I have never wished that I wasn’t gay
Says Kildare Ladies captain
KILDARE Ladies captain Erica Burke had just finished training when she returned to the dressing-room to see her phone inundated with messages.
Men and women of various ages were contacting her to express their admiration for how she candidly told her story about coming to terms with her sexuality.
Even old schoolmates and teachers got in touch to praise her for the openness she showed, and for the next two weeks, the messages of support continued to pour in, leaving Burke feeling humbled.
‘What I was shocked about after it (the article) came out was the different range of people who contacted me. I thought it would be young female footballers, or girls who are into sport.
‘But the majority of messages I got were from males, and even the age range was ridiculous — older men and women. They said it was going to help them be more honest with their families and friends.
‘It was definitely very humbling. I was hoping it would have an impact on people and that it would help them. You never know if saying something like that will actually help someone. It was very overwhelming, those few weeks.’
Burke’s motivation for sharing her experiences in an article on The42.ie was two-fold. The second anniversary for the marriage referendum was approaching, and prior to doing the article, people were confiding in Burke about their own issues.
The Kildare footballer was always comfortable with her sexual identity, after beginning to realise she was gay in secondary school between Junior Cert and Transition Year.
She appreciates that not everyone in her position has had the same kind of positive experience, and she wanted to inspire others to talk more openly about their stories.
The Balyna player wasn’t nervous about doing the interview, but she wasn’t quite prepared for the sheer volume of people who were touched by the article.
‘I’ve never wished that I wasn’t gay. I was just lucky that I was able to tell my friends and my family about it. It hasn’t been a big issue at all and I just feel very lucky.
‘I didn’t think it was going to be on such a big scale. If I had known the reaction it was going to get, I probably would have been a bit more nervous. I might have held back on some of the stuff I said.’
A challenge of a different kind awaits Burke today, when she will lead Kildare into battle against Mayo in an All-Ireland championship qualifier.
Kildare however, will not have their full complement for the tie, after more than a dozen players left the panel following their All-Ireland intermediate triumph last year, some due to retirement.
Burke was never tempted to take a break after the drop-off in numbers, and confesses that she ‘lives for football.’ That attitude was best exemplified in her willingness to play through last year’s All-Ireland final against Clare with an avulsion fracture in her ankle.
Determination and an ignorance to pain brought her through the game, and she even powered through the first few days of the celebrations before getting it checked out.
The prospect of facing a seasoned side like Mayo presents a difficult task for Kildare, particularly on the back of disappointing League and Leinster championship campaigns.
But just as she has done with challenges in the past, Burke will tackle this opportunity with no fear.
‘It’s going to be a huge challenge to play against Mayo. They obviously have a high calibre of players available to them but we’re going to do the best that we can. We’ve prepared very well for it and we couldn’t be in better shape going into the match.
‘Since Mark (Murnaghan) has come in, our confidence has grown a lot and you can tell.
‘When you’re playing at this level, you want to play against the best teams. To play against the likes of Cora Staunton, Sarah Rowe and Fiona McHale is going to be really challenging but you want to test yourself and put yourself up against these players and see how well we do.
‘We’ve nothing to lose, it’s a complete free shot. Nobody gives us a chance but we know that we’re going to give it our best shot.’
“It had hoped it would have an impact, to help people”