Burns confirms he won't be running for Áras

GAA President Jarlath Burns has confirmed again that he will not be contesting the presidential election for Sinn Féin.

The Armagh native ruled himself out of the race back in February, but speculation has mounted recently that he could put his name forward for a Áras run.

That speculation intensified after Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald said that the party’s participation in the election will be “a game-changer” and also commented that the candidate speaks “a lot” of Irish.

That saw rumours swirl that Burns, who is a fluent Irish speaker, could be the candidate to be put forward by Sinn Féin but the former Armagh star told The Journal this morning that he would not be running.

Meanwhile, Fianna Fáil's presidential candidate and former Dublin football manager Jim Gavin handed in his nomination papers at the Custom House this morning.

Polling in the Presidential Election is scheduled to take place on October 24th.

GAA President Jarlath Burns has confirmed (again) this morning that he will not be contesting the presidential election for Sinn Féinhttps://t.co/AgTkKzryvP

— TheJournal.ie (@thejournal_ie) September 19, 2025