IT WAS with huge enthusiasm that the GAA confirmed Wicklow’s John Keenan as referee for the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Final.
The media release read: “We are delighted to confirm that John Wicklow will be the referee for the 2023 GAA Hurling All-Ireland Senior Championship Final on Sunday, in what will be John’s first Senior Final.”
A member of the Aughrim club, he refereed the 2016 All-Ireland Minor Final, the U-21All-Ireland Final of 2018, the following year’s Leinster Hurling Final, and the Munster Hurling Final only last Summer.
In this year’s Hurling Championship, he officiated Antrim v Dublin in the Leinster Championship, two Munster championship games – Tipperary v Clare and Waterford v Clare – along with the All-Ireland Quarter Final involving Galway and Tipperary. In the League, he refereed Kilkenny v Cork and Waterford v Galway.
The Final will be John’s 22nd Liam MacCarthy game to referee since his first in 2014.
His umpires on the day will be Tommy Redmond (Tinahely) and Eddie Leonard (St Patrick’s), Paul Reville (Turin), and David Clune (Delvin).
Keenan’s linemen will be Galway’s Liam Gordon and Wexford’s James Owens, and Liam will be the standby referee and the Sideline Official will be Shane Hynes from Galway.
Down through many years, Limerick has supplied many All-Ireland Final referees in both codes, including the recently departed John O’Grady of Mungret, who handled the 1977 showpiece in which Cork beat Wexford.
Since then, Limerick referees on centre-stage have included Terence Murray (Patrickswell) and Ahane’s Pat O’Connor, while in earlier years there was the likes of Stephen Gleeson (Fedamore), Rathkeale pair Gerry Fitzgerald and Neily Duggan, and Claughaun’s Seán O’Connor.
In the front-half of the GAA, Limerick men in the middle were John Sheehy, Michael Crowe, Denis Lanigan, and Tom O’Sullivan.
Our current top peformer is Johnny Murphy of Glenroe/Ballylanders.
