William Horgan (17 May 1944 – 29 May 2015) was an Irish hurler,

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 ...

er and referee. At club level he played with

Brian Dillons Brian Dillons is one of the oldest Gaelic Athletic Association clubs in Cork city in Ireland. It is named after the Irish Fenian, Brian Dillon and its original clubhouse ("the Hole in the Wall") was less than 100 metres from Dillon's home (in ...

and later served as a referee at club and inter-county levels.

Career

Horgan played hurling and Gaelic football with the

club and was a member of the team that won City JHC titles in 1965 and 1968. He later served as club secretary and was heavily involved in the underage and juvenile section of the club, particularly in running the local street leagues. In retirement from playing, Horgan began his refereeing career in 1974. He began officiating at a number of club games in the Cork SHC before joining the inter-county refereeing scene at

minor Minor may refer to: * Minor (law), a person under the age of certain legal activities. ** A person who has not reached the age of majority * Academic minor, a secondary field of study in undergraduate education Music theory *Minor chord ** Barb ...

and under-21 levels. Horgan took charge of his first National League games in 1977 while he also officiated in

Railway Cup The GAA Interprovincial Championship ( ga, An Corn Idir-Chúigeach) or Railway Cup (''Corn an Iarnróid'') is the name of two annual Gaelic football and hurling competitions held between the provinces of Ireland. The Connacht, Leinster, Munster ...

and All-Ireland SCHC games. Horgan was the referee for the 1991 All-Ireland SHC final between

Kilkenny Kilkenny (). is a city in County Kilkenny, Ireland. It is located in the South-East Region and in the province of Leinster. It is built on both banks of the River Nore. The 2016 census gave the total population of Kilkenny as 26,512. Kilken ...

and Tipperary. He retired from inter-county activity in 1995.

Personal life and death

Horgan's father, also Willie, was on the Cork junior hurling team beaten by London in the 1938 All-Ireland junior final. He was married to Peggy Dorgan who won an All-Ireland medal with the Cork senior camogie team in 1970. Horgan died on 29 May 2015, aged 71.

Honours

;Brian Dillons * City Junior A Hurling Championship: 1965, 1968

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Horgan, Willie 1944 births 2015 deaths Brian Dillon's hurlers Hurling referees