“I’m not sure if we’d have gotten the win last year without those two Final losses”- Kevin Burke

By Paul Keane 

Kevin Burke doesn't sugarcoat it, it took him a long time to get over Na Fianna's Go-Ahead county final defeats.

The 2021 final, Na Fianna's first ever at the senior grade, was the one that really got to him.

Wearing number three that evening, Burked helped put Na Fianna in a position of authority with a seven-point lead over Kilmacud Crokes and only three minutes of the hour remaining.

Surely the Glasnevin outfit would finally bring the senior hurling championship title back to Mobhi Road?

A late Crokes rally stopped them in their tracks, however, forcing extra-time and when the additional period had eventually elapsed, Na Fianna were the ones trailing by seven. A remarkable 14-point swing in just over 20 minutes.

Na Fianna lost again to Crokes 12 months later in the 2022 final.

"They were really tough, to be honest," said Burke. "Really hard to take. Especially the manner in which they happened. Like, we probably did deserve to win the first one. It was really tough."

The best teams look to the silver lining around the darkest clouds and, somehow, Na Fianna managed to pull a positive from those two agonising experiences.

"You learn a lot from days like that," reasoned Burke, who suggested that the losses may even have been necessary in order for them to finally get over the line in 2023. "Really tough losses to take but I'm not sure if we'd have gotten the win last year without those two losses. You learn from it and build from it."

In all, this will be the clubs' third Go-Ahead SHC final meeting in four seasons. They also met at the quarter-final stage last year, a game Na Fianna won.

More recently, Na Fianna and Crokes drew in this season's group stage, also at Parnell Park.

At this stage, there isn't much left for either side to find out or uncover about the other. Many of the same players have been meeting for the guts of a decade between minor, U-21 and senior county finals.

"My brother, Donal, was born in 1998," said Burke of his older brother, a key performer for club and county. "The 1996 born age group were the first really successful team in the club; Shane Barrett, Paul O'Dea, John Ryan, Eoghan McHugh. They were very strong from Feile onwards.

"They were probably the start of the success at underage. They put us on the scene at minor and U-21. That's when we won our U-21 championships, which is kind of the backbone of the team at the minute. They were the age group that started it all off."

Kevin is desperate to feature this weekend but may need to prove his fitness closer to throw-in having been out with an injury.

"My ankle was at me," he explained. "But hopefully I'll be okay."

This time last year it was sibling Donal who was on the treatment table, a bad hamstring injury in Dublin's All-Ireland SHC game against Clare ruling him out of Na Fianna's winter of fun. They reached the Leinster final in the end and came up just short against O'Loughlin Gaels.

"They were unbelievable days out, really special days," said Burke. "To do it without Donal was kind of funny. Like, we felt we were as strong as we ever were but then you'd forget that he wasn't playing. To have him now, that's definitely a nice boost, having him fit and available."

They're blessed to have Niall O Ceallachain as manager too. Homegrown and Na Fianna to the marrow, O Ceallachain now doubles as Dublin manager having recently been handed the reins.

"The one thing he has brought to us in Na Fianna in the last few years is a really good structure," said Burke. "The structure is nearly as good as an inter-county team, which is really what you need. Obviously you need the players and the coaches but as a manager he gives us that high quality setup. It just breeds success from that."

Burke is wary of what Crokes will bring to the table too when the old rivals pitch up at Parnell Park again. The Stillorgan side were comprehensive winners against Lucan Sarsfields in their semi-final, suggesting they are primed for a big final performance.

"They have serious new lads coming in every year," said Burke of Crokes. "You have a couple of lads who are starting and they look like they have been around for five or six years. 

"But we're the same. We've got a few new lads coming in. Will Wheatley, he's playing minor championship as well. 

"And lads like Joe Kavanagh, Ciaran Stacey, Jack Maher. You need those players pushing lads on and those fellas breaking into the team is exactly what you need in a squad."