Burke's remarkable return after serious illness a high point on a good day for Kildare hurlers

Photo by Dave Barrett

There were a number of fine goals scored by Kildare in their thrilling Christy Ring Cup win over Wicklow on Saturday, but the biggest cheer of the day arrived when James Burke entered the action with a little under 30 minutes to go.

The Naas man’s efforts to get here are truly extraordinary. Just eight weeks ago, Burke was in hospital suffering from meningitis, and for a while it didn’t look good. Vigils were held to pray for the young man, where his friends, family and clubmates came together to collectively hope for the best outcome.

Making it back to play hurling was the last thing that James or his family would have been thinking of in the immediate days after first being diagnosed with the illness. He was given the all clear by the doctors in April however, and he has been pucking sliotars for the last number of weeks before returning to training.

“Not at all,” Burke told KildareNow when asked if he thought that he would make it back onto the pitch for Kildare this year.

“Look, the doctor gave me a bit of hope; he said it was a 12-week thing. I took that on board and did everything he told me to do, and was minding myself until I knew I was right, and obviously until I got the all clear. Once I was clear I was just dying to go back in to the last few weeks in training and be able to show that I can be out there.”

“I just knew that I wasn’t going to put myself out on the pitch if I wasn’t right. The team obviously comes first but I felt that I could do a job, and so did the management team and the players, so I just gave it my all and it’s brilliant to get back.”

The Naas man was mobbed by young players from his club after the win in Aughrim, and it took him quite a while to make it back into the dressing room afterwards as he happily signed the hurls of every gleeful child who came his way.

Burke signs the hurls of young Naas supporters in Aughrim

It was a cruel blow for 19-year-old Burke who had been enjoying a fantastic debut year with the county seniors, top-scoring for the Lilywhites in the National League and generally looking like their most accomplished player. Coming back into the setup after the illness was always going to be difficult, but the DCU student has shaken off the initial issues he faced when coming back in, and judging on his performance off the bench on Saturday, he will have a big say in Kildare’s hopes of winning the Christy Ring Cup.

“[I was] kind of weak, no energy,” he said of his return to Kildare training.

“I lost a lot of weight as well which I had to put back on. At this level you can’t be 11 stone like I was. I’ve just been getting the right food on board and all that.

“I love it. I’ve a hurl in my hand every day. It’s all down to hard work and commitment – if you work hard off the pitch and go hell for leather on the pitch and don’t look back, you’re bound to have good games.”