Is David Burke Galway's greatest ever? Stalwart still driving standards at 35

Irish Daily Mirror

07-06-2025

About a quarter of a century ago, many counties endeavoured to select their teams of the millennium.
It was an idea that was picked up around the country at a time when the GAA had undertaken to name national teams of the millennium in football in 1999 and hurling the following year.
In Galway there was, understandably, a bit of soreness that no representative from the county made the cut for the Hurling Team of the Millennium, albeit Tony Reddin, a native of Mullagh who went on to become one of Tipperary's most famous hurlers, was chosen as goalkeeper.
Joe Cooney was undoubtedly the county's strongest candidate at the time and his versatility made him a contender for a number of positions. Naturally, he was an automatic on the Galway selection at centre-forward. But if that concept was to be revisited at the quarter-mark of this century, would there be any new faces?
'I was heavily involved when we were selecting a Galway team of the millennium 20 years ago-plus,' says John McIntyre, 'and if we were to review our selection now, David Burke along with Joe Canning and, I suppose, maybe to a lesser extent, Cathal Manion, would be featuring in the discussion.'
Burke would surely be a shoo in for midfield, given that you would expect him to knock out one of Joe Salmon or Father Paddy Gantly, two Galway greats in the 1940s and '50s when the county was largely unsuccessful. But the breadth and quality of Burke's service and leadership sets him apart.
'He comes from a great family, a great family of hurlers,' says Offaly's 1998 All-Ireland winning manager Michael Bond and principal of St Brigid's in Loughrea when Burke passed through. 'And it was a pleasure to have them all in the school.'
Last year his county teammate Evan Niland dubbed him 'probably Galway's greatest player'.
'I think he's an ultimate team player,' he added. 'Ultimate leader. Everyone looks to him.'
Former Tipperary hurler McIntyre is a long-time Galway resident who gave Burke his senior debut in 2010 when he was manager and, as sports editor of the Connacht Tribune, he's covered his career closely.
'He's had an outstanding career, and he, in my view, is one of the all-time greats of Galway hurling,' he says. 'I'm not sure he's got maybe the global recognition he's been entitled to, because I genuinely believe Galway wouldn't have won the All-Ireland in 2017 only for his outstanding performance in midfield that day.
'Apart from scoring four points from play, he was the man, and he was an excellent captain, and he's been a magnificent servant to St Thomas's.'
McIntyre's three-year reign as Galway manager was typical of many of those that went before or after as they tasted some success but couldn't quite find the winning formula amid a saturation of players with underage medals, many of whom passed through the system very quickly.
But there was never any suggestion that Burke would slip through the cracks when once-promising youngsters were being phased out.
'I thought he was a cut above the rest,' says McIntyre, 'and he had a size as well to go with him, so he was well able to protect himself and, you know, compete physically even at a young age.'
2012 marked the start of something as they won a first Leinster title, with Burke scoring one of the great Croke Park goals against Kilkenny, and reached the All-Ireland final, where Brian Cody's side reversed the provincial result after a replay, but their inconsistency endured until 2017, when he captained them to a first title in 29 years.
Galway have regressed since losing the 2018 All-Ireland final to an emerging Limerick, and there have been a couple of apparent natural conclusions to Burke's career in recent years.
Firstly, there was his cruciate ligament rupture at 33 in March 2023 that ended his county season but Burke returned to drive St Thomas's to an All-Ireland club title at the turn of the year.
It meant that Henry Shefflin couldn't possibly overlook him for Galway last year, though that ended in disaster with his red card in the decisive match against Dublin.
With a rebuilding project looming, it would hardly have been surprising if Burke was cut loose, but he remained involved as Micheál Donoghue returned as manager, albeit it appeared as though his role would be more peripheral now.
Speaking at the launch of the Leinster Championship in April, teammate Cianan Fahy hailed Burke as a 'brilliant person' and said that 'whether it's going to be for 70 minutes or whether it's going to be for 30 or whatever it is, he's definitely still able to make a huge impact on our game'.
He was introduced late on against Kilkenny in the opening round of the Championship but they suffered such a catastrophic defeat that he was pitched in from the start the following weekend against Offaly. Bar when he was rested against Antrim, he's stayed there since and completed the full 70 minutes against Dublin, shooting 0-3.
'It would be fair comment to suggest that maybe the Galway management at the beginning of the year would have viewed David in those terms [as an impact sub],' McIntyre adds. 'But needs must, and they had to reflect on how they were going to approach the rest of the Championship and the personnel they were using and they know what they're getting in David Burke. He has never let down Galway.'
Galway aren't quite frontline All-Ireland contenders but if they are to do anything of note in this year's Championship, they need Burke wielding his considerable influence. Beyond that, who knows?
'I think a lot will depend on what Galway's fortunes are in the rest of the Championship,' says McIntyre.
'I think if they were badly beaten somewhere along the line in a knockout game, it might force him to (think), 'God, there's a major rebuilding programme here. It's going to take a few years for Galway to get back to Croke Park on All-Ireland's final day'.
'On the other hand, if Galway keep progressing in the Championship and aren't that far away from an All-Ireland title this year, given the way he's hurling at the moment, I wouldn't rule out another season in him.'