Ballinamere stalwart does not rule out playing football for Offaly

GROWING up on a Durrow road, not far from Durrow GAA pitch, football might have been the more natural calling for the residents but a good handful will be among Ballinamere's key players in Sunday' Senior Hurling Championship final against Kilcormac-Killoughey.

Ciaran Burke, Ross and Dan Ravenhill and Brian Duignan all grew up within a walk of each other with many others – Jack Fogarty is on the same road, Dan and Sam Bourke and Mark Troy all close by. They have all hurled for Offaly at different levels with Troy, Burke, Duignan and Dan Bourke all starting in the Joe McDonagh Cup final win over Laois this year while Sam Bourke came on as a sub and injury meant that the two Ravenhill's didn't feature.

Dan Bourke was captain of the Offaly side that won the All-Ireland U-20 hurling title this year and it has been remarkable to see so many outstanding hurlers coming from the same small area.

While hurling is the first game of them, all of them except Dan Ravenhill played senior football for Durrow this year. Ross Ravenhill is a very solid and effective footballer, Jack Fogarty is one of Durrow's most consistent performers and Dan Bourke and Ciaran Burke are two of their star men along with Kevin McDermott, who will also line out in Sunday's final.

The footballing ability of Dan Bourke and Burke is obvious and in a different era, they would be dual senior county players. They would have a lot to offer Offaly football with Burke a very strong, efficient footballer while Bourke's movement and play is as beautiful on the football fields as on the hurling ones.

In the modern GAA world you simply can't combine both at the highest level and hurling is their priority. For Burke, however, there is a niggle there, a feeling that he might one day see if he could play senior county football.

“With the commitment that goes in it wouldn't just be possible. But never say never. Someday it might be possible,” he said when asked about it last week.

Pressed would he have that ambition, he repeated: “Hurling is number one but I'd never rule it out.”

With so many of the Ballinamere team members of the Durrow club, Burke agreed that they have to give football a fair crack for them.

“Yeah it's huge. Look we wouldn't be here without the two clubs together. We are all the one,” he smiled.

It has taken a lot of work, a lot of ingredients to fall into place for Ballinamere to emerge as genuine contenders in the Senior Hurling Championship.

Full back stalwart Burke knows what Sunday's final against Kilcormac-Killoughey means to the whole area.

“It's huge for the club and for the whole parish, Durrow and Ballinamere. They haven't been in a final since 1908. A lot of people thought they would never get back to a senior final. We always knew coming up through underage level that we were mad to play hurling and football and that was for the enjoyment. We knew if we stuck at it. We had a lot of tough games on the way but a lot of success with the minors and U20s. Thankfully we have got to the final now. We are not just here to take part . . we want to go one step further and win a title.”

He talked about the passion they developed for hurling at a young age:

“It was all about GAA growing up. Puck around every evening after school. During the summer down on the pitch, all day every day. Hurling was what it was all about. We'd go down to Munster with Michael Duignan to watch games.”

While they grew up in traditional football territory, the influence of Michael Duignan was instrumental in them falling in love with hurling.

“I suppose Michael Duignan was a huge factor. Bringing us down the country to all those matches. But we love playing football as well and we take great pride in that. We struck a natural love with hurling.”

Burke got early success, winning Intermediate and Senior “B” Hurling Championship medals in 2017 and 2018 but then discovered that you will lose more than you win in the GAA world.

“I won the intermediate in 2017 and the senior B in 2018. We got a rude awakening after winning senior B. We thought we were going to take a few scalps but we got a few trimmings along the way.”

While Ballinamere had their bad days, they also followed a clear progression line – from beating the weaker teams to losing a quarter-final and semi-final to making the final.

“It's been tough along the way. You don't know if you're going to get to a final and you don't know who'll be around. You're going to have retirements. But it's all about pushing on and taking the opportunities when they present themselves.”

After losing to Shinrone in last year's semi-final, the target this year was an obvious one: make the county final.

“There's no point in denying it but that was our aim at the start of the year. We were in a tough group as well. In the first round against Birr we could very easily have got beaten. After that we gathered momentum in the group and finished tops.”

Topping the group was important as it gave breathing space and they were pushed the whole way by St Rynagh's in the semi-final.

“They are top class hurlers, very skilful and if they get the ball in front of you they're going to be very hard to contain but we stuck at our job well.”

They learned a long time ago to take it game by game and not get ahead of themselves.

“ It is tough but you just take it game by game and train. Try and improve every day you go out.”

K-K are odds on favourites but that doesn't enter Burke's equation.

“ I wouldn't take much notice of that at all. At the end of the day its a fifty fifty game.”

He did agree that they need to start very well, maintain a fierce intensity the whole way and that is is especially crucial not to allow K-K to open a gap.

“Yeah that's the same with any game. In a game of hurling you can't let anyone get on top of you. We try to treat every game the same – get a good start, get a good flow . .. it'll be no different to any other game.”

The son of a Galway man and Kildare woman, Burke knows what is all means to Ballinamere and Durrow people.

“Yeah it's great, people are caught up with it. We hope to put in a good performance.”