Daithí Burke 'always turned up and delivered'

Joe Hession and Kevin O'Brien on managing one of Galway’s greatest GAA stars

THOSE who witnessed a 14-year-old Daithí Burke blast a free to the back of the net to draw a County Minor A hurling final in 2007 could see he had something.

The minor grade was still under 18 at that time of course, which meant that the five-time All-Star hurler was playing with and against lads a few years older than him. Burke’s late goal drew that final for Turloughmore against St. Thomas’, a replay that Turloughmore won.

Joe Hession from Turloughmore had a close-up view of Burke’s prowess as a teenager. Hession was a coach of that minor team alongside current Galway selector Frannie Forde. Manager of the team was Daithí’s father Gerry, an All-Ireland football club medal winner with Corofin in 1998.

“My first time coming across Daithí was in 2007. The minor finals were played that time as a double header with the senior final. The final against St. Thomas’ was played in October. Daithí was just 14 and was centre-back. He turned 15 that November,” explained Joe Hession.

“It was evident back then how good he was. It was a 21-yard free or further out. He backed himself to score it.”

Hession would cross paths with Burke again when he took over the Turloughmore senior team in 2018. They reached the County final during that time, losing to St. Thomas’ in 2020, when Burke was playing midfield rather than his more customary roles of full-back or centre-back.

“He played as an attacking midfielder that season. He was injured going into the final and only lasted 18 minutes. He had a cyst in his knee, it was only when he got the scans back that he found out what was wrong,” offered Hession.

“He was super on the ball. He was our talisman, especially in the semi-final against Loughrea. He was pivotal to the running game we played.”

High fielding under pressure, vision and delivery of a pass are some of the key attributes that make Daithí Burke an outstanding hurler, according to Hession.

Burke’s talents aren’t solely confined to the hurling field, of course. He was a brilliant footballer and his medal collection in that code is impressive.

Like his brother Ronan - who also played with the Galway hurlers - Daithí followed in his father’s footsteps by lining out for Corofin, with whom he won four All-Ireland club titles. Burke has eight County club football medals and five Connachts.

Kevin O’Brien coached Daithí Burke for nine seasons with Corofin. O’Brien spent three seasons as a selector under Stephen Rochford before leading his club to three All-Ireland titles in 2018, ’19 and ’20 during his six seasons as manager.

“If you take his record in both codes from 2011 to today, it’s as good as what’s out there. If you throw in the two codes, he’s probably one of the greatest,” said O’Brien of Burke.

“He was a rock around the middle for us. He was such a good reader of the game. I think he enjoyed the freedom of something different. In a lot of ways, the pressure was off him when he came back in with Corofin.

“He was always so fit and strong. Himself and Ronan Steede, the two of them were tailormade for each other at midfield, their styles matched so well.”

Burke would join up with the Corofin squad once the inter-county campaign with the Galway hurlers concluded and continue playing hurling with Turloughmore.

Corofin and Turloughmore were in contact with one another to make Daithí’s involvement in both as seamless as possible.

“There was always an understanding in our group that once Daithí was available, he would come in,” said O’Brien.

“It was a bit like when you get a county football player back into the panel. It gave the whole thing a lift. It was usually always around the time of a County semi-final or final when he’d come back.

“He always turned up and delivered. He just wanted to know who he was marking, there wasn’t much too much discussion with Daithí about tactics. He was very easy to manage and work with.

“Daithí has always been in a controlling position on the pitch. He was midfield with Corofin. In hurling he’s been either centre-back or full-back. To perform consistently in key positions over the length oftime he has, it is a great reflection of what he is about.”

Modest and unassuming are some of the words used to describe Daithí Burke’s character by Joe Hession and Kevin O’Brien, two men who paid testament to how good a trainer the 33-year-old is, two men who have had the privilege of managing one of Galway’s greatest hurlers and best-ever dual players.