The Burren Identity

Esteemed Down club Burren are celebrating their centenary year and Shaun Casey finds out more about a club with a famous past

WHEN you slip down the sliding trail to the Burren GAA club, the first thing to catch your eye is the movement. A full carpark splits the two operating pitches that are thriving with the thrills and laughter that comes along with underage training.

Managers and coaches pass along messages of encouragement as the new generation begins to blossom. A third field will open next year. It’s necessary to aid the demand.

The massive clubhouse hosts offices, meeting rooms, sports halls and state-of-the-art gym facilities. County teams would be proud of these surroundings.

The scene at St Mary’s is a thriving hub of happiness. Though there have been dark days, the glorious times of the past offer promise for the years ahead. Besides, the club motto is ‘Ar Aghaidh le Cheile.’ Moving forward together.

For the purpose of Gaelic Life’s visit, two club stalwarts in Tommy McGovern and Brian McAvoy have agreed to sit down and chat about past glories as the St Mary’s club celebrates its 100-year anniversary.

McGovern was the first ever man to captain the club to an All-Ireland title. The large, imposing figure of the former midfielder sits to the left, donning the club’s centenary jersey, with his name one of the several scribbled across the front.

He was just a boy when Burren first reached the summit of Down club football in 1966, claiming the Senior Championship title for the very first time. When the title returned to the club grounds again 15 years on, McGovern was a key cog.

McAvoy has undertaken a task that would make most clubmen wince. For their anniversary, he’s detailing a historic book of their 100 years in existence. An exercise of pain and pleasure no doubt, McAvoy vows to add to the book with each passing year.

“The first Burren team was founded in the autumn of 1924,” he recounts. “They were due to play a game at the end of November, but it was postponed so I think it was actually around the 15th of December 1924 when the first match was played.”

They didn’t have to wait too long for success as Burren picked up a Junior Championship title in 1930, having lost the decider two years previous. The 1930s saw a barren spell for Burren however and the club eventually folded before reforming again in 1949.

“The club folded for a number of years during the ‘40s with immigration, the war, those sorts of things. Some of our players, John McClory (McGovern’s uncle), would have played for Warrenpoint when Burren weren’t playing, and he was the first Burren man to play for Ulster.

“John told the Warrenpoint people that he was going up the road to form a wee team, and that wee team went from seed to flower. They won a Junior Championship in 1952, and as fate would behold, they played Warrenpoint in the 1953 Senior Championship final.”

Remarkably, Warrenpoint won the game without scoring. The final score was 1-0 to 0-1 (and that’s in the days without blanket defences) and an own goal from Burren saw the title slip through their fingers. Literally.

“Uncle John was full-back then,” added McGovern, explaining how the extraordinary set of circumstances played out. “The goalkeeper, Sean Campbell, he called it, and Sean went to fist it out and fisted it back into the net.”

But getting the club back on its feet was the main thing and McAvoy rhymes off a list of names that made it all possible. Men who devoted their lives to the cause and the people of the club are still bearing the fruits of their hard labour.

Felix Mackin sat in the chairman’s seat from 1949 to 1972. Brian’s own father, Barney McAvoy, was the club’s first treasurer and was succeeded by Sean Murdock. James Connolly was the secretary for years.

“There were lots of people,” McAvoy continued. “John Burns and Peter McMahon.. Kevin Fegan was there, Patsy Murdock, Pat McMahon and all these sort of people were there for years, they were the backbone.

“It was probably through Sean Murdock and people like him that they decided in the late ‘50s that the way to do it was from juvenile up. There were no official schoolboys competitions – minor probably would have been the first competition.”

Three minor championships in-a-row between 1958-1960 spelled the first glimpse of senior success as Burren landed the Down Championship title for the first time. Tommy McGovern wasn’t old enough to play, but he got to witness his older brothers create history.

“I remember being at it, my older brothers Johnny and Frank were playing. The big crowd in Newcastle, it was a very tight game and a physical match, and I suppose that was an influence on me from an early age.

“I just remember the sheer enjoyment of all the supporters, and everybody basically. The first one is the big one and it set the scene for all of us younger fellas.”

Like the leaders of ‘66 that broke the mould, Tommy came through the ranks as well and followed in his brothers’ footsteps some 15 years later. Having lost finals to Bryansford in ’69, ’70 and ’77, Burren were ready to rid themselves of that particular hoodoo.

“We had a good minor team in ‘74, I was captain of that team,” added McGovern. “Paddy O’Rourke was playing on it and my brothers Vincy and Brendan were both playing on it. Jeremy Poland too, there was at least seven or eight of that panel came right through.

“The big team in my time, when I had sort of established myself on the senior team, was the great Bryansford team, managed by the great Sean Smith, who managed Down as well.

“I played under him on the Down team, but Bryansford were just way ahead of everybody else in every way, they were so well coached. We were good and physically strong all round and could have beaten them in the league.

“Maybe that was just because they weren’t that interested in the league, but we beat them here at home and even beat them in Newcastle. But when it came to the championship, we just couldn’t get the monkey off our back, we couldn’t get past them.

“I always remember when we did beat them, I think it was in Newry in a semi-final. I became great friends with a lot of the Bryansford guys, off the pitch they were the best of fellas, but we just couldn’t get past them.”

1981 put an end to those years of hurt when Burren finally beat the team that couldn’t be beaten. And that laid out the path to success. “Eventually when we did, we knew we had got over a hurdle, a big hurdle and it’s all just mental really when it comes to it.

“We met Saval in the ‘81 final and Saval were a very good team, and it went to a replay. The replay went right to the end, and it was my brother Eddie, who came on as a sub, that fisted a goal with ten minutes to go and Jeremy Poland clipped over a great point and they were two of the guys that weren’t really in the first 15, but they made the difference.

“It was a great victory. From my point of view, the older players and my brothers, Frank and Seamus and Eddie, it was something special. Frank was part of the first team in ‘66, he was still there in ‘81, and it was something special really to win that first one.”

The Down men went all the way to the Ulster final that year but lost out to Ballinderry. Five months separated their semi-final and final matches, as there was a dispute with Ballinderry’s semi showdown with Kingscourt, which dragged on for months.

Burren didn’t offer that up as an excuse and the joy of ‘81 made the players hungry for more. And confident they could achieve more. Too confident. In the opening round of the 1982 championship, Burren surrendered their crown to Division Two side Teconnaught.

“’81 proved that once we got that monkey off our back and got the Down Championship, that we had a squad coming together that weren’t far away from winning an Ulster and it was just a matter of getting the head down and putting in the work,” suggested McGovern.

“We trained hard in those days and of course there was the four or five of us that were training with the county as well. And then there was a month or six weeks of the year that I was training with Ulster in the Railway Cup.

“Obviously we took our eye off the ball (in 1982). We were drawn against Teconnaught, a second division team in the first round, down in Liatroim. It’s the mortal sin, you just think you’ll win the match, and we didn’t.

“We got dumped out as county champions in the first round, but it was a learning lesson. I was made captain after that, and it never happened again in my time.

“It was brought up in every championship match after that, to respect every team that you play against. It was a learning lesson, not only for the young fellas, but a learning lesson for the like of me too, I was 26 then.”

It was a harsh lesson, but one they took on board. Burren returned in 1983 bigger and better, and with the bit between their teeth. Not only did they reclaim their Down throne, but they went one step further when it came to the province.

Reaching the Ulster final wasn’t enough this time around. Getting their hands on the trophy was all that mattered. And Burren did just that by defeating the reigning provincial champions St Gall’s with two points to spare.

“Like our past chairman Jimmy Healy said, it was big,” laughed McGovern, reflecting on the 1983 season. “A wee bit like when he landed in New York for a trip one time, and he looked around and he said it was big.

“The first Ulster was mighty and again, it ingrained in our minds that we had a squad that was capable of winning Ulsters and then looking beyond that, looking towards getting a hold of an All-Ireland.”

An All-Ireland would have to wait however as Burren came up against Dublin powerhouse St Vincent’s in the semi-final and despite playing on home turf, they just couldn’t get over the line. But their defeat wasn’t without controversy.

On the game itself McGovern remembered: “There was a massive crowd at that game, it was amazing back then that they could play an All-Ireland semi-final at home. They had big names like Brian Mullins, Tommy Conroy, guys like that.”

“The game hinged on the goal they got 10 minutes from the end,” added McAvoy on the controversy. “They were making a sub, and they took a quick free, gave it to the fella who was coming off and he put the ball into the square and they got a goal, and the goal stood.

“I argued with the referee,” continued McGovern, “I’m arguing with him and big Mullins has his arm around him, quietly talking into his ear at the same time. Again, it was a learning process, but it was disappointing not to win at home.

“The irony of it is that the two All-Irelands that we won, we won the semi-finals away against Portlaoise and Nemo Rangers. We lost two semi-finals at home to St Vincent’s and Clann na Gael, who we had beaten the previous year in the All-Ireland final.

“Then there was the one that was played over the weekend in Athlone (1983) when Walterstown beat us, Jack O’Shea was actually coaching Walterstown at that time.”

Burren asserted their dominance not only on the on the Down Championship but also on the provincial scene with a historic thre ein-a-row in 1985. Now, it was time to turn their attention to the All-Ireland.

A semi-final showdown with Portlaoise was the obstacle standing between them and a first All-Ireland final appearance. But a couple of months before the game, which was to be played in February of 1986, the club was rocked to its very core.

Sean Murdock passed away suddenly in the week between Christmas and New Year’s Day of 1985. McGovern recalls how that acted as a rallying cry for the team in the semi-final.

“He was such a leader for us, and we just thought we’d do it for him.”

“I don’t think Kerry would have beaten Burren that day,” proclaimed McAvoy.

Burren got over the line and reached the All-Ireland final for the first time in their history, but that wasn’t enough. Only glory would do.

They beat the reigning champions, Castleisland Desmonds of Kerry with four points to spare in the decider and they carried the trophy back up to the Mourne County. Finally, Burren were the best team in Ireland.

But with the joyous ups come the devastating lows and having captured the 1986 All-Ireland crown, there was a target on their back the next season. They retained their county title, but Ulster was a step too far on this occasion.

In a low-scoring contest, they lost out to a Castleblayney team that consisted of household names such as Eugene ‘Nudie’ Hughes and Eamon McEnaney in the Ulster final and surrendered three titles in the space of a couple of hours.

“Loughinisland won the league that same day, they won the Down League, so Burren lost three titles (league, Ulster and All-Ireland) in one day,” McAvoy clarified.

While ‘Blayney won fair and square, Burren didn’t get the chance to show their full value, as McAvoy explained,

“On the Thursday night before that Ulster final, Declan Murdock the goalkeeper and ‘Shorty’ (John Treanor) where in a car accident and ‘Shorty’ missed the final so we had no free taker and that was a big blow.”

While the first All-Ireland was wildly celebrated, it wasn’t enough for the St Mary’s club. They extended their run in Down to six successive titles in a row and picked up another two Ulster titles in ’87 and ’88, making it five in six years.

But would the Andy Merrigan Cup ever return? Burren set out their stall at the start of the 1987/88 season that they wanted to climb that mountain once again and they did just that by defeating Clann na Gael of Roscommon, 1-9 to 0-8.

“It stamps the club’s authority at the time on how good a team we were,” confirmed McGovern. “It was brilliant. I’d given up the captaincy or I’d done enough, then Vincy, my younger brother was given it.

“I think in the ‘86, the first All-Ireland that I captained, three of the brothers played, Brendan, Vincy and myself and we all scored in that game. I didn’t score too much, I used to be either in defence or middle of the field.”

The success and trophies dried up after that. The All-Ireland winning team broke up and while the Frank O’Hare Cup returned to Burren six times in the intervening years, they are no longer the dominant force.

But there’s still been plenty of success to celebrate. In 1991, their very own Paddy O’Rourke captained Down to the All-Ireland title for the fourth time in their history and Paddy Burns (Armagh) added another Celtic Cross to the club’s collection this year.

“We’re probably one of the only clubs outside of Dublin or maybe the only club that has All-Ireland winners from three different counties,” pondered McAvoy. “Gary Walsh was Burren ‘keeper in 1992 when Donegal won it, and we have Paddy Burns this year.”

Burren have always had a strong representation on the Down team and that tradition has carried through the generations. This year, as Conor Laverty’s men in red and black claimed the Tailteann Cup, Burren had six players on the team.

They have remained one of the top contenders in the Mourne County and hold a record that is surely unique to them alone.

“In ’67 Burren won their first league title and we’ve won 22 in total,” added McAvoy. “But in ‘67, Burren and Newry Mitchels, who would have been one of the form teams at that time, Mitchels won four county titles in the ‘60s, they finished level on points and there was no score difference.

“So, there was a playoff to decide who won the league and it was played in Rostrevor on New Year’s Eve 1967, and it was the biggest crowd I reckon ever attended a league game.

“It must be something of a record, Burren won the all-county B League or Division Two in 1963 and 61 years later, they’ve never been relegated.”

Again, this year they were competing for league honours, but the Division One title went to Kilcoo. That’s where the Down Championship has resided for 12 of the last 13 years as well, with Burren breaking up the monopoly in 2018.

As they celebrate their 100-year anniversary this year, a Gala dinner dance has been arranged. Sam Maguire is one of the invited guests, but can Burren secure the Down Championship title to crown the celebrations?

“It would be lovely just to do it,” stated McGovern. “Obviously Kilcoo have been a great team over these last number of years, you can’t take it away from them, a bit like ourselves in the ‘80s.

“When a team like that comes together, they’re very good and hard to knock off their perch. The Burren lads are going well, they’re training hard and hopefully on our 100-year anniversary, it would be mighty if they pulled off the county championship. I’d just settle for the county championship.”

The names that reformed the club way back in 1949 are the names that still appear on the Burren team sheet. Murdock, Burns, Fegan, McMahon, McGovern. Those crucial connections could inspire some more success for the club and McGovern may get his wish.