National Award for Mary Burke
November 30, 2008
The role played by the PRO in any club or organisation is tremendously important in terms of enhancing profiles and awareness. A good example is Meath Camogie Board PRO Mary Burke who has done much in recent times to help promote the game of camogie in the Royal County by generating as much publicity as possible.
Mary admitted to being somewhat surprised when she was chosen as National Camogie PRO of the Year for 2007 and was presented with her award during the summer, but anybody in the local media who is familiar with her work won't have been one bit surprised by the honour that was bestowed upon the Killyon club member. To say the very least, it was richly deserved.
It must have been a very proud day for Mary and the Camogie Board when she received her award in Croke Park from Cumann Camogaiochta na nGael president Liz Howard and RTE presenter Eileen Dunne. Awards are presented in different categories and honour the late Mick Dunne who was a noted RTE sports broadcaster for many years.
Tremendous progress has been made on the Meath camogie scene in a very short space of time and this was a truly memorable year for all concerned when a team coached by John Davis won the National League Div. 4 and All-Ireland Junior B titles to make up for so many near misses in 2007.
Mary's work in compiling match reports and supplying photographs to the local media has helped enormously to generate the sort of publicity which can only enhance the image and profile of the Camogie Board and the game of camogie in the county and demonstrates what a love and passion she has for a sport she graced as a player over a long number of years.
The Clonard native lined out with Killyon over many years and she also wore the Meath jersey for approximately two decades. But with her playing days over she continued her involvement with the sport in a variety of roles, including that of board PRO. Obviously, it can be a busy job at times, especially at the height of the championship season in the county when there are so many club games, but it is clearly a labour of love.
"Trying to get information from clubs can be the most time consuming part of it, but a lot of the clubs are fairly good in that respect and it has got better over the last couple of years," Mary said. "I try to get around to as many games as possible myself and I take photographs as well.
"I also do the Meath camogie website and I try to update it on a regular basis. A lot of people are logging onto the site which is great to see. Photographs are important; people like to see photographs included."
Mary has been Camogie Board PRO for approximately three years and it was fitting that her dedicated efforts were recognised with the national award.
"I had no idea it was coming," she added. "But I was surprised and delighted. The County Board put in the nomination. It was extra special because it honoured Mick Dunne. I have to say I was as proud as punch. We had a very enjoyable time in Croke Park."
Watching the game progress to such an extent in the county in recent years has delighted Mary and all those associated with the sport and this year was especially pleasing thanks to the annexation of those league and championship titles which helped to make all the hard work on behalf of the players and management so worthwhile.
"It has been absolutely great to see the way things are developing in the county," Mary said. "They won the All-Ireland 'B' title for the Nancy Murray Cup at the end of August and had earlier won the National League Div. 4 title.
"I know people will say it's not all about winning, but it's nice to win something. There are a lot of people putting vital work into the promotion of camogie in the county and it's great to see it paying off. Our sponsors Bovale are just great; they are so supportive. We wouldn't be able to do it without them."
Winning titles at adult inter-county level is great to see, but the reality is that a huge amount of effort has to be put into developing the game in the under-age ranks if a county is to continue to progress.
That's especially so in the case of a county like Meath where they are attempting to gradually climb up the ladder of progression to play at a higher level. Bringing players through is essential and the work is being done to ensure that this will continue to happen in the years to come.
"We ran two camogie summer camps this year in Kilmessan and Donaghmore/Ashbourne which was a new development," Mary added. "They went very well which was great to see. Coaching officers Dudley Farrell and Christine O'Brien helped us out and were of great assistance to us.
"We got about 100 kids at them and that was good. The feedback from the kids and especially from the parents was very good as well. The plan is to extend the summer camps to other clubs in the county next year."
Mary served as secretary of Killyon Camogie Club for 12 years and also acted as a county selector with Kilmessan's Valerie Curtis for a number of years. She was clearly well qualified for that role if her success as a player on the club scene is anything to go by.
"I played for Killyon for the best part of 25 years up to about three years ago and I got great enjoyment out of it," she said. "We were successful and I won eight Senior Championship medals.
"We won six senior titles in a row between 1989 and 1994. After a gap of a few years we came back and won it again and we won another one in 2004. I played in 2005, but I stopped after that. My twin sister Margaret also played on those teams. She gave up playing last year."
Mary can also look back on a lengthy career in the Meath jersey and while she didn't win very much, she clearly enjoyed it all.
"I played for Meath for about 20 years," she added. "We didn't win a lot, apart from a couple of Leinster 'B' League titles. But I really enjoyed it."
Talking to Mary demonstrates just how much she cares about the game of camogie in the county and how she wants to see it prosper and strengthen in the years ahead, not just in its more traditional south Meath base, but elsewhere as well. After all, with more people participating in the sport competition is sure to be more intense and that can only be good for standards at all levels.
"I would like to see more clubs in the north of the county, in places like Nobber," she said. "I would also like to see Meath advance to a higher level after the successes achieved this year. Promoting the game at under-age level is vitally important and it's essential to concentrate on that."
The successes achieved by John Davis' team this year were richly deserved. Winning those two titles will have done a lot for the promotion of the game in the county as a whole and were a fitting reward for the amount of effort put in by all concerned. The same applies to Mary Burke who got what she deserved for her efforts in the shape of the PRO of the Year Award.
PROs don't always get the recognition they deserve for their Trojan work which is of immense significance in keeping the public aware of activities. The importance of the job they do should never be underestimated.
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