Anyone able to copy and paste this up? Thanks.
The bags weighing him down are a firm display of De BĂșrcaâs short but sustained shopping blitz. The Best Menswear bag is well stacked with snazzy gear. One of his brothers has certainly done well from his purchases.
De BĂșrcaâs home in Balally in south Dublin is just a two-minute stroll up the road. He used to regularly go to Dundrum centre to meet up with friends for coffee, but he has been drawn more to the surrounding Barista bars over the past year. They are handier, less hassle with less people, even if De BĂșrca has always liked the anonymity from the blur of city life.
De BĂșrca has been teaching geography and Irish in south Dublin for years but, outside of hurling, the place has always been a form of retreat without the solemn meditation. âWhen you have big matches coming up, nobody bothers you up here because nobody knows who you are,â he says. âIf youâre in Waterford, itâs harder to switch off because everyone wants to talk about hurling.â
Being away from his own county has insulated De BĂșrca from the constant discussion and debate around his return since tearing his cruciate knee ligament in the 2020 All-Ireland final. He has been off the beaten path ever since, diligently working on his comeback trail, in the gym or on the pitch, trying to reach and surpass small targets with each passing week.
His dislocation from the Waterford squad lasted almost a year because he and the management made a collective decision to cut ties until he was fit to return. âWe just felt it was best for everyone,â he says. âI was doing my own rehab in Dublin so there was no point me coming down midweek or at weekends. The travelling doesnât help the rehab either.â
When De BĂșrca suffered the tear against Limerick 12 months ago, he heard a pop â that sharp but audible sound that signals the cruciate snapping. The same trepidation was ransacking his mind from having suffered the same injury just 14 months earlier, but he was still trying to suppress the red flags flying up all around him.
He did not feel any sudden pain. Maybe it was not a popping sound. He played on, but denial is often the first refuge of hope. A few minutes later, his knee caved in. He collapsed in a heap. âI nearly got weak,â he says. âI just said, âPlease, not againâ. Initially I tried to keep going but I could tell that the knee wasnât stable.â
As De BĂșrca lay on the turf for over a minute with his helmet off, the agony and anxiety were visible in every contour of his face. His mind was processing more than just the pain he was experiencing; his brain was already computing the long-haul pain still to come.
âYour head is gone because you know exactly whatâs ahead of you,â he says. âYouâre trying to console yourself that it wouldnât be as bad if you had an All-Ireland medal. But you knew in the second half that we had no hope of winning, which made it harder to take. It was a fairly depressing night.â
After having the surgery in Santry in January, De BĂșrca again set out on the long road to recovery. Loneliness is often a constant companion. Hope can be false. Enthusiasm can feel like an impostor. Setbacks are inevitable. Any small shreds of positivity are still largely governed by an unmistakeable vulnerability.
The whole recovery process was different because the skin graft was taken from his hamstring as opposed to his patella tendon after the first cruciate tear. With that procedure weakening the hamstring, one of De BĂșrcaâs main focuses in the early months was to build up that muscle to avoid collateral issues later on.
âIt was a different injury from the first cruciate tear,â he says. âI had more pain in the joint. I also had a second operation where they took a bit [of tissue] off my IT band for my knee, which added to the pain.â
The pathway back the second time around was also far different. After his first cruciate tear in October 2019, returning for a summer championship with Waterford in 2020 looked out of his reach but a winter campaign granted De BĂșrca a renewed opportunity he was desperate to grasp.
Getting his knee fully rehabbed was still always going to be a cross between coercion and patience. The lockdown in 2020 granted De BĂșrca the one thing he needed most â time.
He did not have that luxury in 2021, but not having to race against the clock removed the relentless chase â in his head as much as on the field and in the gym. âIn a way, it was easier because the pressure wasnât on to get back playing,â he says. âThere were stages of that first rehab when I was constantly questioning myself when I hadnât reached certain targets.
âThat same stress wasnât there. I knew, too, that I would need the 12 months for the knee to properly heal and to get it strong again. Youâre kinda goosed if you do it a third time, but you canât think about that. Youâre just focused on trying to get it right, 100 per cent.â
Getting De BĂșrca back on the field was a priority for Liam Cahill for the 2020 championship. He needed him to anchor a new defence. With a raft of retirements and injuries, Cahill also needed De Burca to embrace an increased responsibility, which he thrived on; he became the teamâs spiritual leader.
De BĂșrca has been a brilliant player for Waterford since Derek McGrath handed him his senior championship debut in 2014. A year later, he was an All-Star and Young Hurler of the Year, but his role increasingly became a weapon to use against McGrathâs tactical philosophy. It also awkwardly positioned De BĂșrca at the front line of a debate around the expanding sweeper culture in hurling.
âWe had our tactics and thatâs how we were playing,â he says. âWhatever way people on the outside wanted to describe my role, it was just a privilege for me to be playing. I never put any more thought into it than that.â
De BĂșrcaâs positional sense and ability to read play has made him one of the most influential centre-backs of the modern game. The Waterford players were always encouraged to be creative within their structure under McGrath but De BĂșrcaâs role had changed in 2020, in that he was running the ball more when he secured possession around the D. He also had more licence to get forward with the depth of the Waterford half-forward line.
âWith Liam, there is a big emphasis on getting up and down the field,â De BĂșrca says. âYou defend and attack together, so I did find myself up the field a bit more, and I enjoyed it.â
Watching on from the outside last year was a new experience. He spent more times with his friends. He tried to emotionally detach himself from the squad on match days, but that was much more challenging by the time Waterford reached the All-Ireland semi-final. He missed them, but Waterford missed De BĂșrca even more.
Waterford have always leaned heavily on his relaxed and composed demeanour; his steadfast determination. The past two years have tested that purpose and resoluteness but De BĂșrca has kept on keeping on.
Everything was structured around his comeback. He tailored his nutrition to include foods known to strengthen damaged ligaments. De BĂșrca added more collagen to his diet for tendon strength. Less swelling in his knee meant less time in the ocean and more time in the gym. He has clearly added more power and size to his frame.
Twelve months on, De BĂșrca is finally back in with Waterfordâs squad. He is running and has already done some non-contact drills. âThe next stage now is getting back into contact, shouldering fellas, turning and twisting under pressure,â he says.
âThe big thing is confidence but Iâm really looking forward to getting back. You are conscious of making sure everything goes right, but I am very laid back and easy going. I never get too caught up in stuff, which helps me stay composed on the field. I hope that stands to me now going forward. You canât be getting too frustrated. You just have to keep going.â
De BĂșrca always has, and always will. The journey has not been easy, but negotiating his way back again has only strengthened his faith in the freakish depth of his resilience.
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Thanks for that.
Foran has been around for a while now, has he ever got any game time?
Big strong lad but windy.
He played the day of the fantom goal v Tipp in Limerick, played well that day too
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He played against Westmeath in the league last year. On a poor team display he scored 3 points. Showed in flashes but would then see little action for ages. Like the whole team really on the day is my recollection of that game.
Thatâs the last I can remember him playing last year.
Welcome back Tadhg 
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If Waterford got SOKY back theyâd be clear favs for the All Ireland IMO. Heâs the game changer. OâBriens puckouts collapsed in the semi final last year and SOK saves a certain goal most days.
The following team would be a frightening prospect. All these runners coming from deep, creating overlaps left, right and centre. Could see them scoring a lot of goals.
SOK
Kenny, Prunty, Gleeson
Calum, TDB, Kieran Bennett
Barron, Daly
Hogan, Austin, Prendergast
Dessie, Stephen Bennett, Shane Bennett
Nothing but All Ireland glory will do for Waterford this year.
Like Ballygunner, its All Ireland Champions or bust.
No offence, but if we are starting Peter Hogan we can throw our hat at it.
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You could throw Curran or Kiely or Fagan or Montgomery in but Hogan fits the system to a tee
Mark Fitzgerald could be pushing for a starting place in the half forward line. Michael Kiely as well, though probably a better option off the bench.
In your team there ultimately (if we want to win the All Ireland) Peter Hogan will be marking Kyle Hayes. Thatâs beyond a mismatch.
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I think Cahill will be looking for size in around the middle this year. Peter Hogan, Shane Bennett and Jack Prendergast were horsed out of it in the semi final last year.
Carthach Daly could get a run somewhere and Calum Lyons could be midfield,
KH has a few things to navigate before then.