Durrow man hoping to lead Offaly to first All-Ireland Under 20 hurling title

DURROW'S Dan Bourke will have the honour of leading Offaly into their second successive All-Ireland under 20 final when they take on Tipperary at Nowlan Park, Kilkenny on Saturday evening.

The sharp shooting forward is also a member of the Offaly senior hurling team, who have a Joe McDonagh Cup Final date with Laois the following weekend, so it is a busy time for him.

Being involved with two teams in search of glory can be a hard act to balance but Dan says it has worked out very well so far for him and his colleagues.

“It was perfect. The two managers, Johnny (Kelly) and Leo (O'Connor), they organised it very well. They made sure we wouldn't be burnt out or anything and it's gone very well so far, so hopefully it will stay going well,” he said.

The hype surrounding the under 20 team has swept the county so is it hard for the players to deal with that?

“You just try to keep the head down. You know there is going to be a big crowd and the crowd then pushes you on, so we just enjoy the moment, play the hurling, play the game as well as we can.”

He said is has been an incredible three years for Offaly with the minor team winning Leinster in 2022 and the under 20s the last two years.

“It is unreal, getting to play in big games, getting to play all the big teams. Growing up you wouldn't really think you would be, but it's great for everyone, great for your family, and great for your friends to go out and watch you playing on the big stage,” he commented.

Dan's father Andy is from Tipperary and his mother Madge from Laois. They both worked in Clara and that brought them to Offaly where they settled in Durrow where Dan grew up.

He grew up in a time when Offaly teams weren't successful but he said they went to all the matches. He added that with a Tipp father they went to Tipp matches as well but said they would always have supported Offaly.

Players from Durrow wouldn't have featured prominently on Offaly teams over the years but there is a good group of them there now on the senior team.

“It's a good group of lads,” said Dan. “There was a group that was slightly older than us and we would have gone to all their matches and saw them doing all the skills and we grew into that. We would be down at the pitch, always with the hurl in hand.”

His brother Sam is a year older and Brian Duignan, Ciaran Burke and Ross Ravenhill slightly older, and they would have influenced them. “Obviously we would have been looking at them all along, they are all good lads.”

Then they had people in the club like Michael Duignan, Jim Troy and Pat Cleary, who all won All-Ireland senior medals with Offaly. “The whole way up Jim would have been coaching us and Pat as well, so it is always good to have lads with experience around you,” Dan said.

The captain agreed that this year the target for this team would have been All-Ireland final.

“100%. I suppose it was tough enough, as we had a good few lads with the seniors and we didn't get to play too many challenge matches. But it was organised very well between the two managers and it's all worked out well and we've got to where we wanted to be and hopefully we'll go a step further.”

He said that the fact the no one lost out in the group stages no matter what the results was a help. “We didn't have to be at full throttle. We got over the line against Dublin, which saved us a game and against Galway we drew, but Galway beat Dublin by more than we did so in the end we had to play Laois in the quarter final. It all worked out in the end.”

That set up a semi-final against Kilkenny, a county they hadn't beaten in championship for many years.

“No, I would have on the losing end to them in the Leinster Minor final in my second year at minor and first year under 20. It was a big game going in and we hadn't beaten them for a while, so it was brilliant to get over the line. It was a very special moment, you could see how much it meant to everyone when they stormed the pitch afterwards,” he said.

The Leinster Final then drew another huge crowd, so is it hard for the players to insulate themselves from all the hype? “We're a down to earth kind of group. The crowd pushes us on a lot. If the game is ever close or in the melting pot, you hear them roaring you on, Uibh Fhaile, and it gets us all going,” he said.

Even premature pitch invasions haven't disrupted the side. “It was more get off for the moment and enjoy it afterwards. Dublin did get the goal but we were confident enough to push through and close out the game.”

Now they have one one barrier to cross and another possible first, beating a Munster team in the All-Ireland final. “Definitely. We'll keep the heads down for the next week and hopefully we'll put in a good performance when it comes down to it on Saturday.”

He said it was important as a group for them to get across the line this year. “You wouldn't know next year, there would be a few injuries, a team could come out of nowhere and pip you, so it's a serious chance now and we'll do our best,” Dan added.