EAMONN BURKE GALWAY HURLERS NEW SCORING SENSATION Eamonn burke recalls clearly where he was on the afternoon of September 7th 1980. He had many reasons to. He was in his home watching transfixed as Galway achieved something they had never done before. They were on their way towards winning their first Hurling All Ireland final-ever. Eamonn was just thirteen at the time. And the sight of Joe Connolly rising aloft the McCarthy Cup made a big impression on the youngster. The impression still remains a strong one. He recalls the celebration in his local area. The marvellous sense of achievement and pride that was prevalent all around. And the great boost that the victory gave to hurling in a county once noted solely as a "footballing stronghold" The joy and pride felt by the Burkes and the other families in Killimor and similar neighbouring villages and towns was undoubtedly born out of the fact that much of the hurling in the county takes place among clubs that come from one particular area. The Athenry, Ballinasloe, Loughrea region spawns many of the leading senior hurling teams including Burkes' own Killimordaly. The Burke name is a well-known one within the same area. It is found frequently over shops and businesses. It is also a name that is closely connected with sport and more. In the early years of this century Eamonn Burke's grandfather Pat played hurling for St. Finbarr's; a team that played out of Kilconieron, a village that lies close to Killimor. Pat Burke helped St. Finbarr's win a series of hurling championship successes in the first two decades of the century. These were the years when the G.A.A was still very much in its infancy, still growing as a national institution. And the Irish Free State hadn't even been born yet. By the time Pat's son Eddie began playing in the late thirties all this had changed and the games of hurling and football had become a part of the nation's consciousness. He was a regular member of the Killimor team throughout the 1940's. And success finally arrived when Killimordaly won the intermediate championship in the early fifties. In the line-up was Eddie Burke. Eddie married local girl Pauline Keane and it was no surprise when their children Gerry, Ann and Eamonn took up the game their Father loved. Gerry who's work in the Gardai brought him away from home did not become deeply involved in hurling, but Ann, also a Ban Garda became a highly accomplished camogie player while Eamonn soon started to show the skills of a hurler with considerable talent. Eamonn began hurling when he was nine years of age. He had a willingness to play as much of it as he could. And as he grew older, he became more adept at the game. Better able to impress. He was helped in the early years of his development by his father who loved nothing better than to bring his son out to the front lawn or local park and have a "puck-around". There was no lack of encouragement for the hurling mad youngster. Eddie had recognised that his son handled the stick well and was very keen and willing to spend a lot of time attempting to polish his natural abilities. His development was recognised by the Galway minor selectors who soon picked him for the team. Soon he was on his way onto the Under 21 side. It was in the mid-eighties when Galway, under Cyril Farrell, were a major force in hurling, appearing in four successive All Ireland finals between 1985 and '88, winning two of them. In the meantime Eamonn Burke was beginning to force his way onto the Killimordaly senior team. He was sixteen when he first started playing senior hurling for his club. An age his father now thinks was just a little too young for the rigours of the higher grade. But as he watched Galway appear in so many All Ireland finals the desire of the young player to be up there with them intensified. In 1988 he got a call up to the senior panel for a couple of challenges, and his ambition was taken a step further. It seemed only a matter of time. But then he received a serious set back when he broke an ankle playing soccer. As a lover of all sports and as a means of keeping fit during the winter months Eamonn had joined a local soccer club. Nothing serious, he just enjoyed the run out on a Sunday morning. But the ankle did prove serious and throughout 1990 he hardly played more than a handful of hurling games. He had to start all over again. Getting a place on the Galway team was something that Burke had sought hard to achieve but always knew that it would be difficult - very difficult. Taking his place as centre forward on the team was Noel Lane and when he wasn't available Brendan Lynskey filled in, two highly talented players. The only plus Factor was that both were moving into their thirties and retirement hung like a fog in the distance. It was not until 1990 that Eamonn Burke began to get a regular run out with the seniors again. By that stage Galway were playing in the second division but at least he was back in the fold. By the start of the 1991/'92 season when Galway were once again up in the top flight, the Killimor player was being heralded as just the type of full forward the westerners sought. The start of the '91/'92 National League campaign carried more significance for Galway hurling than for most other teams. The long successful connection between Cyril Farrell and the county team was finally severed soon after the maroons were beaten by Tipperary in the All Ireland semi-final the previous August. The new manager Jarlath Coogan has, however, already made an impression. The team at the time of writing have a 100% record in the National League; added to these victories in the Oireachtas Cup. In those six games Eamonn Burke had scored eight goals and twenty-six points. It is an impressive record that raised many eyebrows. While immensely pleased at the tally Burke is weary of its full significance. "It's going well for me now but it is a long time until next August. I usually don't like to look ahead too far but I have to consider that when championship comes around it is a different type of game. Players are fitter and more eager to do well." Eamonn's development into a player that is capable of ruthlessly punishing any lapses in opposition defences, is partly attributed - by himself to the influence of Killimordaly team-mate Michael Earls. Now in his early thirties Earls helped to keep his younger colleague "on the right path". As a member of the Galway panel that won the '87 and '88 finals Earls knew what was required at top level. He gave out his advice, pointed out the things to concentrate on, what to avoid. It was all to prove very useful to Burke. Only once have Killimordaly ever won the Galway senior hurling championship. That was in 1986 with Eamonn Burke in the forward line, as they beat neighbours and old rivals Turloughmore. His club colleagues include Tony Keady and Eanna Ryan who were forced out of hurling following a severe head injury received in a club game. Keady and Ryan as well as other club players, who have also played for Galway, such as Earls and Tom Monaghan have helped to keep Killimordaly as one of the top teams in the county since. That second senior championship still eludes them and they will want to change that soon. But Eamonn Burke realises that playing for Galway has given him a chance to line-out with some of the best hurlers in the country. He regards being on the same team as Joe Cooney as a "privilege". Playing alongside such a talented player , he contends, is easy because almost instinctively he will know where to find you; and when he does locate you the pass ill be invariably inch perfect. People with the rich talent of Cooney added to the crop of young players that are coming through the ranks into the Galway team makes Eamonn look to the coming months with some relish. The great run in the league has meant that Galway is as good as guaranteed a place in the final stages. This will give the young talented players like Joe Rabbitte and Brian Feeney, Christopher Helebert and Gerry McGrath a further taste of the big occasion. And this would help to re-awaken further Eamonn Burke's ambition that was first kindled when he watched as a youngster Galway winning their first All Ireland. Winning the championship. Something he would love to see Galway do again, this time as a participant, not just a spectator. Taken from Hogan Stand magazine 7th March 1992 Tweet

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