Brian Maher gets hands blessed by 'Brandywell Faithful' ahead of FAI Cup Final

The Dubliner, who has been one of Derry's standout performers this season, celebrated his 22nd birthday with what was expected to be a quiet bite to eat with teammates at local cafe, Stax on the Culmore Road recently.

While a chorus of 'happy birthday' from the small number of guests in attendance caught him off guard, the City stopper was taken aback when café owner, Fiona Montgomery, then offered to bless his hands with holy water.

A private audience with the Pope it wasn't but Maher is hoping the blessing can give him a helping hand against Shelbourne at the Aviva Stadium on Sunday.

"Hopefully that's a good omen now for the final," smiled Maher who also found out he’s on standby for Ireland’s upcoming friendlies against Norway and Malta.

"I'm not overly religious and I wouldn't be getting the holy water out myself but if it will help us get our hands on the trophy then so be it."

Stax proprietor Fiona explained some of the Derry players have been regulars at her family run coffee shop and bistro since she opened in March 2021 and so she organised an appreciation night to wish them all the best for the cup final.

"My friend Lennie and I invited the players up for an appreciation night as they have been coming into the shop since I've opened," she explained. "Joe Thomson and his wife have been coming since I first opened the doors and he started to bring the other boys. Brian, Cameron (McJannet) or 'Prince Harry' as I like to call him and Brandon (Kavanagh) always call in.

"I had some holy water under the sink which came from a holy well in Rossnowlagh and I took the opportunity to bless Brian's hands," she smiled, "I just asked him to put his hands out and poured the holy water around him. Hopefully it'll help him save a few shots on Sunday."

Maher took a giant leap of faith when leaving Bray Wanderers to move north to Foyleside but he's been rewarded with a fruitful season where he quickly established himself as Ruaidhri Higgins' first choice keeper.Sunday will be a memorable occasion for Maher who grew up going to the Aviva to watch FAI Cup finals. His family home in Raheny is little more than 20 minutes away from the Dublin 4 venue and Sunday will be very much a family affair for the Dubliner.Maher was in attendance at the Aviva for last year's decider involving the club of his formative years, St Patrick's Athletic and Bohemians.While he watched the Saints lift the trophy he knew the victory ensured he would be playing European football in 2022 having already agreed to sign for Derry City who qualified for the Conference League thanks to a fourth place league position."It's something I've grown up with (going to FAI Cup finals)," explained Maher. "I used to go to the cup final nearly every year with my mum or my dad."As a kid you'd be sitting thinking about how much you’d love to play in it. As you get older, it changes to more of a determination to make sure you're playing in it one day and this year I've got that chance."