Michael "Mick" Curley (born 1953/1954) is a former

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 ...

referee from

County Galway "Righteousness and Justice" , anthem = () , image_map = Island of Ireland location map Galway.svg , map_caption = Location in Ireland , area_footnotes = , area_total_km2 = ...

Career

Curley refereeing career peaked in the 1990s when he officiated the

1999 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final The 1999 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final was the 112th All-Ireland Final and the deciding match of the 1999 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship, an inter-county Gaelic football tournament for the top teams in Ireland. Meath c ...

, the only one between 1998 and 2001 not to involve his native Galway. He officiated Leinster SFC, Munster SFC and Ulster SFC finals, as well as three Connacht SFC finals. He quit refereeing in 2005, citing issues with

knee cartilage In humans and other primates, the knee joins the thigh with the leg and consists of two joints: one between the femur and tibia (tibiofemoral joint), and one between the femur and patella (patellofemoral joint). It is the largest joint in the hu ...

as hampering his fitness. He also officiated the

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The '' Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently ...

and

1999 International Rules Series The 1999 International Rules Series was the sixth annual International Rules Series and the second time that a test series of international rules football has been played between Ireland and Australia since the series resumed in 1998. The 1999 ...

. Following a 1999

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

game between

Cavan Cavan ( ; ) is the county town of County Cavan in Ireland. The town lies in Ulster, near the border with County Fermanagh in Northern Ireland. The town is bypassed by the main N3 road that links Dublin (to the south) with Enniskillen, Bally ...

and

Wexford Wexford () is the county town of County Wexford, Ireland. Wexford lies on the south side of Wexford Harbour, the estuary of the River Slaney near the southeastern corner of the island of Ireland. The town is linked to Dublin by the M11/N11 N ...

Breffni Park Breffni Park, known for sponsorship reasons as Kingspan Breffni, is a GAA stadium in Cavan, Ireland. It is the home of Cavan GAA. The ground has an overall capacity of about 25,030 with a 5,030 seated capacity. Breffni is the historic name f ...

, the Wexford manager

Jo Jo Barrett Michael Joseph M. Barrett (1943 – 17 July 2021), also known as Jo Jo Barrett, was an Irish Gaelic footballer and manager. He played for the Austin Stacks club and at senior level for the Kerry county team, before later serving as a club ma ...

assaulted Curley and received a two-year ban. Barrett approached Curley and punched him in the face. As of 2012, Curley was chairman of the National Referees' Association and

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...

of the Annaghdown minor football team. As well as his position with the National Referees' Association, Curley is also working as a Sports Co-ordinator with the County Sports Partnership, in efforts to promote sport in the region and increase participation.

Personal life

Curley is a native of Glinsk in the north of

County Galway "Righteousness and Justice" , anthem = () , image_map = Island of Ireland location map Galway.svg , map_caption = Location in Ireland , area_footnotes = , area_total_km2 = ...

. He was recruited to the

Garda Síochana Garda may refer to: * Police, known as Garda in Hiberno-English * Garda (security company), a security and protection company headquartered in Montreal, Canada * Garda Síochána, the national police of the Republic of Ireland * Garda National Sur ...

in 1973, initially stationed at

Stepaside, Dublin Stepaside () is a village on the outskirts of Dublin located on its southside, located in Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown, Ireland. The area is situated south of Dundrum. Location and access A suburb of Dublin, Stepaside lies on the R117 regional ...

. Two and a half years later, he was transferred to Galway, where he spent most of the rest of his career, from

Tynagh Tynagh () is a village and electoral division in south-east County Galway in Ireland. Origin of the name Recorded as ''Tyneaach'' (1565), ''Teacneaghe'' (1543), ''Theaneac'' (1541), its current name is a contraction of Teach nEachach, 'Eochu's ...

and

Clifden Clifden (, meaning "stepping stones") is a coastal town in County Galway, Ireland, in the region of Connemara, located on the Owenglin River where it flows into Clifden Bay. As the largest town in the region, it is often referred to as "the Cap ...

to a spell in

Rosmuc Rosmuc or Ros Muc, sometimes anglicised as Rosmuck, is a village in the Conamara Gaeltacht of County Galway, Ireland. It lies halfway between the town of Clifden and the city of Galway. Irish is the predominant spoken language in the area, with ...

. In 1996, he was made superintendent in

Listowel Listowel ( ; , IPA: �lʲɪsˠˈt̪ˠuəhəlʲ is a heritage market town in County Kerry, Ireland. It is on the River Feale, from the county town, Tralee. The town of Listowel had a population of 4,820 according to the Central Statistics Of ...

County Kerry County Kerry ( gle, Contae Chiarraí) is a county in Ireland. It is located in the South-West Region and forms part of the province of Munster. It is named after the Ciarraige who lived in part of the present county. The population of the co ...

. From there, he moved to Clifden before taking up the superintendent's position in Salthill, where he stayed until his retirement in December 2006. As of 2005, he was a Garda superintendent based in

Salthill Salthill () is a seaside area in the City of Galway in the west of Ireland. Lying within the townland of Lenaboy (''an Léana Buí''), it attracts many tourists all year round. There is a 2 km long promenade, locally known as ''the Pro ...

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Curley, Mick 1950s births Living people All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final referees Gaelic football managers Gaelic football referees Garda Síochána officers