Dublin GAA have been forced to arrange an early year training course for new referees in a bid to attract officials because of a “chronic shortage” of whistlers in the capital.
Several leading GAA officials have issued warnings in recent days about refereeing numbers – and Dublin say their officiating resources are now “stretched to the limit”.
Dublin currently have 154 active referees at adult men’s level to cater for an average of 136 games per weekend – with most of those officials also taking charge of juvenile and women’s fixtures.
With occasionally up to 30 per cent unavailability of those referees at weekends, the situation in Dublin has reached a critical point and it is not unheard of for some officials to cover three games a day to ensure matches proceed.
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Dublin’s Coiste na Réiteoirí are now calling on clubs to “identify candidates” to participate in the training course to produce new match officials.
Intercounty referee Barry Tiernan, who was the man in the middle for last year’s All-Ireland minor football final, is a member of that committee in the capital.
“The number of games is increasing year on year, with more players coming through at juvenile level that inevitably leads to more players progressing to adult level, which means more games at all grades,” says Tiernan.
“The ladies board have the same situation, the games are growing at such a massive rate in the county that we just don’t have the bodies and numbers of referees to keep up with it.”
Traditionally, Dublin used to only organise one course annually for tutoring new referees but in recent times they have had to increase that number to twice every season.
For the course early last year, only six referees emerged. Some 55 people registered for the mid-year course, only 20 turned up and ultimately it produced 16 new referees.
Despite being one of the top officials in the country, Tiernan is one of the main drivers of the recruitment process in Dublin.
“We are just trying to bulk up our numbers, trying to cover ourselves,” adds the O’Dwyer’s clubman.
At the height of the season, the fixtures calendar in Dublin could see adult matches at 10.30, 12 and 3 o’clock every Sunday. There could also be juvenile games at 11 o’clock on Sunday mornings.
With juvenile matches taking place on Saturday as well, and women’s games also fixed across the weekend, all organisations are largely trying to pull from the same stretched pool of referees.
“Realistically, what should be happening is the club GPO should also be in charge of referee recruitment,” adds Tiernan.
“They should be looking at ex-players or mentors or those moving away to a different stage of the game, target them as the next batch of referees.”
The simple message to clubs is that without referees there can be no games
One suggestion put forward by the committee has been for clubs to face repercussions should they not be providing a sufficient number of referees. Coiste na Réiteoirí compiled a spreadsheet last year of active referees compared to the number of teams fielded in adult competitions by every club.
They believe the ratio of referees to registered adult teams should not be allowed drop below one in five (or 30 per cent). One senior club in the capital, with 20 adult teams, had just one active referee last season.
In a bid to attract more referees, Dublin GAA advertised the new training course on their website.
It states: “Due to the chronic shortage of referees at adult level, and with a new season in sight, Coiste na Réiteoirí are running a new referee course to qualify participants to referee at adult football and/or hurling.
“With our resources stretched to the limit, clubs are encouraged to identify candidates who could make the step across to refereeing.”
Paddy Kiernan is the Referees Co-ordinator in Dublin and at the height of the season he spends hours working out the logistics to ensure matches have officials. It is not uncommon for Kiernan to have to step in to referee a fixture due to a shortage of officials.
But it is certainly not just a Dublin problem – Munster Council CEO Kieran Leddy highlighted the issue in his annual report on Tuesday.
“The challenges facing the Association in attracting sufficient referees to manage the games programme across the three associations are as worrying as ever,” stated Leddy.
Leinster Council secretary Michael Delaney also addressed the topic in his annual report on Monday.
“The shortage of hurling referees remains a pressing concern, not only in Leinster but across all provinces,” he commented.
“Addressing this imbalance will require a concerted effort in the years ahead.
“As we move forward, I urge incoming County Chairpersons to prioritise refereeing within their counties.
“The role of the referee is vital to the integrity of our games, and it is incumbent upon us all to provide the necessary support for their success.”
The course in Dublin will take place in late January-early February (for more information email dublincoiste@gmail.com). The simple message to clubs is that without referees there can be no games.
“It is very rewarding past-time, you gain great knowledge of the rules, you can move up the levels, possibly find yourself reffing lads who were winning All-Ireland one week and playing on a club pitch the following week,” says Tiernan.
“It is also great for learning a huge range of different interpersonal skills. With the number of games increasing, we simply need to increase the number of active referees.”
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