Gaelic football Gaelic football ( ga, Peil Ghaelach; short name '), commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA or Football is an Irish team sport. It is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score by kic ...

, the

All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final All-Ireland (sometimes All-Island) refers to all of Ireland, as opposed to the separate jurisdictions of the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. "All-Ireland" is most frequently used to refer to sporting teams or events for the entire is ...

, the deciding match of the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship competition, is considered the highest honour for

referee A referee is an official, in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection. The official tasked with this job may be known by a variety of other titl ...

s to be appointed to officiate. The most recent final (

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...

) was refereed by Sean Hurson, with Paddy Neilan on standby;

Barry Cassidy Barry Cassidy is a Gaelic football referee. An inter-county championship referee since 2012, Cassidy has been described as the top referee in Ulster. A member of the Derry GAA club Bellaghy, Cassidy refereed the inaugural Tailteann Cup final. ...

as linesman; Sean Laverty on sideline; and two umpires from Ardboe and one each from Clonoe and Moortown. The

2021 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final The 2021 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final was the 134th final of the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship and the culmination of the 2021 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship. The match was played at Croke Park in Dublin on ...

was refereed by

Joe McQuillan Joe McQuillan is a Gaelic football referee. He is a member of the Kill Shamrocks club in County Cavan. McQuillan has refereed four All-Ireland finals: the 2011 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final, 2011 decider between Dublin county fo ...

, with David Gough on standby; Brendan Cawley as linesman; Ciaran Brannigan on sideline; and two umpires from Kill Shamrocks and one each from Drumalee and Killygarry. The

2019 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final The 2019 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final was the 132nd final of the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship and the culmination of the 2019 tournament, the top level of competition in Gaelic football. Reigning All-Ireland champ ...

was refereed by David Gough, with

Conor Lane Conor Lane is a Gaelic football referee. He is a member of the Banteer/Lyre club in County Cork and has refereed three All-Ireland SFC finals. Career Conor Lane was appointed to the national panel of referees for the senior championship panel ...

on standby;

as linesman.

Selection

According to '' The Irish Times'', the referee is often "centre stage" during All-Ireland SFC finals. Men who referee a final that ends in a draw cannot also referee the replay. This rule was highlighted in 2019, when David Gough — thought by consensus to have had a good game — was replaced by

for the replay. Colm O'Rourke in the '' Sunday Independent'' column, "The GAA's view that the referee of a drawn game cannot take the replay defies common sense and logic. Why disqualify a referee when he has done a good job? If the referee is not up to it then certainly he should be left off, but when there is almost universal agreement that he is the best referee in the country then give him all the big games and replays too. The players want the best referees". Brian White was the first to benefit from the rule change when he got to referee the 2000 replay. Referees are chosen by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) for their impartiality and their assessed performance scores over that championship season. A clue to the identity of the final referee may be found among those chosen to referee All-Ireland quarter-finals. In recent years, a referee who has overseen an All-Ireland SFC semi-final is never chosen for the final. However, he has tended to have refereed a quarter-final. A referee who has officiated at one of the semi-finals is traditionally overlooked when deciding the referee for the same year's final. When the decision is made, the identity of the referee chosen is revealed following the All-Ireland SFC semi-finals and ahead of the final. A period of media attention may ensue, sometimes even before the announcement has been made.

Traditions

On the day, the referee is introduced to the President of Ireland ahead of the game. The referee receives a

Celtic cross The Celtic cross is a form of Christian cross featuring a nimbus or ring that emerged in Ireland, France and Great Britain in the Early Middle Ages. A type of ringed cross, it became widespread through its use in the stone high crosses er ...

for each final he officiates.

Referees

Pre-1928

1928 to 1969: Introduction of the Sam Maguire Cup

1970 to 2000

2001 to present

Referees with more than one final

= referee still active at inter-county level * James Byrne did 1923, a Jim Byrne did 1930? * J Flaherty (Offaly) did 1939, then an MJ Flaherty (Offaly) did 1948? * Pat Dunphy (1922) has the distinction of also taking charge of the 1922 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship Final in the same year. * John Dowling (1960) has the distinction of also taking charge of the 1960 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship Final in the same year. *

Jimmy Hatton James Hatton (14 August 1934 – 28 February 2023) was an Irish Gaelic footballer, hurler and referee. He played at club level with Kilcoole and was a dual player with the Wicklow senior teams. Hatton also served as a referee at club and int ...

(1966) has the distinction of also taking charge of the 1966 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship Final in the same year.

References

{{All-Ireland Senior Football Championship