Past and Present link perfect day for Burgess

By Michael Dundon

 

Any way you measure it, it was a great day for the Burgess GAA club in Thurles last Sunday.

To win their first O Riain Cup, county senior hurling championship was a huge achievement, enough to make the year 2018 very special.

To do this on the day the club’s intermediate hurlers of 25 years earlier were being honoured on county final day made the day all the more memorable, one that will be recalled with fondness for years to come.

The winning O Riain Cup team stayed on the pitch after skipper Noel Gleeson was presented with the cup by county vice-chairman, Joe Kennedy, to salute the men who had gone before them as they were introduced to the crowd, cementing the sense of community and togetherness that was so evident in the team performance that carried them to victory over Moycarkey when defeat was staring them in the face.

For the Nealon family in particular, the heartbeat of the club, it was a really special day. Grandfather, Donie, five times All-Ireland senior medal winner with Tipperary in the fifties and sixties, was trainer and manager of the intermediate team honoured. His son, Sean captained that team that defeated Upperchurch-Drombane, captained by former Tipp hurler and manager, Michael Ryan, in the final, and his grandson, Keith, played a key role in Burgess’s O Riain victory over Moycarkey-Borris.

After Burgess put in a strong finish to pip Moycarkey-Borris in the O Riain Cup final, Donie summed up the occasion as only he could

“We are absolutely delighted. We are very proud of all these lads. This is a great boost for our club. It is the icing on the cake in what has been a great week for us,” he said.

 

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