Physicality, not hurling, the issue for Offaly, says Burke

Offaly face Antrim in their Walsh Cup opener on Sunday

It's five years since Ciaran Burke made his Offaly senior debut. Pic: Tyler Miller/Sportsfile

Offaly captain Ciaran Burke says 'sitting around and feeling sorry for ourselves' wasn't an option for the Faithful when they hit rock bottom five years ago.

Now the midlands county are preparing to return to the top flight of both the National League and the Championship for the first time since 2018.

Burke made his full Championship debut for Offaly just over five years ago in the winter Ring Cup campaign of 2020 but it was a tough day as he was taken off at half-time during the shock defeat.

And as if to really test his mettle, he had to drive back home alone from Newry because of pandemic restrictions.

Offaly slipped to 18th in the national rankings at the time before digging deep and turning things around.

"It was during covid so we all had to drive separately," said Burke of that 2020 debut. "I had to drive home from Newry the whole way back to Offaly on my own after being whipped at half-time.

"It was a lonely enough spot. I didn't know in what direction my own hurling career was going to go, or even Offaly. It was a head scratcher. I didn't really know what to be thinking."

That 2020 loss came 20 years after the county's last All-Ireland SHC final appearance. In 2021, when they finally won the Ring Cup, they beat Sligo, Wicklow and Derry.

So what would Burke have thought if you'd suggested to him back then that he'd captain Offaly in 2025, and be looking forward to League ties against All-Ireland holders Tipperary, Munster champions Cork, Kilkenny and Limerick in 2026?

"I probably wouldn't have even thought of it, that it could happen," said the defender. "We were so far away at that stage that you wouldn't even have thought of such a thing."

Burke says there's no great secret to how they've pulled themselves back up the national rankings.

"We kind of just pulled together and just said we needed to improve ourselves physically to get to that next level," he said. "And we did that. I suppose we put the work in straight away and got to it. Instead of sitting around and feeling sorry for ourselves, we got to work."

Offaly added the Joe McDonagh Cup title in 2024 before claiming a surprise promotion from Division 1B of the League earlier this year. Players from the Leinster minor (2022) and U-20 (2023, 2024) wins, as well as the All-Ireland U-20 win (2024), are helping to power the rebuild.

The next step for Offaly?

"Push on and win a Leinster," replied Burke, who outlined where they need to improve most. "Hurling won't be an issue. There's a hugely talented bunch there. I think it's just the strength and conditioning, the physicality, that ability to cover the ground within games. That's an area we need to improve on and I think that will come."

First up for the Faithful in 2026 is Sunday's Dioralyte Walsh Cup opener against Antrim in Tullamore.

"There have been a few additions from the U-20s," said Burke. "Jason Sampson and David King have retired as well."