Corofin are one of the slickest teams in the country.
Ian Burke is one of the slickest players in the country. Pass and move is the Galway club’s mantra, Burke is the master.
With hands granted by the gods of Gaelic football and as quick as the clappers of hell, the All-Star corner forward has made a name for himself as one of the best short-passers in the game.
His jinky movement leaves his man for dead and once he’s out in front the opposition are in bother. Burke can turn on a sixpence if he wants but more often than not he doesn’t need to because the lads he’s playing with just know that if they run up alongside him, he’ll pop them off the most perfect pass right into their paths.
Sárimirt ó Ian Burke inné. Agus raflaí go raibh sé tinn freisin. Dochreidte! @CorofinGAA @Galway_GAA @ConnachtGAA pic.twitter.com/T7ytBBvNuK
— Spórt TG4 (@SportTG4) November 26, 2018
Easy does it, he’s turned making the game look simple into an art-form.
It could be a kick-pass but it’s usually a skilful handpass because that’s quicker and that’s more effective.
The new rules being trialled in Gaelic football’s pre-season competitions, namely the restriction of handpasses to three, has come in for plenty of criticism far and wide but even with his style of play, the Galway man is prepared to give them time.
“Yeah, it’s an interesting one. I was looking at the rules there and I suppose they are proactive in a way, trying to get Gaelic Football moving by cutting out the hand-passing and slow build up play and things like that,” said the Corofin man.
“I’d probably want to see it in action a couple of times to see how it plays out. I would use the handpass quite a bit so it could be interesting to see what to do if there’s three hand-passes given in. It’s interesting. If there’s a guy going down on the goal-line and you have to pop it and it’s called back, then it wouldn’t be good in that regard, but I understand what they’re trying to do in terms of moving the game on and making it quicker and faster,” he says.
“I haven’t seen much of them yet, so I just want to go out and see how it works out and how the game develops and plays out,” he added.
That darting movement has been there from a young age, and his pass and move game was made in Corofin.
“I think I was always small growing up so I was always running away from the big lads. Yeah, it’s just something I’ve developed. I think with Corofin the style of football we played growing up was always let the ball travel and movement and developing our ball-skills, pretty much.
“It’s easy play with Corofin and Galway because with the kick-passers they have there, it’s brilliant ball every time so that makes my job a lot easier inside.
That type of game has to goals like this one, which with the new rules, would be outlawed.
Michael Farragher with a lovely finish for Corofin's second goal! pic.twitter.com/WkvYPH3Y8k
— The GAA (@officialgaa) March 17, 2018
If he had to, Ian Burke would find a way around it anyway.
Ian Burke at the launch of Future Proof Media, the low cost, jargon free marketing consultants. Visit www.futureproofmedia.ie to see how they can help you grow your business.
