Captain Cian to continue breaking down historic obstacles

St Breckan’s supporters won’t be singing ‘There’s only one Cian Burke’ if St Breckan’s are fortunate enough to lift the Jack Daly trophy for the first time in Cusack Park on Sunday.
All because there have been two Cian Burke’s on the panel these past few years albeit that Cian ‘Jimmy’ Burke is now pursuing an army career.
So why is he called Cian Burke and his namesake Cian ‘Jimmy’ Burke?
‘Jimmy had actually nothing to do with him. Donie [Garrihy] was the manager at the time and he just started calling him Cian ‘Jimmy’ and it stuck just to differentiate between the two.”
Cian Burke is leading St Breckan’s into a first senior final in 27 years, a remarkable if overdue accomplishment that was only brought home to the captain by the reaction of their supporters in the immediate aftermath of their titanic extra-time bout with St Joseph’s Miltown a fortnight ago.
“You actually don’t know how much it means to the wider community until you witness it in the flesh. After the game, older lads were coming onto the field and hugging us full of emotion. I mean to see a grown man tear up really brought home how much it means to them.
“You don’t see or appreciate that when you’re training in the cold and rain early on a Sunday morning so that was a special moment for everyone I think.”
The players’ primary emotion was undoubtedly relief though as having been jilted at the semi-final hurdle twice in the previous three seasons, they could ill afford another penultimate stage heartbreak.
“Up until that point of the season, there had been no pressure. I feel that we’ve been doing very well this year and things were calm but definitely going into that game, there felt like there was pressure that if we didn’t do it and advance to a final this year, it would become a stumbling block that we just aren’t able to get over.
“During the game, it was a driving force too as I was saying ‘let’s keep going’ as I didn’t want this to happen again and I was nearly thinking back on previous disappointments to give me a bit of extra energy and get me over the line.
“Maybe one of the reasons why there felt like less pressure in the previous games was that no one was really paying any heed to us. But I think we are that bit more experienced now too. I mean we’ve been through a lot of disappointments and we know what way we want to play now and we trust each other on the ball, trust what lads will do and everyone trusts their roles so that kind of eases the pressure a little bit.”
So what is the feeling in the camp ahead of a first-ever final?
“Look, we’re very grateful to all those who helped us get to this final.
“Donie Garrihy built the foundation now from which Declan [O’Keeffe] now has his house in. He’s just a special man as he instilled a belief and passion for our club and a belief in ourselves too that we can actually compete with the best.
“So he came in and turned around the mindset and stuck with us through several disappointments and championship exits to Cratloe, Éire Óg and Ennistymon and now Declan has taken on that mantle further and brought us to where we are now.
“Ultimately I feel like for myself and most of the lads, the pressure is kind of gone now. We’ve gotten over something that had almost proven impossible for us over the past four years to get over a hurdle that stopped us from getting where we wanted to get to.
“So now that that’s done, it’s just about going out and playing the game we love, having fun, sticking to the game plan and seeing what we can do.”
And there’s the key ingredient of motivation too for St Breckan’s having suffered their first major set-back against Cratloe in the semi-final three years ago when it appeared as if they had the game within their grasp.
“Look, they’ve won medals and we haven’t so it’s going to be a very tough game. We respect them greatly as they’ve knocked us out before and because of what they’ve won and what we haven’t won so it’s going to be a real challenge on Sunday.
“Back then, we probably didn’t have the same belief. I mean we were just out of intermediate and kept up that momentum throughout the senior campaign but when it came down to it, Cratloe demonstrated that they had the belief and experience to get over the line when things were going against them.
“At the end of the day, it could be another 27 years again before we get back to another final so we have to make the most of this opportunity. We know that Cratloe will, that’s for certain, as they have a top-notch manager and class players so it’s going to be a major challenge for us but it’s one we’re really looking forward to.”