BURIED ALIVE

Recalling the fundraiser which saw hurling legend buried alive in a coffin

TURLOUGHMORE’S Frank Burke spent 49 hours six feet under the ground in a coffin that was lowered down on December 30 of 1988, rising again at midday on New Year’s Day of 1989.

John F Kennedy’s Presidential inauguration speech of 1963 contained the famous line of ‘Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country’.

Jarlath McDonagh uttered similar words at Turloughmore GAA Club’s 1986 AGM, and Frank Burke was one man who certainly went the distance for his club’s efforts to raise enough funds to build a social centre and pitch in Lackagh 35 years ago.

Frank won an All-Ireland medal playing centre-forward for the Galway hurlers in 1980 and captained Turloughmore to their last County final victory in ‘85.

Turloughmore GAA Club didn’t own a playing field or associated facilities when they won their eighth Tom Callanan Cup in ’85. They played and trained in Murray’s Field (at the back of Murray’s Pub) and on a piece of land in Turloughbawn near Coolarne National School, that they got from the Land Commission.

“There was a very big AGM held after the ‘85 County final win, and a big discussion about how we were going to go about setting up our own facilities,” said Jarlath McDonagh, a retired teacher, County Councillor and Senator, who was Chairman of Turloughmore GAA Club at the time…

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