THE top man has his feet firmly planted on the ground of South Armagh and he returned to a joyous hero’s welcome at his beloved Silverbridge Harps on Saturday night.
Completely oblivious to the biting cold, excited youngsters chanted: ‘Jarlath, Jarlath, Jalrlath’ as they waved their blue and yellow flags. Their lines stretched from the club gates all the way to the hall packed with the men and women who’d supported and cherished Jarlath Burns from his early days to his greatest day.
Among them was Noel Reel, a Silverbridge clubman through-and-through, and there were tears of pride in his eyes as he spoke. He’d been in Croke Park in 2020 when Burns lost the presidential election and he was there again on Friday when his friend won it.
“When we were heading out of Croke Park it felt like winning the All-Ireland, it was like going home with the Sam Maguire,” said Noel.
“I remember 2002 vividly but Friday night was even better. The speech he made… He always goes back to the club. He is the club and the club is him and you can be sure he’s grounded, he’ll not get above his station and we’ll keep him grounded.
“I get so emotional about it and I’m so proud of the club and I’m proud of him. He’ll be all over Ireland and all over the world but whenever there’s something to be done, he’s here.
“He’ll paint our stand before the league starts, that’s one of his jobs. He’s hands on and if somebody else did it he’d be mad, he’d be saying: ‘I thought that was my job, I always do that?’ That’s him.”
SMILING faces everywhere, a truly special atmosphere. Adults chat, youngsters tear about between the tables, the committee busily organising on the stage, the Armagh county board, the Ulster Council, well-wishers from other clubs and counties...
Word spreads round the packed hall: ‘He’s in Killycurry!’
That meant Jarlath was maybe 10 minutes from home. The excitement went up a few notches.
“Twenty years ago around this club we said: ‘Jarlath is going to be President of the GAA’,” said Noel who played for ‘the ’Bridge’ from 1978 - Jarlath joined him in the senior team in 1984 and immediately became a leader.
“He mightn’t have been the star on the senior team – his brother Fintan was every bit as good – but Jarlath had that drive and passion about him,” says Noel.
“He wanted to be in the senior team and he led the team from then on, he was our leader in the middle of the field. He dominated the midfield in Armagh football for 20 years.
“Even into his 40s he was still playing reserve football for us. He didn’t just hang up the boots after his Armagh years and then, off the field, he was a different animal again.”
ANOTHER update: ‘He’s at Garveys!’ (half-a-mile or so down the road).
It was time to go outside to peer through the crowd and see the President – who had come from Dublin to be with his people – arrive home.
Many in the crowd had seen this day coming years ago. It’s not just that one of their own is President, it’s that he should (italics) be President and the GAA will be better with him at the top.
“It has always been said locally and within the club: ‘He’s the man for the job’,” said Noel.
“It takes a long time, you have to serve your apprenticeship and you learn and you take steps up that ladder, but he had that goal.
“At every step of his life, he always had a goal to go to the next step. When he was playing underage football, he wanted to be on the winning team, then he wanted to play senior football, then he wanted to be on the Armagh team and to win with them… He always had ambition and when he retired from football he carried that on, his role was always to be involved in the GAA.”
Fever pitch as the 41st Uachtaran arrives. Kids cheer loud, adults cheer louder and he shakes hands and smiles as he walks through the throng on a special night in Silverbridge.
