Jarlath Burns (; born 1968) is an Irish former

Gaelic football Gaelic football (; short name '')'', commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA, or football, is an Irish team sport. A form of football, it is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score ...

er and current

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

of the GAA. His league and

championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this sys ...

career at senior level with the Armagh county team spanned thirteen seasons from 1987 until 1999.

Career

Burns debuted with the Armagh senior team in 1987 and captained Armagh to an

Ulster Ulster (; or ; or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional or historic provinces of Ireland, Irish provinces. It is made up of nine Counties of Ireland, counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kingdom); t ...

title in 1999. Burns also won two McKenna Cup titles. He managed the

Ireland women's international rules football team The Ireland women's international rules football team was organised by the Ladies' Gaelic Football Association and represented Ireland in the 2006 Ladies' International Rules Series against Australia women's international rules football team, Aus ...

that defeated

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in the

2006 Ladies' International Rules Series The 2006 Ladies' International Rules Series was the first and, as of 2019, the only ladies' International rules football series played between Ireland and Australia. The series was played at the same time as the men's 2006 International Rules S ...

. In retirement from playing, Burns has become involved in the administrative affairs of the

Gaelic Athletic Association The Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA; ; CLG) is an Irish international amateur sports, amateur sporting and cultural organisation, focused primarily on promoting indigenous Gaelic games and pastimes, which include the traditional Irish sports o ...

. He has served as an underage manager, club chairman and secretary with his local club. At county level, Burns was Armagh's Central Council delegate from 2010 to 2015. His involvement with the GAA at national level began in 2000 when he was appointed as the first players’ representative to Central Council. Since then, he has been involved in Scór, the GAA's medical and welfare committee, the GAA 125 anniversary committee and the pitch presentations committee, and he chaired the standing committee on playing rules.'Jarlath Burns to become 41st Uachtarán CLG'
Gaelic Athletic Association, 22 February 2024. Retrieved 17 April 2024 In 2013, he became the principal of St Paul's High School, Bessbrook. Burns has worked in the media as a Gaelic football analyst on ''The Championship'' on the

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, and on

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. In February 2023, he was elected to succeed Larry McCarthy as President of the Gaelic Athletic Association. Burns' three-year presidential term began on 24 February 2024. In a wide-ranging interview on BBC Northern Ireland's ''Talkback'' on 17 April 2024, Burns spoke to William Crawley over many issues the GAA faces. In January 2025, after

Naas GAA Naas is a Gaelic Athletic Association, Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) club in Naas, County Kildare, Republic of Ireland, Ireland, winner of ten Kildare county senior football championships, ten senior hurling championships, four senior camogi ...

announced

Rory Gallagher William Rory Gallagher ( ; 2 March 1948 – 14 June 1995) was an Irish musician, singer, and songwriter. Regarded as "Ireland's first rock star", he is known for his virtuosic style of guitar playing and live performances. He has sometim ...

was to be appointed a coach, Burns sent an email to Naas GAA expressing concern about Gallagher's appointment, and the offer was withdrawn.

Personal life

Burns, fluent in Irish, is married to Suzanne and they have five children. One of them, Jarly Óg, has played for Armagh, as has a nephew, Paddy.

References

External links

RTÉ: Armagh set to propose Jarlath Burns as next GAA President
{{DEFAULTSORT:Burns, Jarlath 1968 births Living people Armagh County Board administrators Armagh inter-county Gaelic footballers Gaelic games administrators Gaelic games club administrators Gaelic games commentators Heads of schools in Northern Ireland People from Bessbrook Schoolteachers from Northern Ireland Silverbridge Harps Gaelic footballers Presidents of the Gaelic Athletic Association