In hurling, the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship Final, the deciding match of the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship competition, is considered the highest honour for referees to be appointed to officiate. The most recent final (

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October 2021 coup in Sudan; Crowd shortly after t ...

) was refereed by

Fergal Horgan Fergal Horgan (born 1979) is an Irish hurling referee and former player. His inter-county career saw him play for Tipperary and London. He later became one of hurling's top officials and refereed three All Ireland Senior Hurling Finals before ...

, with James Owens on standby; Sean Stack as linesman; Liam Gordon on the sideline; and three umpires from Horgan's club Knockavilla Donaskeigh Kickhams and one umpire from Cashel King Cormacs.

Selection

Men who referee a final that ends in a draw cannot also referee the replay. This rule was highlighted in 2019 when

David Gough David Gough ( ; born 1983) is a Gaelic football referee from County Meath. He is a member of the Slane club. His four umpires are father Eugene, brother Stephen, uncle Terry and cousin Dean, who have assisted him with every game since he started ...

— thought by consensus to have had a good game — was replaced by Conor Lane for the replay.

Colm O'Rourke Colm O'Rourke (born 31 August 1957) is a Gaelic football manager, former player, retired secondary school principal, sports broadcaster and columnist. He has been manager of the Meath county team since 2022. O'Rourke's league and championship ...

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". Referees are chosen by the

Gaelic Athletic Association The Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA; ga, Cumann Lúthchleas Gael ; CLG) is an Irish international amateur sports, amateur sporting and cultural organisation, focused primarily on promoting indigenous Gaelic games and pastimes, which include t ...

(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 the All-Ireland quarter-finals. In recent years, a referee who has overseen an All-Ireland semi-final is never chosen for the final. However, he has tended to have refereed a quarter-final. When the decision is made, the identity of the referee chosen is revealed following the All-Ireland semi-finals and ahead of the final. A period of media attention may ensue, sometimes even before the announcement has been made. It can be a referee's lifetime goal to get this game.

Referees

Pre-1923

1923 to 1969: Introduction of the Liam MacCarthy Cup

1970 to 1996

1997 to present

By county

:''Since 1997''

Referees with more than one final

= referee still active at inter-county level * 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 Football Championship Final in the same year. * Jimmy Hatton (1966) has the distinction of also taking charge of the

1966 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final The 1966 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final was the 79th All-Ireland Final and the deciding match of the 1966 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship, an inter-county Gaelic football tournament for the top teams in Ireland. It was t ...

in the same year.

References

{{All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship