Éamonn Burns (born 24 January 1972) is a

Gaelic football Gaelic football ( ga, Peil Ghaelach; short name '), commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA or Football is an Irish team sport. It is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score by kic ...

er who played for

Ballinascreen Draperstown ()Toner, Gregory. ''Place-Names of Northern Ireland'', p. 85. Queen's University of Belfast, 1996; is a village in the Sperrin Mountains in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It is situated in the civil parish of Ballinascreen an ...

and the Derry county team in the 1990s and early 2000s. He was part of Derry's first ever

All-Ireland Senior Football Championship The All-Ireland Senior Football Championship (SFC) ( ga, Craobh Shinsir Peile na hÉireann) is the premier competition in Gaelic football. An annual tournament organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA), it is contested by the county ...

winning side in

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...

and also won two

Ulster Senior Football Championship The Ulster Senior Football Championship is an inter-county competition for Gaelic football teams in the province of Ulster. It is organised by the Ulster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) and begins in early May. The final is usu ...

s and four

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

titles. He also had a distinguished under-age career with the county - winning Ulster Under 21, Ulster Minor and All-Ireland Minor Championship medals. Burns still plays club football with St Colm's Ballinascreen. He usually plays in the half forward line. Burns had massive promise at underage level, and won a vast range of honours by the time he was 21, however some feel he never reached his true potential on the inter-county stage. He was also hampered by injury throughout his career.

Personal life

Burns went to secondary school at

St Patrick's College, Maghera St. Patrick's College, also known as St. Patrick's Co-Ed Comprehensive College, is a co-educational 11–18 secondary school in Maghera, County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It teaches within the Roman Catholic ethos. St Patrick’s’ Maghe ...

. Later he attended St Mary's University College in

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...

and

Queen's University Belfast , mottoeng = For so much, what shall we give back? , top_free_label = , top_free = , top_free_label1 = , top_free1 = , top_free_label2 = , top_free2 = , established = , closed = , type = Public research university , parent = ...

. Burns teaches

physical education Physical education, often abbreviated to Phys Ed. or P.E., is a subject taught in schools around the world. It is usually taught during primary and secondary education, and encourages psychomotor learning by using a play and movement explorati ...

St Columb's College St Columb's College ( ga, Coláiste Naomh Colum Cille) is a Roman Catholic boys' grammar school in Derry, Northern Ireland and, since 2008, a specialist school in mathematics. It is named after Saint Columba, the missionary monk from County Don ...

Derry Derry, officially Londonderry (), is the second-largest city in Northern Ireland and the fifth-largest city on the island of Ireland. The name ''Derry'' is an anglicisation of the Old Irish name (modern Irish: ) meaning 'oak grove'. The ...

Playing career

Club

1990 was Burns' first year in the Ballinascreen

Senior Senior (shortened as Sr.) means "the elder" in Latin and is often used as a suffix for the elder of two or more people in the same family with the same given name, usually a parent or grandparent. It may also refer to: * Senior (name), a surname ...

panel and they reached that year's

Derry Senior Football Championship The Derry Senior Football Championship is an annual Gaelic football competition contested by the top sixteen Derry GAA clubs. The winners receive the John McLaughlin Cup and qualify to represent Derry in the Ulster Senior Club Football Champi ...

final, where they were beaten by Lavey. He was top-scorer in that year's Championship. Screen reached the final again two years later but once again Lavey came out victorious. Burns was again top scorer in the Championship. In 1994 Burns and Screen were beat in another Derry Championship final, this time to

Bellaghy Bellaghy () is a village in County Derry, Northern Ireland. It lies north west of Lough Neagh and about 5 miles north east of Magherafelt. In the centre of the village (known locally as The Diamond) three main roads lead to Magherafelt, Port ...

. They did however win the Derry Senior Football League that year. He again finished the Championship's top scorer in 1996. Ballinascreen won the Derry League Division 2 title in 2008. The club also won the 2009

Ulster Senior Club Football League The Ulster Senior Club Football League is an annual Gaelic football tournament played in Ulster GAA between clubs who choose to enter. It starts with a group stage, with the group winners (and for 2008 the best group runner-up) advancing to the ...

. Burns was in the United States for a short period the early 1990s and while there played with St. Columbkille's GFC,

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

. He along with fellow Derry man

Dermot McNicholl Dermot McNicholl (born 6 November 1965) is an Irish former Gaelic footballer who played for the Derry county team in the 1980s and 1990s. He was part of Derry's 1993 All-Ireland Championship winning side, also winning Ulster Senior Football Ch ...

helped the club win a

Boston Senior Football Championship The Boston Senior Football Championship is an annual Gaelic football competition, played in the Boston region of America. The competition is organised by the Northeast Division Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association. The games are played at th ...

in 1991.

Inter-county

Burns was known as one of Derry's best ever underage players. He was part of the successful Derry

Minor Minor may refer to: * Minor (law), a person under the age of certain legal activities. ** A person who has not reached the age of majority * Academic minor, a secondary field of study in undergraduate education Music theory *Minor chord ** Barb ...

team that won the 1989 Ulster Minor and All-Ireland Minor Championships, beating

Armagh Armagh ( ; ga, Ard Mhacha, , "Macha's height") is the county town of County Armagh and a city in Northern Ireland, as well as a civil parish. It is the ecclesiastical capital of Ireland – the seat of the Archbishops of Armagh, the Pri ...

and

Offaly County Offaly (; ga, Contae Uíbh Fhailí) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the province of Leinster. It is named after the ancient Kingdom of Uí Failghe. It was formerly known as King's County, in hono ...

in the respective finals. Burns was part of the Derry Minor team again the following year, where they successfully defended their Ulster title, beating Down in the final. They were however beaten in the subsequent All-Ireland semi-final. With the Derry

Under 21 Under may refer to: * "Under" (Alex Hepburn song), 2013 * "Under" (Pleasure P song), 2009 *Bülent Ünder (born 1949), Turkish footballer *Cengiz Ünder (born 1997), Turkish footballer *Marie Under (1883–1980), Estonian poet * Under (restaurant) ...

team he won the Ulster Under 21 Championship in 1993, beating Down in the decider. By that stage he was already part of the Derry Senior team, having made his debut in 1991. Burns got a groin injury against Down in 1991 and it meant he missed a lot of football that year and the next. The injury was somewhat of a mystery and nobody could diagnose it. Derry exited the 1991

to Down after a replay, who went on to win that year's

. Burns was on the bench when Derry beat Tyrone in the 1992

final. They reached the Ulster Championship final later that year, but lost out to

Donegal Donegal may refer to: County Donegal, Ireland * County Donegal, a county in the Republic of Ireland, part of the province of Ulster * Donegal (town), a town in County Donegal in Ulster, Ireland * Donegal Bay, an inlet in the northwest of Ireland b ...

. Injury meant he only played a few minutes in that year's Championship - against

Monaghan Monaghan ( ; ) is the county town of County Monaghan, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It also provides the name of its Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish and Monaghan (barony), barony. The population of the town as of the 2016 census was 7 ...

. The injury was finally diagnosed in March 1993 as a small hernia and an operation meant he was fit for the Championship campaign. In

Derry won the Ulster Championship, beating Donegal in the decider. Derry defeated

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

in a classic All-Ireland semi-final, before beating

Cork Cork or CORK may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container ***Wine cork Places Ireland * Cork (city) ** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...

in the All-Ireland final, in which Burns made a substitute appearance. The success was Derry's first All-Ireland Senior Football Championship title. Derry were knocked out the following year by Down in the first round of the Ulster Championship. The game is regarded as one of the best matches of all time. In 1995 Burns and Derry defeated Donegal in the National League final. They defended the title the following year, with victory over the same opposition in the decider. Tyrone knocked Derry out of the Championship in both

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is O. J. Simpson murder case, acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the 1994, year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The ...

and

1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A Centennial Olympic Park bombing, bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical Anti-abortion violence, anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 8 ...

. Derry reached the Ulster final in

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of t ...

but were beaten by

Cavan Cavan ( ; ) is the county town of County Cavan in Ireland. The town lies in Ulster, near the border with County Fermanagh in Northern Ireland. The town is bypassed by the main N3 road that links Dublin (to the south) with Enniskillen, Bally ...

. In 1998 Derry again competed in the National League final, but were beaten by Offaly. Later that year though, Derry beat Donegal in the Ulster Championship final. They met

Galway Galway ( ; ga, Gaillimh, ) is a City status in Ireland, city in the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht, which is the county town of County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lo ...

in the All-Ireland semi-final, but were defeated. The following year Armagh knocked Derry out of the Championship. Burns won a fourth National League medal in 2000, with Derry beating Meath in the final. Derry reached that year's Ulster final, but were beaten by Armagh. Derry lost at the semi-final stage of the

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants in ...

Ulster Championship, but nonetheless reached the All-Ireland semi-final through the Qualifiers (which had been introduced that year), where they once again faced Galway. Derry again lost to Galway. Burns made his last Derry appearance in a National League game against

Fermanagh Historically, Fermanagh ( ga, Fir Manach), as opposed to the modern County Fermanagh, was a kingdom of Gaelic Ireland, associated geographically with present-day County Fermanagh. ''Fir Manach'' originally referred to a distinct kin group of al ...

in 2002. That year Derry were beaten by Tyrone in the third round of the Qualifiers.

School/college

Burns won two consecutive MacRory and

Hogan Cup The Hogan Cup ( ga, Corn Uí Ógáin), also known as the All-Ireland Post Primary Schools Senior A Football Championship, is the top level Gaelic football championship for secondary schools (sometimes referred to as colleges) in Ireland. The com ...

s with St. Pat's Maghera in 1989 and 1990. He was

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

of the side in 1990. Burns won the

Sigerson Cup The Sigerson Cup is the trophy for the premier Gaelic football championship among Higher Education institutions (Universities, Colleges and Institutes of Technology) in Ireland. It traditionally begins in mid January and ends in late February. ...

with Queen's University Belfast in 1993. He could not play in the final due to injury, but was on the panel. He also won the Ryan Cup with QUB.

Management career

Burns manages some school football teams at St. Columb's College in Derry City. His main success is guiding the school to victory in the 2002 MacLarnon Cup, the only in the school's history. This was Burns' first major trophy as a manager. The college have not repeated the 2002 success. Most recently they lost out in the 2008 decider to St. Mary's CBS, Belfast by two points.

2014 attack

Burns fractured his face and required surgery when he was assaulted at West End, Main Street,

Buncrana Buncrana ( ; ) is a town in County Donegal, Ireland. It is beside Lough Swilly on the Inishowen peninsula, northwest of Derry and north of Letterkenny. In the 2016 census, the population was 6,785 making it the second most populous town in Cou ...

, on 23 February 2014.

Playing honours

Club

: **Winner (1): 2009 *

: **Runner up: 1990, 1992, 1994 *Derry Senior Football League: **Winner (1): 1994 *

: **Winner (1): 1991

Inter-county

Senior

: **Winner (1):

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

: **Winner (4): 1992, 1995, 1996, 2000 **Runner-up: 1998 *

: **Winner (2): 1993, 1998 **Runner up: 1992, 1997, 2000

Under-21

Ulster Under-21 Football Championship The Ulster GAA Football Under-20 Championship, known simply as the Ulster Under-20 Championship, is an annual inter-county Gaelic football competition organised by the Ulster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). It is the highest int ...

: **Winner (1): 1993

Minor

All-Ireland Minor Football Championship The Electric Ireland All-Ireland Minor Football Championship is the premier under-17 "knockout" competition in Gaelic football played in Ireland. 2017 was the final year of the minor under 18 football championship as it were replaced by an under ...

: **Winner (1): 1989 *

Ulster Minor Football Championship The Ulster Minor Football Championship is the Minor "knockout" competition in the game of Gaelic football played in the province of Ulster in Ireland. The series of games are organised by the Ulster Council. The trophy for the winning side is Th ...

: **Winner (2): 1989, 1990

School/college

: **Winner (1): 1993 *

Ryan Cup The Ryan Cup is the tier 2 hurling championship for third level colleges, the Fitzgibbon Cup The Fitzgibbon Cup ( ga, Corn Mhic Giobúin) is the trophy for the premier hurling championship among higher education institutions (universities, coll ...

: **Winner (1): 199x *

: **Winner (2): 1989, 1990 *

MacRory Cup The MacRory Cup is an inter-college (school) Gaelic football tournament in Ulster at senior "A" grade. The MacLarnon Cup is the competition for schools at senior 'B' grade. Players must be under nineteen at the start of the tournament. The win ...

: **Winner (2): 1989, 1990

Individual

* All-Time Derry Senior Football Team - Left corner forward * Derry Senior Football Championship top-scorer: 1990, 1992, 1996

Coaching honours

School/college

*MacLarnon Cup: **Winner (1): 2002

Soccer career

Burns also plays

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

. Teams he played for include

Limavady United Limavady United Football Club is an intermediate, Northern Irish football club playing in the NIFL Premier Intermediate League. The club comes from Limavady, County Londonderry, and plays home matches at the Showgrounds. Club colours are royal ...

and Omagh Town. He currently plays for Draperstown Celtic. In the 2007/08 season he scored the goal that ultimately won the club the Northern Ireland Intermediate League title for the first time in their history.

References

External links

QUB Hall of FameSt Colm's Ballinascreen websiteOfficial Derry GAA website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Burns, Eamonn 1972 births Living people Ballinascreen Gaelic footballers Derry inter-county Gaelic footballers Gaelic footballers who switched code Gaelic football in Massachusetts Irish expatriate sportspeople in the United States People educated at St Columb's College Winners of one All-Ireland medal (Gaelic football) Sportspeople from Derry (city)