Éilis Hourigan’s
Saying our goodbyes to Dónal
News filtered through Sunday last that the former Newmarket hurler and footballer Donal Burke had passed away at the age of 67, after a short illness.
Only three months ago, Donal travelled from his home in Loughrea, County Galway, to the Newmarket GAA social, where he and his colleagues on the club’s 1970 county junior football championship-winning team celebrated the 50th anniversary of that historic triumph, at the Charleville Park Hotel.
For over a decade Donal played hurling and football for the club. It was a career that started at juvenile level, when in 1966 he was a member of the under-14 Newmarket football team that won the Duhallow final and reached a county semi-final.
By 1969 he was on both junior teams, playing in goals in the hurling side and introduced as a sub in the junior football team that lost to Kilmurry in the county semi final.
The young 17 year old was at the start of a career that would win him two Duhallow Junior Football Championships, a County Junior Football Championship, three Duhallow Junior Hurling Championships, four Duhallow Junior Hurling medals, and an Examiner cup medal.
All of this was achieved by his 24th birthday.
In 1970 he was the youngest player on the team that won the county and Duhallow title, scoring three points in that championship: two against Dromtarriffe in the Duhallow final and one against Valley Rovers in the county quarter-final at Coachford.
In 1971 Newmarket moved up to the intermediate grade, but without success.
On their first championship game at that level in 1971, Donal showed his great skill as a forward shooting 1-3 in a game that ended in a draw with Cobh. The east cork men won the replay.
He played in five county intermediate championship games with the club between 1971 and 1974, scoring a total of 1-10(13).
In 1969, in his first championship season at Junior hurling level, he was a member of the team that won league title, playing in goals.
In 1970 he moved to the forwards, and it was there that he flourished over the first half of this amazing decade for hurling in the club’s history, winning three successive Junior Hurling Championship medals and four Junior Hurling League honours.
The 1974 season was special for Newmarket, Donal and the Burke family. The championship was finally won at junior level against Meelin, 2-6 to 2-4, at Banteer.
Donal’s brothers, Ted and John, were also on this team. Donal scored 1-1 in that final.
Prior to the team going down to Banteer to play in that decider, they met at the CYMS in the room upstairs, and the late Donal was heard saying “we will beat these fellows today”.
And that happened, two months later, Meelin again threw down the gauntlet to Newmarket in the league, but it was Newmarket’s and Donal’s day, as he scored three great goals, ensuring that Newmarket created hurling history in the Duhallow division, winning a grand slam of titles, championships at minor, under-21, junior and junior league.
Donal went on to win championships at junior hurling again in 1975 and 1976, and he was a man who loved to talk about those days whenever he came back to his beloved Newmarket.
A teacher by profession, he studied at St Colman’s college and UCC, and Newmarket boys national school.
Donal, may you rest in peace. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam dilis.