Jarlath Burns reckons his son, Jarlath Og Burns, is a better footballer than he was.

The former Armagh star was on the St Mary’s team that defeated UCC in the 1989 Sigerson Cup final; thirty years later, his son will tog out at midfield as the same two sides contest the 2019 third-level decider.

“Jarly Og’s his own man,” the proud father told The Irish News ahead of tomorrow night’s Sigerson final in O’Moore Park. “He’s a very dedicated lad, I really admire his tenacity, his diligence, how hard he works at his game. He’s very serious about his game, takes his lifestyle very seriously – he’s obsessive about it.

“But as well as that, he really loves it, enjoys every minute of it. The fact that he shares my name, I wouldn’t want that to be a distraction because he’s his own fella, he has his own personality.

“I would never want him to be compared [to me] because very, very quickly I would imagine I’ll be on the wrong side of that comparison - if not already.”

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