Deirdre Burke: 'You'd hope St Thomas have enough hardship bottled to get them over the line on Sunday'

Sister to the Burke brothers, Deirdre Burke is hopeful St Thomas will pull off a big one on Sunday.

St. Thomas manager Kenneth Burke during the Galway County Senior Hurling Championship Final Replay match between St Thomas and Loughrea at Pearse Stadium in Galway. Photo by Ray Ryan/Sportsfile

Of the seven Burke siblings, Deirdre finds herself desperately outnumbered. Always has.

The Burke family tree is a synonymous one. Its branches carry weight way beyond the borders of Kilchreest and Peterswell.

The Burke siblings and St Thomas’ are bound for Croker this weekend. Their first visit was 11 years ago.

The Burke family involvement on that occasion went as follows: Cathal was corner-back, Sean and Darragh stood in the half-back line, Kenneth and David partnered at midfield, and 17-year-old Éanna came off the bench.

And, of course, we couldn’t neglect to mention the small matter of dad John as the man who orchestrated their first All-Ireland triumph.

Despite annual involvement in the All-Ireland club series, John remains the sole Thomas’ manager to bring Tommy Moore to South Galway. The latest to try and muscle in on John’s exclusive patch is his eldest son.

Kenneth went straight from player to manager ahead of the 2021 season. For his younger brothers, he went from teammate to boss in the blink of an eye.

Kenneth and Deirdre would be closest in age. A year separates the pair. When the big brother started primary school, the baby sister kicked up that she wanted to go with him, and so their mother let them off together.

“Kenneth is actually quiet enough compared to some of us at home,” sister Deirdre says with a laugh.

“Before he took the job, he definitely would have gone and talked to dad. But he'd have made his own decision at the same time.

“It wasn't easy going in there after Kevin Lally had won three-in-a-row. There was so much expected of him going in. They were just after having a new baby too.

“When he won the first county as manager (2021), I was so happy for him. And then he kept it going. He is so meticulous and has such a hurling brain. It's great how it has worked out so far.” 

 Kenneth (39) has the brothers dotted around the field. David (34) is where he always is - in the thick of it at midfield. Cathal (32) is behind him on the 45, Darragh (30) in front of him on the other 45, while Éanna - the baby of the house at 28 - operates inside.

Deirdre’s involvement is that of club PRO. But to give her proper dues, she is a former Galway camogie player. In short, the only girl was well able to hold her own out the back growing up.

Married to former Galway hurler Niall Healy and living over the road in Craughwell, spins home this week don’t feature a kitchen table wrapped up in Sunday's decider. She’d be slow to try and shake the five brothers for match chat. Instead, she’ll send each a message on Saturday.

“You'd leave them alone this week. If you met them above at home, all you'd say is ‘how are you’ and they'd tell you they are grand.” The brothers never tend to give much away anyway. More inclined toward actions than words. Deirdre says she and many more were in the dark as to the speed of David’s return from a ruptured cruciate earlier this year.

His ACL went on March 15. Reconstructive surgery on April 8. County final cameo appearance on October 29.

“We'd kinda be funny in that we'd never ask. You'd say to him, ‘you're getting on alright’, and he'd nod. He would never have said it out loud that he wanted to be back for the end of this club season. But you’d know by him. Then when he got back for the county final, you were worried sick that he went back too soon.”

The brothers’ various injuries are her reference points as she goes back over their litany of recent All-Ireland semi-final and final disappointments.

Kenneth missed the 2019 final defeat to Ballyhale after “making ribbons” of his hamstring in the semi-final. Éanna sat out the decider too.

Darragh’s wedding to Galway defender Shauna Healy had to be moved because of a clash with their 2022 All-Ireland semi against Dunloy. If a hastily postponed wedding wasn’t bad enough, the groom then got injured in the warm-up and only came on late.

“I remember Darragh coming out onto the pitch and he limping. I got upset because you knew he wasn't going to be able to play.

“You'd hope they have enough hardship bottled to get them over the line on Sunday. It would be the icing on the cake if they went and did it.”