfield may refer to: Places Canada * Rural Municipality of Chesterfield No. 261, Saskatchewan * Chesterfield Inlet, Nunavut United Kingdom * Chesterfield, Derbyshire, a market town in England ** Chesterfield (UK Parliament constitue ...

in the eliminator round, thus ending their bid to reach the

. Maher was voted into the National League Team of the Season. On 6 June 2022, Maher announced he would be leaving Halifax following the conclusion of the 2021–22 season, he stated upon his departure "To be your captain over the last 18 months has been a massive honour. To the players - it's been one hell of a season with a great dressing room to manage and there is no doubt that you all deserve to be achieving the best in your careers whatever they may be."

Grimsby Town

On 15 June 2022, following their promotion to the

, Maher signed for Grimsby Town ahead of the 2022–23 season, reportedly rejecting an offer from Oldham Athletic who were hopeful of signing him.

Career statistics

Honours

Individual * National League Team of the Year : 2021–22

References

External links

* * 1995 births Living people English footballers Association football defenders Bolton Wanderers F.C. players Blackpool F.C. players Bury F.C. players Galway United F.C. players FC Halifax Town players Grimsby Town F.C. players English Football League players League of Ireland players National League (English football) players {{England-footy-defender-1990s-stub