From school principal to GAA chief: ‘I’m not against integrated education, but I am for Catholic education’

He’s one of the most influential educators on the island of Ireland – and now Jarlath Burns is about to start a three-year term as GAA president.

It’s been a whirlwind few months for Burns, who will step aside as principal of St Paul’s High School in Newry to lead the GAA. When we talk, it’s 10.30pm, and he’s on his way to Enniskillen for a two-day principals’ conference, while also preparing for a school governors’ meeting and an upcoming school concert.

Northern Ireland’s education system is divided between selective grammar schools, which choose the children that perform best in exams at the end of primary school, and schools that are open to all.

Despite being non-selective, St Paul’s – a Catholic school of 1,700 pupils – is one of the most heavily oversubscribed in Northern Ireland.

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Much of this comes down to Burns’ educational philosophy and practices.

“I’ve been teaching in the same school for 32 years,” Burns says. “We believe in every child having the same opportunities. For pupils up to the age of 14, we set our own curriculum and we have a big focus on getting them out to enjoy nature and discover the world around them.

“Because we want them outside enjoying nature and discovering the world around them, we don’t promote homework. Parents understand why; it’s counterproductive in the early years [of second-level].

“As an Irish teacher, I’d spend class time setting homework, marking it and rowing with those who hadn’t done it – not to mention those who may have just copied it from a classmate.”

Burns favours a united Ireland, but what would education look like in a new state?

“I think A-levels, where you do three subjects at a deeper level, helps prepare you for third-level, although the education system in the 26 counties is regarded as world-class and its graduates are sought across the world. I would like to see Irish teaching change; we need to move to a more conversationalist, communicative method.”

Although Burns says that the school is not a “results factory”, their pupils have a high record of achievement in GCSE and A-level exams, with 74.2 per cent getting five or more A to C grades, including in English and Maths.

The school doesn’t refer to the 30 per cent of its children who have “special needs”; instead, Burns speaks of “children with barriers to learning”. Some of these children may be neurodiverse, but some may never be able to sit their GCSEs, and so Burns wants to educate them to be as independent as they can be.

“Education has to be more about skills, resilience, values and what it means to be a good citizen. It’s a system that was designed to be functional and clerical, but with the rise of artificial intelligence – which we can embrace as a useful tool – we need to focus more on developing the ability to understand, analyse and innovate. Employers tell us that how we do exams is not preparing students for the world.”

That said, Burns pushes back against the idea that the market should dictate what young people learn.

“The main reason for education is to prepare students for the world, and to be good citizens,” he says.

Burns believes that Catholic education provides this focus.

“I’m not against integrated education, but I am for Catholic education,” he says.

“Catholic education is not education for Catholics; we have children who are avowed atheists, and we have Muslim and Protestant children here too. It is not the duty of Catholic education to indoctrinate and, if you have a child of Muslim faith, it is your duty to teach them their religion.”

Burns has regularly invited the Orange Order to meet and engage with his pupils, and he has built up good relations with the organisation.

It’s a decision that caused some “raised eyebrows” but, he says, we need to break down sectarian barriers, and it’s important that primarily Catholic students understand and respect their Protestant, British and unionist neighbours if, in turn, they hope to be respected and understood.

As the man about to lead the GAA – an organisation that few unionists are involved in – it’s just possible that he’s the person who could attract wider engagement.

“The best leaders are teachers and they have a vision and an ability to gain consensus,” he says. “I hope to bring my communication skills to bear as president to help people understand each other.”

Burns attended St Colman’s College in Newry, and has vivid memories of Father Malachy Finnegan, a teacher at the school and one of the most notorious paedophiles in Northern Irish history.

“Nobody had the ability to verbalise what was happening. There was no safeguarding, but we knew when we got to the older years of school to warn the first years not to be in the room alone with him. Other priests, however, inspired me to be a better person and I would not define my education by that man.”

The abuse of children by priests, and the cover-up within the Catholic Church, are among the reasons why many baptised Catholics have drifted away. Despite some softening language from Pope Francis, the church’s opposition to LGBTQI+ rights has also alienated many.

“Catholic schools should be low on doctrine and high on values,” says Burns.

“After the marriage equality referendum, a bishop questioned where Catholic education had gone wrong, but I say that those who voted for marriage equality did so because they developed integrity, compassion and kindness in a Catholic school and understood that rights should trump doctrine.”

There are a number of transgender pupils in his school.

“It’s all part of the wonderful diversity of St Paul’s, and it’s just an ordinary part of school life. Social media amplifies the extremes and focuses, say, on one transgender athlete, but that is one millionth of a per cent of the experience of [trans students]. Trans students just want people to shut up and allow them be.

“Shortly after I became principal, a boy came to me and he had been beaten up because he was gay. There was a feeling [among LGBTQI+ students] that they would not be embraced.

“So I went to Pride with them, and now I encourage our pupils to attend the annual Pride event in Newry. It’s not about toleration or acceptance, but celebrating our diversity and humanity. I have no regrets; it showed the type of school we are.”

Divided island, divided education

In the North, a majority of students attend either a Protestant (often known as a “controlled” school due to its governance structure) or a Catholic school.

But demand for integrated schools is on the rise and, in March 2022, the Stormont Executive passed a bill that requires the Department of Education to deliver a roadmap and strategy for integrated education within the next six months. With no executive in place at time of writing, this job is falling to civil servants.

Paul Caskey, campaign director at the Integrated Education Fund, says opinion polling, and community conversations can help to gauge parental demand, with 18 democratic ballots in recent years indicating strong majority support for integration.

“If you look at the websites of Catholic-maintained or controlled schools, you’ll often see them talking about being open to all, inclusive and diverse, and they begin to sound quite like integrated schools.

“But Northern Ireland remains religiously divided: less than two per cent who attend Catholic schools are Protestant, and less than eight per cent in controlled schools are Catholic.”