TO be successful in sport or in business, you need to have strong leaders. Leaders that have a vision and a clear pathway of how they are going to achieve their objectives. Leaders that are highly motivated and have a great ability to listen and to communicate effectively.
A couple of weeks ago, Jarlath Burns was voted in as the 41st President of the GAA and he will take the reins in 2024.
Jarlath has all the attributes above in abundance and many more. Very few past presidents represented their county teams as players, but Jarlath did and indeed led Armagh as team captain in 1999 to win the Ulster title after a 17-year absence.
It came as no surprise that he was voted in as the next president after narrowly losing out to Larry McCarthy the last time around. Many people would have given up on the idea at that particular time, but vision is a word I used earlier, and Jarlath’s vision was to eventually become president of our organisation.
From the moment he retired from playing football, he had been hotly tipped to one day become president.
The GAA has over 2,200 clubs in Ireland alone and that figure rises to over 2,500 worldwide, so to be the figurehead of an organisation that big can be a daunting task for anyone. This will be a challenge that Jarlath will relish and I have no doubt will thrive on.
After all, he is well used to running one of the north's largest schools in his role as school principal at St Paul’s High School in Bessbrook.
The school has 1,600 pupils so that is good preparation for what lies ahead in the next couple of years for him.
To put yourself forward for a role as big as this, you need the full support of your family and indeed your club and your county, and Jarlath has exactly that.
His wife Suzanne and their kids are steeped from head to toe in GAA and are always supportive of one another in all aspects of life.
His club Silverbridge are well renowned in Armagh circles for gathering large volumes of their members to volunteer and carry out any task that is needed to be done within their club and their community and they once again turned up in great numbers with a great sense of pride to welcome Jarlath back into the Croke Park Hotel on the outcome of the result.
As an Armagh man, I am extremely proud that the next President of the GAA is going to be one of our own, and the first Armagh man since Alf Murray held the post from 1964 to 67, and while there will be many obstacles and stern challenges facing Jarlath while in office, knowing the type of man that he is, I’m sure he will face those challenges head on and create a lasting legacy for the years to come.
ON the playing front, Division One is the closest of all the division in the Allianz Football League with only four points separating the top team and the team at the bottom.
All of the teams from the west are currently take up three of the top four positions while the four Ulster teams are in the bottom half of the table as it currently stands.
Mistakes are ruthlessly punished at this level and with three games left for each team to play, there will be added pressure to secure their status in the top division for 2024.
The likelihood is that at least one Ulster team will face relegation from Division One, so next weekend's run of games are must-wins for teams.
There will be a lot at stake when Armagh play Donegal on Saturday evening and with Michael Murphy now retired and the loss of Paddy McBrearty through injury, I’d expect Armagh to see this one out with home advantage and a large amount of support behind them.
Derry and Dublin are without a doubt the two teams that will gain promotion from Division Two this year as they are both way ahead of any other team in the division in terms of their ability and how they play.
They face each other this weekend and Derry will be keen to lay down a marker and make a statement that shows us all that they can compete with teams like Dublin.
They are now at a stage in their development, and particularly after reaching the All-Ireland semi-final last year following their Ulster Championship success, that they are now ready to step up and to start beating the likes of Dublin, Kerry or Mayo.
Ulster teams dominate the top of Division Three and with the clash of Cavan against Down, Fermanagh will see this as an opportunity to make headway in their drive for promotion.
A win against Tipperary will leave it in their hands and on current form, I expect them to win. Cavan and Down will be a tighter one to call, but I’m swaying more towards the team with home advantage and think Mickey Graham's boys can pick up another win.
