Sean Hurson is a

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 ...

referee. He is a member of the Galbally Parses 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 ...

, becoming the first Tyrone man to do so since Paddy Devlin oversaw the 1974 final.

Career

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

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

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 The 2018 Tyrone Senior Football Championship is the 113th edition of Tyrone GAA's premier gaelic football Gaelic football ( ga, Peil Ghaelach; short name '), commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA or Football is an Irish team sport. It is pla ...

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 final. He then oversaw the

2021–22 All-Ireland Senior Club Football Championship The 2021–22 All-Ireland Senior Club Football Championship was the 51st staging of the All-Ireland Senior Club Football Championship, the Gaelic Athletic Association's premier inter-county club football tournament. It was the first club champion ...

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 The 2018 All-Ireland Minor Football Championship was the GAA's premier inter-county gaelic football competition for under 17s. Thirty one county teams from Ireland competed (Kilkenny did not participate). 2018 was the first minor competition ...

final, the

2021 All-Ireland Under-20 Football Championship The 2021 All-Ireland Under-20 Football Championship was the fourth staging of the All-Ireland Under-20 Championship and the 58th staging overall of a Gaelic football championship for players between the minor and senior grades. The championship b ...

final, the

2019 Leinster Senior Football Championship The 2019 Leinster Senior Football Championship is the 2019 installment of the annual Leinster Senior Football Championship organised by Leinster GAA. Teams The Leinster championship was contested by 11 of the 12 county teams in Leinster, a provi ...

final, and 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 ...

final. 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 City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

and

Sligo Sligo ( ; ga, Sligeach , 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 approximately 20,000 in 2016, it is the List of urban areas ...

, the 2022 Leinster Senior Football Championship semi-final between Kildare and Westmeath, the

2022 Ulster Senior Football Championship The 2022 Ulster Senior Football Championship is the 134th installment of the annual Ulster Senior Football Championship organised by Ulster GAA. It is one of the four provincial competitions of the 2022 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship. ...

final between

Donegal Donegal may refer to: County Donegal, Ireland * County Donegal, a county in the Republic of Ireland, part of the province of Ulster * Donegal (town), a town in County Donegal in Ulster, Ireland * Donegal Bay, an inlet in the northwest of Ireland b ...

and

Derry Derry, officially Londonderry (), is the second-largest city in Northern Ireland and the fifth-largest city on the island of Ireland. The name ''Derry'' is an anglicisation of the Old Irish name (modern Irish: ) meaning 'oak grove'. The ...

and the

2022 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship The 2022 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship was the 135th edition of the Gaelic Athletic Association's premier inter-county Gaelic football tournament since its establishment in 1887. Tyrone entered the championship as the defending cha ...

quarter-final between Dublin and Cork. He finished the season with the

between Galway and Kerry, a first senior final for Hurson. Hurson is a clubmate of Kerry coach Paddy Tally. Ahead of the 2022 All-Ireland SFC final, Galway manager Pádraic Joyce 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 and the MacRory Cup, the latter of which he was appointed to referee in 2020 but the competition ended prematurely due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

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)