My Greystones: Johnny Burke

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hen we first starting doing these My Greystones questionnaires way back in 2013, our main goal was to get as diverse a range of Greystonians as we possibly could over the years.

Young, old, tall, short, cool, square, near, far… all were equally fascinating in our eyes.

Up to a point. Naturally, it’s the Mount Rushmore crowd that we were keen to chat to the most. Those who had been here all their long, eventful lives, and lived through all those decades of changes around the town. People like Bridie Mooney, Joe Sweeney, Leo Ireton, Beatrice Gunning, Eric Archer and so, so many others.

One sly fecker who had managed to allude us for the last five years is Johnny Burke, an integral part of the Greystones jigsaw. Anyone of a certain age will remember the JJ Burke ice cream trucks down at the harbour, sandwiched between Darcy’s Field and the town’s gone-but-sadly-not-forgotten dump.

Young John had been smart enough to buy land down that way long before the sod itself was the investment, and clever enough to know that, hey, everybody loves ice cream. And fish fingers. His years with Lucan Dairy had thought him that.

But first, let’s jump back, to June 19th, 1926, when John Burke came into this world, in a small cottage, where Priory Road and Blackberry Lane run parallel. Little Johnny B. lived in Delgany for the next ten years, moving to Crowe Abbey before settling in the soldiers and sailors cottages in Killincarrig in 1948.

Despite the fact that Canada was calling, our boy heard a stronger siren call, marrying Maureen Doyle of Shamrock House (now Lee’s of Kilcoole) in 1956. It was around this time that John started selling ice cream out of Wallace’s Yard, moving up quite a few gears 10 years later, buying that harbour field from George Archer to go out on his own. From Lucan to Merville, to Premier, to Hughes Bros and HB Ice Cream, John Burke kept us all cool.

And is it any wonder that the 91-year-old, high up on Jinx Hill, describes the harbour that he now overlooks as a home away from home, given that his family history is so strongly rooted there? John’s great grandparents hailed from Greystones, whilst his grandparents lived in those North Beach cottages before moving to the railway arch, just around the corner. And today, carrying on the family name, his grandson also lives on Jinx Hill, the sixth generation of John Burkes in the town.

Whether it was all that sea air, or a daily dose of delicious dairy, Johnny Burke is a ridiculously sharp and healthy nonagenarian. We joked that it must be the drugs that are keeping him so young.

“I wish I was on drugs,” the 91-year-old shot back, instantly. “That would make the day-to-day that little bit more interesting…”

After a quick laugh, John catches himself.

“Truth be told, my life has always been interesting,” he says. “And I’ve been blessed, to meet Maureen, to have such wonderful kids, and grandkids – and to have had such a wonderful life.

“Still, if you can get me some good drugs, that would be great…”