Matthew Burke (born 4 February 1997) is an Irish

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

player who is currently a member of the

Connacht Connacht ( ; ga, Connachta or ), is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the west of Ireland. Until the ninth century it consisted of several independent major Gaelic kingdoms (Uí Fiachrach, Uí Briúin, Uí Maine, Conmhaícne, and Delbhn ...

academy. He plays as a

prop A prop, formally known as (theatrical) property, is an object used on stage or screen by actors during a performance or screen production. In practical terms, a prop is considered to be anything movable or portable on a stage or a set, distinc ...

, and represents

Corinthians The First Epistle to the Corinthians ( grc, Α΄ ᾽Επιστολὴ πρὸς Κορινθίους) is one of the Pauline epistles, part of the New Testament of the Christian Bible. The epistle is attributed to Paul the Apostle and a co-aut ...

in the All-Ireland League.

Early life

Born in

Lewisham Lewisham () is an area of southeast London, England, south of Charing Cross. It is the principal area of the London Borough of Lewisham, and was within the Historic counties of England, historic county of Kent until 1889. It is identified i ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, Burke moved to Ireland when he was one year old, settling in

Ballinrobe Ballinrobe () is a town in County Mayo in Ireland. It is located on the River Robe, which empties into Lough Mask two kilometres to the west. As of the 2016 census, the population was 2,786. History Foundation and development Ballinrobe is c ...

County Mayo County Mayo (; ga, Contae Mhaigh Eo, meaning "Plain of the Taxus baccata, yew trees") is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. In the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Conn ...

, where his fathers parents were from. He first began playing rugby aged 6 with the local club in Ballinrobe, before joining Galwegians in 2015, and represented Connacht at various age grade levels, as well as winning a cap for the Ireland schoolboys team in February 2015. Following this, he made his way across town to play more competitive adult rugby for Corinthians RFC.

Connacht

Whilst still in the academy, Burke made his senior competitive debut for Connacht in their 34–14 away defeat against English side

Sale Sharks Sale Sharks is a professional rugby union club from Greater Manchester, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. Originally founded in 1861 as Sale Football Club, now a distinct amateur club, they adopted the n ...

during the 2018–19 Challenge Cup on 20 October 2018. Burke signed a professional contract with the province in April 2019, which will see him join the senior squad ahead of the 2019–20 season.

References

External links

Connacht Academy ProfilePro14 Profile
* 1997 births Living people Irish rugby union players Galwegians RFC players Connacht Rugby players Rugby union props People from Lewisham Rugby union players from the London Borough of Lewisham People from Ballinrobe Rugby union players from County Mayo {{ireland-rugbyunion-bio-stub