Burns has his say on the Late Late.
By Noel Dundon, Tipperary Media.
Most GAA people like Jarlath Burns. They like the fact that an All-Ireland senior medal winner is at the helm of the Association while at the same time is still heavily involved with his own club. They like the fact that he showed great emotion when his county won the All-Ireland football title last year – against many odds – and that he shed tears when his son Jarlath Óg greeted him on the podium having followed in his fathers footsteps.
In Tipperary, we have witnessed a number of visits from Jarlath Burns at different events and the impression is always the same – he’s a very genuine, warm and impressive Uachtaráin who is not afraid to put his head above the parapet when he feels he needs to do so. Of course, when you do that, sometimes you turn yourself into a target – and that’s exactly what happened this week when the story broke about his intervention in the proposed selection of Naas GAA club of Rory Gallagher as their senior coach.
Gallagher had been set to join the coaching team of the Kildare club’s senior football squad before the club announced that the former Fermanagh, Donegal, and Derry manager would not be taking up the role.
It later emerged that Jarlath Burns had sent an email to Naas GAA ahead of a club executive meeting, after which the decision was made not to proceed with Gallagher’s appointment. In response, Gallagher described Burns’ email as an “unprecedented move” and threatened legal action unless the contents were withdrawn -Gallagher stepped back from his role as Derry manager in May 2023 following serious allegations about his private life. His former wife, Nicola, claimed on social media that she had been a victim of domestic violence during their marriage. The matter was investigated but no charges were proffered.
Jarlath Burns’ critics have been quick to point out that the President did not comment publicly when other high profile GAA stars ran into trouble – the awarding of an All-Star to Limerick’s Kyle Hayes, despite his conviction in a serious assault case, was highlighted. But, Jarlath Burns has pointed out that he did not make public the email to the club and that as head of the Association he felt obliged to express his private reservations.
The interview on the Late Late Show where he was hit with some heavy questions by host Patrick Kielty was insightful and the President handled it expertly. An able speaker, Jarlath Burns made some very convincing arguments under the Gamechanger initiative to back up his actions, though there remains a void in the explanation as to how Kyle Hayes managed to get that All-Star despite questionable ‘role model’ credentials – remember a few years ago you could not get an All-Star if you were sent off -times have changed.
Allianz Leagues set to kick off.
Thanks be to God, there will be on-field activities to focus on for the next few months with the Allianz National hurling and football leagues kicking off next weekend. The hurlers have a tricky opener indeed as they head to Salthill – it’s a hard place to get to, and an even harder one to get out of, with a good result.
The hurlers have had a few friendly games in preparation for the league with the Dublin match on Saturday in Fethard creating headlines following a tetchy encounter – that’s not the first time the Capitalists have come south and brought an element of ire with them. One recalls a similarly prickly game in Dr Morris Park a few seasons ago which resulted in rather liberal use of the ash.
Has the hurling management team learned much from the friendly games? Hard to say. Little could have been garnered from the Laois debacle surely, but maybe the Dublin match revealed a bit more? Time will tell.
The footballers will have their first competitive outing under new boss Philly Ryan in Carlow on Saturday evening. That’s not a simple assignment either but to come away with victory would be a major boost to the squad, especially since they have Longford at home the following weekend.
The footballers’ goal has got to be to get out of division 4 and enter the championship in a really positive frame of mind. It will be very interesting to see how the players, and all the rest of us, navigate the new rules.