Today sees traditional city rivals St Mary's College and St Joseph's College compete for the Walter Burke Memorial Cup. The match kicks off in St Mary's at 11.45am.
This is the fourth staging of the match which the Bish has won twice in the last three years.
Walter Burke retired from St Mary’s in late 2009 after a career spanning 40 years, during which he was instrumental in introducing and developing soccer in St Mary's. Sadly Walter passed away Christmas 2010, following a short illness.
With his help, soccer was first played officially in the college in the early seventies and, from humble beginnings on a converted Gaelic pitch, money was raised to buy a set of goal posts, and with a set of jerseys donated by the past pupils union, soccer was established.
St Mary's played the first competitive match in 1971 against the Bish and nine years later the school made its first major breakthrough when capturing the Connacht Senior Championship for their first time. Since then Mary’s has become a major force in soccer, winning four Irish senior cups and two junior cups in recent years.
Any ex-students who played on teams managed by Walter Burke during their time in St Mary's are welcome to attend the game.
