Maurice Deegan
Maurice Deegan (born 1972)[1][2] is a former inter-county referee from County Laois. A member of the Stradbally club, he refereed three finals of the All-Ireland SFC.
Career
Deegan began refereeing when the Stradbally club secretary asked if he would oversee a friendly game.[1] Deegan officiated, wearing jeans and a t-shirt.[1] The club secretary recommended him for training and Deegan began working on local club matches and, later, underage development matches.[1]
Deegan refereed three All-Ireland Senior Football Championship finals at Croke Park — the 2016 All-Ireland Final Replay between Dublin and Mayo,[3] the 2012 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final between Donegal and Mayo[4][5][6] and the 2008 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final between Kerry and Tyrone. He refereed his first All-Ireland final when he was 35 years old.[1]
Deegan also refereed the 2020 Munster Senior Football Championship Final between Tipperary and Cork which resulted in Tipp's first title since 1935. Cork-based newspaper, the Irish Examiner, reckoned Deegan gave a "solid" performance.[7]
Deegan was originally listed to referee the 2022 Tailteann Cup Final, but the GAA confirmed a change of referee on 6 July.[8] Deegan was absent for what would have been his final inter-county game after contracting COVID-19.[1] Barry Cassidy deputised in Deegan's absence.[9]
Personal life
He is the father of two daughters.[1]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g Gannon, Tom (18 July 2022). "Laois GAA ref blows his final whistle Maurice Deegan Interview". Leinster Express.
With the first one, I was very young to be doing an All-Ireland final, I was only thirty-five at the time. It was massive and that game in particular between Tyrone and Kerry was billed as probably the biggest game of the decade.
- ^ Keys, Colm (15 April 2022). "Maurice Deegan set for inter-county swansong as referee". Irish Independent. Retrieved 15 April 2022.
Maurice Deegan is preparing for his last championship as an inter-county referee as he reaches the age of 50 this year.
- ^ "Maurice Deegan to ref Dublin v Mayo replay". Retrieved 1 October 2016.
- ^ "Maurice Deegan to referee Mayo v Donegal All-Ireland final". RTÉ Sport. 4 September 2012. Archived from the original on 15 March 2015. Retrieved 4 September 2012.
- ^ "Maurice Deegan: Black cards will be a killer at first". 4 April 2013. Archived from the original on 20 June 2013. Retrieved 4 April 2013.
- ^ "Inter-county referee Maurice Deegan speaks". 3 April 2013. Archived from the original on 15 March 2015. Retrieved 3 April 2013. Too scared to do anything.
- ^ "Stars align as heroic Tipperary shock Cork for first Munster SFC title in 85 years". Irish Examiner. 22 November 2020. Retrieved 24 November 2020.
- ^ Galvin, Kieran (6 July 2022). "Change of referee for Tailteann Cup final". Westmeath Independent. Archived from the original on 6 July 2022. Retrieved 9 July 2022.
- ^ K Burke, Mary (6 July 2022). "Barry Cassidy will referee Tailteann Cup final at Croke Park". derrynow.com. Archived from the original on 6 July 2022. Retrieved 9 July 2022.