​Jarlath Burns to take his place as GAA Uachtarán

He will take up the role at the GAA Annual Congress, which convenes in Newry on Saturday.

​Burns enjoyed a stellar playing career, with the highlight being captaining Armagh to winning the Ulster title in 1999.

Since retiring, he has undertook a variety of roles within the organisation, including serving as Silverbridge Harps Secretary, and he has been Armagh GAA’s delegate to the Ulster Council since 2018.

Burns ran for presidency in 2020, but lost out narrowly to Larry McCarthy.

However, he stood again last year, and this time he got a tremendous vote of confidence, as he defeated Offaly’s Pat Teehan and Donegal’s Niall Erskine, receiving 158 of the 277 votes cast.

Following his election last year, Burns spoke to the Newry Reporter about some of the challenges that are facing the organisation, which hopes to resolve.

“I’ve mentioned already rural depopulation, and the fact that demographics mean that people are moving out of the countryside and into towns, and that presents two challenges,” he said.

“What do we do with clubs who are losing members and plyers, and losing the soul of their communities? Secondly, what do we do with this influx of people coming into towns, when we don’t have enough places for them to play?

“Another one is equality in opportunity, and that’s integration. Full integration, where we would be a fully connected organisation, serving the Gaelic Games needs of everybody in Ireland.

"And I’m glad that we’re doing that very methodically, and in a strategic way, with Mary McAleese at the helm.

“There are many other things as well – I would have concerns about where the amateur status is in the association and the demands being placed on our county players, and the financial demands in running county teams.

"That is something that has been said to me in every single county.

“All of these things are big challenges, but I know that I am up to them, and that I will have great support in trying to rectify them.”