Westmeath man gets refereeing duties for second successive hurling final
For the second successive year, James McGrath from Westmeath has been chosen to referee an All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship final replay.
The Turin clubman was the man in the middle for last year's final replay between Kilkenny and Galway, and on Saturday week he will have the whistle for the eagerly-awaited rematch between Clare and Cork at Croke Park.
Offaly man Brian Gavin was in charge of the drawn game on September 8 and will be a linesman and the stand-by referee for the replay.
Gavin drew some criticism the last day for opting to yellow card Cork's Shane O'Neill rather than send him off for striking Clare forward Darach Honan on the head.
He also awarded two harsh frees against Clare in the first half - David McInerney, having been fouled by Conor Lehane, was then penalised for over-carrying, while Lorcán McLoughlin should have whistled up for charging before earning a free off Colin Ryan. Patrick Horgan pointed both frees.
Some Cork fans also felt aggrieved with the amount of injury-time Gavin allowed for at the end of the game.
Two minutes were initially signalled for, but the clock showed 72 minutes and 38 seconds when he blew for full-time - just moments after Domhnall O'Donovan had scored the levelling point for Clare.
The focus though will now switch onto McGrath's shoulders, the man who refereed the All-Ireland minor final in 2009 and the Under-21 decider in 2010.
His run of senior Championship matches this season includes the Munster final between Cork and Limerick, a game in which he sent off Cork forward Pat Horgan for striking Paudie O'Brien. But Cork successfully appealed the decision and had the red card rescinded.
McGrath also took charge Clare's Munster quarter-final outing against Waterford and the All-Ireland qualifier meeting of Offaly and Waterford.
ALL-IRELAND SENIOR HURLING CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL REPLAY:
CLARE v CORK, Croke Park, 5pm, Saturday, September 28
Referee: James McGrath (Westmeath)
Stand-By Referee: Brian Gavin (Offaly)
Linesman: Johnny Ryan (Tipperary)
Sideline Official: Alan Kelly (Galway)
Umpires: Tom McNicholas, David Hennessy, Johnny Fitzpatrick (all Lough Lene Gaels) and David Clune (Delvin)
