It’s Thursday morning in downtown Ballina and the rain is teeming out of the sky. A fabulous spell of good weather has come to a momentary halt, but that doesn’t stall the work of the local rugby club.
The previous evening a Corporate Dinner had been enjoyed in Ballinrobe Racecourse and it’s on the lips of all, as good friends, Alan Rowe, Wally Rouse and Gerry O’Donnell gather in the corner of a booming coffee shop.
The three buddies are full of the joys – driven by the oodles of positive energy surrounding their beloved club and buoyed by the reason the trio and this scribe have met for breakfast.

A MAN AHEAD OF HIS TIME
The previous week, a decision had been made to highlight some of the people who helped make the club what it is, and as coffee beans are ground and eggs are scrambled, the exploits of one Dr Oliver Bourke echoes off the walls.
“He truly brought us into the 20th century,” O’Donnell explains. “He was a man ahead of his time,” Rowe adds. “Oliver lived and breathed Ballina Rugby Club and still does,” Rouse continues.
Soon, it becomes obvious that Oliver made a huge impression, not only on the club, but on the three men gathered around the breakfast table as Rowe explains while morning traffic passes outside the window.
“Oliver came back to family practise in the mid to late seventies and immediately got involved with the club again. The go-to people in the club at that time were Sean Murphy, Ivan Heffernan, Jim Ruddy, Liam Molloy and their friends.
“Oliver had been coaching Trinity and Leinster U19s and when he arrived back in the club he brought in manners, organisation, structure, fitness and respect. He took coaching to a new level and we thrived under his guidance.
“At that time he had been coaching great players such as Ollie Cambell, Paul Deans and John Robbie who went on to play for Ireland and the Springboks, and his teams beat all before them.
“It’s fair to say that Oliver changed the face of our club. At that time we were in Belleek and we hadn’t much, Alan says before O’Donnell interjects – “We had nothing.”

FLOODLIGHTS
The three men soon travel back through time and describe the situation the club found itself in.
Wally gives a quick synopsis of the situation. “When Oliver and Aubrey came back to the family practise here in town, I happened to be the club captain that year and we struck up a relationship straight away.
“At that time, we were working at our game, but not in a very organised fashion. We were making a few waves but it wasn’t consistent and then Oliver arrived.
“He approached the elder statesmen at the time saying there needed to be structured training midweek and that floodlights were required. He didn’t get the floodlights but he got car lights. Cars would be placed around the training area with the headlights on and the team trained,” Rouse states as another round of coffees arrive and Rowe takes up the baton again.
“Oliver coached the Connacht U20s and showed how talented he was by guiding them to an Inter-pro title which was unheard of in those days. Mick Moylett and Brian West were on the team and to win the Inter-pros was a huge achievement.”

HISTORY IS MADE
Wally steps in with an even better achievement on Oliver’s coaching CV. “He was the inspiration behind Ballina winning the Connacht Senior Cup in 1979 while we were still a junior club. That was historic – something we will never, ever, forget,” the former captain and president explains as memories of wonderful days come flowing back.
“We beat Athlone that day and Niall Brennan got the try. That was something special,” O’Donnell adds before charting the success of Oliver’s teams. “I think Oliver was with us for ten seasons and we won ten trophies in that time. It was brilliant.”
Soon, Alan takes up the story again and drives home the impact the genial doctor made on his beloved club. “If you went into Oliver’s surgery with a sore toe, he’d keep you half the day, discussing the previous week’s game and looking forward to the next one.
“Along with his great brother Aubrey, he brought a sense of stability and structure to this club and stopped us floundering around. He was always trying to get the best out of us and we’ve never looked back since.”

PLAYING THE PROPER WAY
O’Donnell has been listening to the conversation and then makes his own interjection. “Oliver brought us into the 20th century – no doubt about it and set us up for the 21st. He did everything right and wanted the same for us. If we were late for training, he’d walk away and you certainly wouldn’t be late the next day.
“He wanted us to play rugby the proper way and didn’t want anything underhand going on. He was always on to me to get my line-out throw straight and I used to joke with him that I deliberately threw it crooked so that we could push the opposition off the following scrum.
“He wasn’t a fan of anything outside the rules and on one famous occasion in a game against Sligo here in Ballina he wasn’t too happy when things boiled over a wee bit,” O’Donnell adds with a wink of his eye.
“That was the day Bill Mulcahy was on the sideline. Bill (who played 35 times for Ireland and six times for the Lions) was there with his wife, Christine Murphy
“The game had only kicked off when Bill was heard to remark, ‘This isn’t going to end well.’ He was right, within three minutes all hell broke loose and there were men everywhere,” O’Donnell explains before Rowe continues the tale.
“I’ll never forget it. I was on the other pitch playing an U17 match and we stopped the game to see what was happening. O’Donnell was down in the drain at that stage inviting his Sligo friends to join him – It was that type of a game, but that wasn’t Oliver’s way. He brought a style of play into the club which has never left and it serves us very well to this day.”

GREAT FRIENDSHIPS
In 1993, Oliver and family headed for Timaru in New Zealand. His loss to Ballina RFC was felt by all but on many occasions he has found old rugby friends on the doorstep as they come to reminisce with Oliver, his wife Louise and their daughters Sandra, Caroline, Wendy and Jenny.
Oliver’s brother Aubrey sadly passed away while still a powerful young man. His brothers Adrian and Henry have long been proudly associated with the club while their sister, Mary, has brought great honour and pride to the famed town on the Moy.
The Bourkes have made an indelible mark on the history of their beloved town and on Thursday last, three men gathered in the corner of a coffee shop to pour deserved praise on the family in general and their friend Oliver in particular.
“We’re lucky to know a man such as Oliver. He has made a huge impression on all of us. There are no airs or graces to him, he just wants us to be the best we can be and that is the ethos which drives this great club forward into a very bright future,” Alan concludes as the rain stops and the sun shines down on our beloved Ballina.