Éamonn Burns (born 24 January 1972) is a

Gaelic football Gaelic football (; short name '')'', commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA, or football, is an Irish team sport. A form of football, it is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score ...

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) () is the premier inter-county competition in Gaelic football. County (Gaelic games), County teams compete against each other and the winner is declared All-Ireland Champions. Organised by the ...

winning side in

1993 The United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1993 as: * International Year for the World's Indigenous People The year 1993 in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands had only 364 days, since its ...

and also won two

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

s and four

National League National League often refers to: *National League (baseball), one of the two baseball leagues constituting Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada *National League (division), the fifth division of the English football (soccer) system ...

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. The school is widely re ...

. Later he attended St Mary's University College in

Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...

and

Queen's University Belfast The Queen's University of Belfast, commonly known as Queen's University Belfast (; abbreviated Queen's or QUB), is a public research university in Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom. The university received its charter in 1845 as part of ...

. Burns teaches

physical education Physical education is an academic subject taught in schools worldwide, encompassing Primary education, primary, Secondary education, secondary, and sometimes tertiary education. It is often referred to as Phys. Ed. or PE, and in the United Stat ...

St Columb's College St Columb's College is a Roman Catholic boys' grammar school in Derry, Northern Ireland. Since 2008, it has been a specialist school in mathematics. It is named after Saint Columba, the missionary monk from County Donegal who founded a monast ...

Derry Derry, officially Londonderry, is the second-largest City status in the United Kingdom, city in Northern Ireland, and the fifth-largest on the island of Ireland. Located in County Londonderry, the city now covers both banks of the River Fo ...

Playing career

Club

1990 was Burns's 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 Champio ...

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 Londonderry, 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, ...

. 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 k ...

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

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

. He along with fellow Derry man Dermot McNicholl helped the club win a Boston Senior Football Championship 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: Common meanings * Minor (law), a person not under the age of certain legal activities. * Academic minor, a secondary field of study in undergraduate education Mathematics * Minor (graph theory), a relation of one graph to an ...

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

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

and

Offaly County Offaly (; ) 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 honour of Philip II of Spain ...

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 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. 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), Monaghan barony. The population of the town as of the 2022 cen ...

. 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 is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

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

Cork "Cork" or "CORK" may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Stopper (plug), or "cork", a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container *** Wine cork an item to seal or reseal wine Places Ireland * ...

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 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...

and

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

. Derry reached the Ulster final in

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

but were beaten by

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

. 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 ( ; , ) is a City status in Ireland, city in (and the county town of) County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay. It is the most populous settlement in the province of Connacht, the List of settleme ...

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 County Meath ( ; or simply , ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. It is bordered by County Dublin to the southeast, County ...

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 year's most prominent event was 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. The United States led a Participan ...

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 (), 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 alleged Laigin or ...

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 (), 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 competition itself is re ...

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 or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

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. T ...

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's 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 Inishowen in the north of County Donegal in Ulster, the northern Provinces of Ireland, province in Ireland. The town sits on the eastern shores of Lough Swilly, being northwest of Derry and north of Letterkenny. I ...

, on 23 February 2014.

Playing honours

Club

: **Winner (1): 2009 *

: **Runner up: 1990, 1992, 1994 *Derry Senior Football League: **Winner (1): 1994 * Boston Senior Football Championship: **Winner (1): 1991

Inter-county

Senior

: **Winner (1):

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

: **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 in ...

: **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 was 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 T ...

: **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 being the tier 1 hurling championship trophy. The Ryan Cup competition is administered by Comhairle Ard Oideachais Cumann Lúthchleas Gael (CLG), the GAA ...

: **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 winn ...

: **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 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

. Teams he played for include Limavady United 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)