Sean Hurson is a

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 ...

referee. He is a member of the Galbally Pearses club in County Tyrone. He was appointed to referee the

2022 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final The 2022 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship final was the 135th final of the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship in Gaelic football, the culmination of the 2022 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship. The match was played at Croke Pa ...

, becoming the first Tyrone man to do so since Paddy Devlin oversaw the 1974 final. Hurson was later appointed to referee the 2024 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship final.

Career

Hurson began refereeing in 2008. The coin that is used by Hurson, in the

coin toss A coin is a small object, usually round and flat, used primarily as a medium of exchange or legal tender. They are standardized in weight, and produced in large quantities at a mint in order to facilitate trade. They are most often issued by a ...

between the two

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

s at the beginning of each of Hurson's games, is a one pound coin engraved with Hurson's initials. It was presented to him by a former umpire of his, Dermot McCaffrey, the week before McCaffrey died in February 2019. McCaffrey advised Hurson that he would be there in spirit for the coin toss if he used it. That coin is kept by Hurson's umpires and used before every game in McCaffrey's memory.

Club

Hurson refereed the 2010, 2012 and 2013 Tyrone JFC final, as well as the 2013 Tyrone IFC final. He also refereed the 2014, 2016 and 2018 Tyrone Senior Football Championship finals. At provincial club level, Hurson oversaw the 2016 and 2019 Ulster Club finals. At national level, he took charge of the 2015

All-Ireland Intermediate Club Football Championship The All-Ireland Intermediate Club Football Championship is an annual Gaelic football competition organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association, GAA. It is played between the Intermediate championship winners from each of the thirty-two counties of ...

final. He then oversaw the 2021–22 All-Ireland Senior Club Football Championship final between Kilcoo and Kilmacud Crokes.

Inter-county

Hurson refereed the 2014 National Football League Division 3 final and 2018 National Football League Division 2 final. He refereed the 2018 All-Ireland Minor Football Championship final, the 2021 All-Ireland Under-20 Football Championship final, the 2019 Leinster Senior Football Championship final, and the 2020 Connacht Senior Football Championship final. He refereed his first championship game in 2016. In the 2022 inter-county championship, Hurson oversaw the

2022 Connacht Senior Football Championship The 2022 Connacht Senior Football Championship was the 2022 iteration of the Connacht Senior Football Championship organised by Connacht GAA. London and New York were withdrawn from the 2020 and 2021 Connacht championships as part of the impact ...

quarter-final between

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

and

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 ...

, the 2022 Leinster Senior Football Championship semi-final between

Kildare Kildare () is a town in County Kildare, Ireland. , its population was 10,302, making it the 7th largest town in County Kildare. It is home to Kildare Cathedral, historically the site of an important abbey said to have been founded by Saint ...

and

Westmeath County Westmeath (; or simply ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It formed part of the historic Kingdom of ...

, the 2022 Ulster Senior Football Championship final between Donegal and

Derry Derry, officially Londonderry, is the second-largest City status in the United Kingdom, city in Northern Ireland, and the fifth-largest on the island of Ireland. Located in County Londonderry, the city now covers both banks of the River Fo ...

and the

2022 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship The 2022 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship (SFC) was the 135th edition of the Gaelic Athletic Association's premier inter-county Gaelic football tournament since its establishment in 1887. Tyrone county football team, Tyrone entered the ...

quarter-final between

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

and

Cork "Cork" or "CORK" may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Stopper (plug), or "cork", a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container *** Wine cork an item to seal or reseal wine Places Ireland * ...

. He finished the season with the

between

Galway Galway ( ; , ) is a City status in Ireland, city in (and the county town of) County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay. It is the most populous settlement in the province of Connacht, the List of settleme ...

and Kerry, a first senior final for Hurson. Hurson is a clubmate of Kerry coach

Paddy Tally Paddy Tally (born 1970s) is a Gaelic football manager and coach. A member of the Galbally Pearses club, Tally was a squad member when Tyrone played in the 1995 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final. He was Tyrone coach when that team ...

. Ahead of the 2022 All-Ireland SFC final, Galway manager

Pádraic Joyce Pádraic Joyce (born 1 April 1977) is a Gaelic football Manager (Gaelic games), manager and former player who played as a forward. He has been manager of the senior Galway county football team, Galway county team since 2019. Joyce won the All ...

was asked to comment on this. Kerry manager Jack O'Connor was also asked about it. Hurson sent off Paul Conroy in Galway's 2022 National Football League game against Derry. By the end of 2022, Hurson had refereed every major national final except the

Munster Senior Football Championship The Munster Senior Football Championship, known simply as the Munster Championship and shortened to Munster SFC, is an annual inter-county Gaelic football competition organised by the Munster GAA, Munster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Associatio ...

and the

MacRory Cup The MacRory Cup is an inter-college (school) Gaelic football tournament in Ulster at senior "A" grade. The MacLarnon Cup is the competition for schools at senior 'B' grade. Players must be under nineteen at the start of the tournament. The winn ...

, the latter of which he was appointed to referee in 2020 but the competition ended prematurely due to 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 ...

. Hurson was later appointed to referee the 2024 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship final. It was the 36th championship game (34th SFC) he had refereed.

Personal life

Hurson is married and, as of 2022, was the father of two daughters and a son.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hurson, Sean Year of birth missing (living people) Living people All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final referees Gaelic football referees Place of birth missing (living people)