Tadhg de Búrca (born 19 September 1994), sometimes referred to as The Tadhger, is an Irish hurler who plays for Waterford Intermediate Championship club Clashmore–Kinsalebeg and at inter-county level with the Waterford senior hurling team.[1] He usually lines out as a centre-back having previously enjoyed a role as a sweeper.

The Tadgher
Personal information
Irish name Tadhg de Búrca
Sport Hurling
Position Centre-back
Born Tadhg Bourke
(1994-09-19) 19 September 1994 (age 29)
Clashmore, County Waterford, Ireland
Height 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Occupation Secondary school teacher
Club(s)
Years Club
2010-present
Clashmore–Kinsalebeg
Club titles
Waterford titles 0
Colleges(s)
Years College
2013-2016
2016-2018
University College Cork
University College Dublin
College titles
Fitzgibbon titles 0
Inter-county(ies)*
Years County Apps (scores)
2014-present
Waterford 27 (0-09)
Inter-county titles
Munster titles 0
All-Irelands 0
NHL 1
All Stars 2
*Inter County team apps and scores correct as of 15:46, 29 November 2020.

Playing career edit

St. Augustine's College edit

de Búrca first came to prominence as a hurler and Gaelic footballer with St. Augustine's College in Dungarvan. He played in every grade before eventually joining the college's senior teams. On 30 March 2013, de Búrca was at centre-forward when St. Augustine's College faced Scoil Mhuire in the All-Ireland final. He scored 0-03, including a free, in the 2-08 to 0-10 victory.[2]

Coláiste na nDéise edit

During the 2011-12 Harty Cup, de Búrca was selected for the Dungarvan-based Coláiste na nDéise combination. On 25 February 2012, he won a Harty Cup medal after lining out at left wing-back in a 2-14 to 1-10 defeat of Nenagh CBS.[3]

de Búrca was again selected for the renamed Dungarvan Colleges side for the 2012-13 Harty Cup campaign. He won a second successive Harty Cup medal on 24 February 2013 after scoring 0-03 from right wing-back in a 2-21 to 1-11 defeat of Our Lady's Secondary School from Templemore.[4] de Búrca was switched to left wing-back for the All-Ireland final against Kilkenny CBS on 6 April and collected a winners' medal following the 1-12 to 1-07 victory.[5]

University College Cork edit

de Búrca completed a Bachelor of Arts at University College Cork between 2013 and 2016 and joined the senior hurling team in his second year. He was a regular player at centre-back in the Fitzgibbon Cup campaigns in 2015 and 2016.[6]

University College Dublin edit

de Búrca transferred to University College Dublin to complete his two-year Professional Master of Education in 2016. He immediately joined the senior hurling team and made a number of appearances in the Fitzgibbon Cup campaigns in 2017 and 2018.[7]

Clashmore–Kinsalebeg edit

de Búrca joined the Clashmore–Kinsalebeg club at a young age and played in all grades at juvenile and underage levels. On 20 May 2009, he lined out at left corner-back when Clashmore defeated Ballinacourty by 1-07 to 1-06 to win the Waterford Minor Football Championship.[8]

On 30 September 2018, de Búrca lined out at centre-back for Clashmore when they qualified for the Western Intermediate Hurling Championship final. A 4-15 to 3-15 defeat of Ballysaggart secured a first ever title for the club.[9]

Waterford edit

Minor and under-21 edit

de Búrca first lined out for Waterford as a member of the minor football team during the 2011 Munster Championship.[10] He made his first appearance on 13 April and score two points from frees in a 4-16 to 0-06 defeat by Kerry.

de Búrca became a dual player at minor level during the 2012 Munster Championships. While his minor football season ended with a 1-14 to 1-03 defeat by Kerry on 17 April, de Búrca made his minor hurling debut on 2 May when he lined out at full-back in a 1-20 to 3-13 defeat of Clare.[11] He played his last game in the minor grade on 29 June when Waterford suffered a 2-25 to 0-12 defeat by Tipperary.

On 18 July 2013, de Búrca made his first appearance for the Waterford under-21 hurling team. He lined out at full-back in a 2-15 to 0-17 defeat by Clare in the Munster Championship.[12]

de Búrca was again included on the Waterford under-21 team for 2014 Munster Championship. His only appearance that year was at centre-back in Waterford's 3-18 to 0-16 defeat by Cork on 16 July.[13]

For the third successive season, de Búrca was selected for the under-21 team in 2015. He made his last appearance in the grade on 15 July when Waterford suffered a 0-23 to 1-18 defeat by Clare at the semi-final stage.[14]

Senior edit

de Búrca made his first appearance for the Waterford senior team on 12 January 2014 when he lined out in a 1-11 to 0-10 defeat by the University of Limerick in the pre-season Waterford Crystal Cup.[15] He was later included on the Waterford panel for the 2014 National League and made his first appearance on 23 February in a 0-22 to 1-13 defeat of Galway.[16] de Búrca made his Munster Championship debut on 25 May 2014 when he scored a point from left wing-back in a 1-21 apiece draw with Cork.[17]

On 3 May 2015, de Búrca was named at left corner-back but lined out at centre-back in the 2015 National League final. The 1-24 to 0-17 victory gave him a National League winners' medal.[18] On 12 July 2015, de Búrca played as a sweeper when Waterford were beaten for the fourth time in six seasons by Tipperary in the 2015 Munster final.[19] He ended the season by winning a GAA/GPA All-Star award, while he was also named Young Hurler of the Year.[20][21]

On 1 May 2016, de Búrca was selected at right wing-back when Waterford drew 0-22 apiece with Clare in the 2016 National League final.[22] He was named in the same position but spent much of the game at midfield for the replay, which Waterford lost by 1-23 to 2-19.[23] On 10 July, de Búrca lined out at centre-back for the 2016 Munster final, with Waterford eventually losing by 5-19 to 0-13.[24] He ended the season by being nominated for a second successive GAA/GPA All-Star award.[25]

On 23 July 2017, de Búrca received a straight red card for deliberately interfering with the helmet or faceguard of Wexford's Harry Kehoe in the All-Ireland quarter-final.[26] In spite of an appeal the Disputes Resolution Authority upheld the suspension, resulting in de Búrca missing Waterford's All-Ireland semi-final defeat of Cork.[27] On 3 September, he was restored to the starting fifteen for the All-Ireland final against Galway. Waterford eventually lost the final by 0-26 to 2-17.[28] de Búrca ended the season by being nominated for a third successive GAA/GPA All-Star award.[29]

On 27 May 2018, de Búrca was forced off with a shoulder injury in the 14th minute in Waterford's 2-27 to 2-18 defeat by Clare in the opening round of Munster Championship.[30] It was later confirmed that he had broken his collar bone and was ruled out for the rest of the season.[31]

On 31 March 2019, de Búrca was at centre-back when Waterford suffered a 1-24 to 0-19 defeat by Limerick in the National League final.[32]

Career statistics edit

As of match played 28 November 2020.
Team Year National League Munster All-Ireland Total
Division Apps Score Apps Score Apps Score Apps Score
Waterford 2014 Division 1A 4 0-00 2 0-00 2 0-00 8 0-00
2015 Division 1B 8 0-00 2 0-01 2 0-00 12 0-01
2016 Division 1B 6 0-01 2 0-00 3 0-00 11 0-01
2017 6 0-00 1 0-00 4 0-04 11 0-04
2018 5 0-03 1 0-01 6 0-04
2019 Division 1B 4 0-01 4 0-01 8 0-02
2020 Division 1A 0 0-00 2 0-00 2 0-02 4 0-02
Career total 33 0-05 14 0-03 13 0-06 60 0-14

Honours edit

St. Augustine's College
  • All-Ireland Colleges Senior C Football Championship (1): 2013
Dungarvan Colleges
Clashmore–Kinsalebeg
Waterford
Individual

References edit

  1. ^ "Deise's quiet man Tadhg de Burca setting the summer terms". Irish Independent. 25 July 2015. Retrieved 7 August 2015.
  2. ^ "Sweeney wraps up Augustine's glory". Irish Independent. 1 April 2013. Retrieved 14 February 2019.
  3. ^ O'Toole, Fintan (27 February 2012). "Déise savour 'unbelievable' victory". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 14 February 2019.
  4. ^ "Harty Cup final: Back-to-back titles for Dungarvan". Hogan Stand. 25 February 2013. Retrieved 14 February 2019.
  5. ^ "Triumphant Dungarvan 'can divide and conquer'". Irish Independent. 8 April 2013. Retrieved 14 February 2019.
  6. ^ O'Toole, Fintan (10 February 2015). "Forde injury-time point for UL knocks UCC out of Fitzgibbon Cup as NUIG and DIT also progress". The 42. Retrieved 14 February 2019.
  7. ^ Cormican, Eoghan (24 January 2018). "UCD impress in surprise Fitzgibbon win over UCC". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 14 February 2019.
  8. ^ Keane, Thomas (29 May 2009). "Sibling rivalry as Clashmore collect cup in Minor A final". Munster Express. Retrieved 5 July 2018.
  9. ^ McFeely, Anthony (30 September 2018). "Clashmore/Kinsalebeg claim their first Western Intermediate Hurling title after a dramatic final in Fraher Field". WLRFM website. Retrieved 12 June 2019.
  10. ^ "Hickey on double as Banner march on". Irish Independent. 18 April 2011. Retrieved 12 June 2019.
  11. ^ "Curran proves Deise hero". Irish Independent. 3 May 2012. Retrieved 12 June 2019.
  12. ^ Moynihan, Michael (19 July 2013). "Clare's late flurry too much for 14-man Waterford". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 12 June 2019.
  13. ^ O'Flynn, Diarmuid (17 July 2014). "Collins pulls out all the stops". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 12 June 2019.
  14. ^ "Munster U21HC: brilliant Banner beat Na Deise". Hogan Stand. 15 July 2015. Retrieved 12 June 2019.
  15. ^ McCarthy, Tomás (13 January 2014). "Glynn UL ace as Déise fail to fire". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 12 June 2019.
  16. ^ Foley, Cliona (24 February 2014). "McGrath keeping Deise feet on ground". Irish Independent. Retrieved 12 June 2019.
  17. ^ Breheny, Martin (26 May 2014). "Horgan secures second chance for off-key Cork". Irish Independent. Retrieved 12 June 2019.
  18. ^ O'Toole, Fintan (3 May 2015). "Waterford crowned hurling league champions with emphatic win over Cork". The 42. Retrieved 2 January 2019.
  19. ^ McGoldrick, Seán (6 March 2012). "Tipperary claim Munster hurling title with tight win over Waterford". Irish Independent. Retrieved 2 January 2019.
  20. ^ Kelly, Niall (6 November 2015). "7 from Kilkenny, 4 from Galway: Here's the 2015 Allstar hurling team of the year". The 42. Retrieved 2 January 2019.
  21. ^ Cahill, Jackie (6 November 2015). "O'Connor and De Búrca claim Young Footballer and Hurler of the Year honours". The 42. Retrieved 2 January 2019.
  22. ^ McGoldrick, Seán (1 May 2016). "Incredible drama as Waterford force league final replay after monster 70m free". Irish Independent. Retrieved 2 January 2019.
  23. ^ O'Toole, Fintan (8 May 2016). "Kelly the scoring hero as Clare claim dramatic league final win over Waterford". The 42. Retrieved 2 January 2019.
  24. ^ Breheny, Martin (11 July 2016). "Tipp torrents wash Deise hopes away". Irish Independent. Retrieved 2 January 2019.
  25. ^ O'Toole, Fintan (7 October 2016). "Champions Tipperary out in front with 15 nominees for the 2016 GAA-GPA All-Star hurling awards". The 42. Retrieved 2 January 2019.
  26. ^ Breheny, Martin (14 July 2017). "Déise's delight marred by late red-card setback". Irish Independent. Retrieved 2 January 2019.
  27. ^ "Tadhg De Búrca out of semi-final as DRA confirm ban". RTÉ Sport. 11 August 2017. Retrieved 2 January 2019.
  28. ^ McGoldrick, Seán (3 September 2017). "Galway end All Ireland famine with tight win over Waterford at Croke Park". Irish Independent. Retrieved 2 January 2019.
  29. ^ "PwC Hurling All-Stars nominations announced". GAA website. 20 September 2017. Retrieved 2 January 2019.
  30. ^ Verney, Michael (27 May 2018). "John Conlon and Tony Kelly fire Clare past depleted Waterford". Irish Independent. Retrieved 2 January 2019.
  31. ^ O'Toole, Fintan (29 May 2018). "Defensive pair out for months with broken bones as Waterford's hurling injury crisis deepens". The 42. Retrieved 2 January 2019.
  32. ^ O'Toole, Fintan (31 March 2019). "Limerick end 22-year with for league honours in style with final win over Waterford". The 42. Retrieved 31 March 2019.