Gaelic football
Gaelic football (; short name '')'', commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA, or football, is an Irish team sport. A form of football, it is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score ...
Stenson's career as a referee spanned 33 years. In this time he refereed three finals of the
Connacht Senior Football Championship
The Connacht Senior Football Championship, known simply as the Connacht Championship and shortened to Connacht SFC, is an annual Gaelic football competition for the senior county teams of Connacht GAA. All of the county teams of Connacht particip ...
.
Stenson also refereed the final of the 1994
Leitrim Senior Football Championship
The Leitrim Senior Football Championship is an annual football competition contested by top-tier Leitrim GAA clubs. The Leitrim County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association has organised it since 1890.
Mohill are the title holders (2024) ...
between Allen Gaels and Aughawillan. The game's final play proved contentious as Martin McGowan of Allen Gaels, who was playing with a dislocated spine, stood to take a free. Aughawillan's full-back, Martin Flanagan, took up a position behind his goalkeeper, Martin Prior. McGowan struck the ball and expressed certainty that it was two yards over the bar. However, Aughawillan's Flanagan gave Prior "a bit of a hoosh" and Prior, with his shoulders close to level with the crossbar, caught the ball. Stenson did not penalise the move and then blew the final whistle. Thus Allen Gaels were denied a replay and Aughawillan secured a third consecutive championship title.
Stenson and Flanagan were both present in
Croke Park
Croke Park (, ) is a Gaelic games stadium in Dublin, Ireland. Named after Archbishop Thomas Croke, it is referred to as Croker by GAA fans and locals. It serves as both the principal national stadium of Ireland and headquarters of the Gaelic At ...
for the
2019 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final
The 2019 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship final was the 132nd final of the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship and the culmination of the 2019 tournament, the top level of competition in Gaelic football. Reigning All-Ireland champi ...
Australian rules football
Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an Australian rules football playing field, oval field, often a modified ...
er, set himself up to lift 6-foot-4 teammate David Moran in a similar move to deny
Dean Rock
Dean Rock (born 26 February 1990) is an Irish Gaelic footballer who was a senior member of the Dublin county team from 2013 to 2023.
He has represented Dublin at all grades, Minor, Junior, U21 and Senior. He is a noted free taker and scored t ...
at the game's conclusion, though the ball did not land near the pair so the move did not occur. Rock's effort went wide and it later emerged that the pair had asked referee
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. ...
, who had told them he would not penalise the move if they did it.
Stenson became chairman of Leitrim County Board in December 2019. He criticised the prospect of having to play games in other counties while being unable to visit a neighbour due to restrictions imposed during the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
. He then publicly criticised
Tomás Ó Sé
Tomás Ó Sé (; born 21 June 1978) is an Irish former Gaelic footballer. He played Gaelic football with Nemo Rangers GAA, Nemo Rangers and at senior level for the Kerry county football team, Kerry county team from 1998 until he retired in 2013 ...
and called on him to resign after Ó Sé questioned the motivations of "weaker counties" after
Sligo
Sligo ( ; , meaning 'abounding in shells') is a coastal seaport and the county town of County Sligo, Ireland, within the western province of Connacht. With a population of 20,608 in 2022, it is the county's largest urban centre (constituting 2 ...
was forced to withdraw from the
2020 Connacht Senior Football Championship
The 2020 Connacht Senior Football Championship was the 121st instalment of the annual Connacht Senior Football Championship organised by Connacht GAA. It is one of the four provincial competitions of the 2020 All-Ireland Senior Football Champions ...
due to an outbreak of COVID in its squad.
Stenson is also an
Independent
Independent or Independents may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups
* Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States
* Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...
member of
Leitrim County Council
Leitrim County Council () is the Local government in the Republic of Ireland, local authority of County Leitrim, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. As a county council, it is governed by the Local Government Act 2001. The council is responsible for ...
, on which he represents
Carrick-on-Shannon
Carrick-on-Shannon () is the county town of County Leitrim in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is the largest town in the county. A smaller part of the town located on the west bank of the River Shannon lies in County Roscommon and is home to th ...