Referee Johnny Murphy
Limerick’s absence from an All-Ireland hurling final for the first time since 2019 has opened the way for Johnny Murphy to take charge of hurling’s biggest game for the first time.
The GAA has confirmed that Murphy will be referee for Cork and Clare on Sunday week.
Today’s Sports News in 90 Seconds – 11th July
Murphy has made quick progress since first taking charge of a Liam MacCarthy game for the first time in 2018. He has refereed an All-Ireland minor final (2018), an U-20 final in 2021 and last year’s club final. At provincial level he was referee when Kilkenny beat Dublin in the 2021 Leinster final.
Murphy, a member of the Ballylanders club, has refereed four championship games this year, Tipperary/Clare in Munster, Wexford/Dublin and Dublin/Kilkenny in Leinster in addition to the Wexford/Clare All-Ireland quarter-final, a day he sent off Wexford’s Rory O’Connor for two yellow cards.
Earlier this year he refereed Clare’s league final win over Kilkenny, one of his four league games in 2024.
It is the third successive year that an All-Ireland hurling final will have a ‘first time’ referee, following on from Colm Lyons in 2022 and John Keenan last year.
Murphy’s line umpires will be Galway’s Liam Gordon Tipperary’s and Michael Kennedy, Gordon will be the standby referee and the sideline official will be Chris Mooney from Dublin.
His umpires will be Micheal Meade, James Hickey and Jimmy Barry Murphy all from his own Ballylanders club and Andy Dooley from Garryspillane.