Refereeing numbers at “crisis levels” in Waterford
Waterford GAA auditor Jennifer Power, addresses delegates at the county convention. Also pictured are Kieran Geary, Treasurer, Neil Moore, Chairman, Pat Flynn, Secretary and Brendan Tobin CCC.
County board chairman Neil Moore is alarmed by the shortage of referees in Waterford at present, with club games at risk of being postponed if the issue persists.
“We are at crisis levels in the county in terms of the number of referees,” he told delegates at the annual convention on Thursday night.
“In the West of the county, the problem is particularly acute. I appeal to all clubs to genuinely go out and seek potential referees from your club in the early weeks of 2026. There is far too big a burden being placed on referees in terms of the volume of games they do and it’s something we must address as a matter of urgency.”
Some Bord na nÓg games have already fallen by the wayside due to the lack of officials. Adult matches took place this year without linesmen, while referees were also drafted in from neighbouring counties.
“We're having to bring referees up from the city or over the border from Youghal or East Cork to officiate at our matches far too often. I would appeal to clubs to go out and address some former players.
“The dissent rule in football has made a difference for our referees. That motion is due to be brought in for hurling next year. With a lot of that dissent gone out of our games, hopefully that will make taking up the whistle a lot more attractive.”
During a wide-ranging address, Moore jumped to the defence of new Waterford football boss Ephie Fitzgerald. Pat Spillane recently described the Cork man as “a sucker for punishment” for taking the post for a second time.
“I can assure delegates that in Ephie, we have a man with the genuine interests of Waterford football at heart. The recent negative comments from a national pundit regarding Ephie as being a sucker for punishment were disappointing, disrespectful and in no way helpful to Ephie or any of the players.”
The attendance at the senior hurling final concerned former county board chairman Paddy Joe Ryan. Ballygunner versus Mount Sion brought in €27,948, compared to the €41,573 generated by Ballygunner and Abbeyside/Ballinacourty in 2024.
“It was a dream final this year, really Mount Sion and Ballygunner. It’s alarming, and the clubs should be concerned about the attendance, particularly at the county final. It was an absolute disaster.”
Mount Sion delegate Seamie Cleere called for a two-week break between the county semi-final and final. “We’re perceived as a big club, but we’ve only got 30 young fellas playing hurling between 13 and 17. Anytime we get into a final, we need to blow that up as much as we can to keep young fellas interested.
“Following on from Paddy Joe’s point, €22,000 was taken in for two senior semi-finals and a junior A final on the one day, with five different clubs playing. People are now picking the games they go and see.”
Moore addressed the small attendances in his speech. “Our hurling championship did throw up some excellent games, but the format did not appeal to our supporters, with the attendances very low at some of our games.
“There must be increased jeopardy in the group stages with a possible examination of the current structures of our championships taking place in January. Our player survey is currently taking place in every club across the county. I would appeal to all clubs to encourage your players to take part in this survey which closes next Friday.”
The chairman also gave his thoughts on bringing the GAA, LGFA and the Camogie Association under the one umbrella. “The timeline and process of integration is deeply flawed. 2027 is far too ambitious a date.
“I also believe a bottom-up approach of the one club model being implemented first, along with camogie and LGFA integrating, would have made for a better journey to integration.”
He congratulated the minor hurlers on their All-Ireland success and is upbeat about what 2026 holds. “I firmly believe that in Darragh O’Sullivan, James O’Connor and Peter Queally, we have three managers of the highest quality. They represent the very best of our county. It is crucial that we show patience and give them every support possible in the years ahead.”
He welcomed the motion for the inter-county minor to return to Under-18. “It was something that we pushed for last year, but was ruled out of order. I would caution against moving the finals back to Croke Park.”
Improving the coaching of the fundamental skills is one of Moore’s priorities as county chairman. “Crucial to this is that every club has an active coaching officer. If your club does not have this, I encourage you to do this as a matter of great urgency. By investing time and resources in your club's coaching now, you will save your club the annual hunt for outside managers and coaches, which seems rife throughout the county at present.
“If you invest in your own coaches now, you will have an invaluable resource for the future while also avoiding the undoubted knock on the door from Revenue who will soon begin looking at our clubs.”
He will also seek to address the 71 walkovers and withdrawals in the adult and minor leagues over the past year. “We saw a worrying amount of walkovers in our county leagues. Despite repeated appeals for clubs not to enter leagues unless they are committed to playing all of the games, we still have this problem.
“In order to change this, we will probably be asking clubs to pay a significant deposit for each team, which will be returned once a team plays all of their league games.”
Moore remembered Tom Cunningham, Eddie Cunningham, Anthony Walsh, Jim O’Keeffe and Seamus Quirke, who all passed away in 2025. He also paid tribute to much-loved Fraher Field groundsman Ollie Drummey. His ashes were scattered in Fraher Field recently and a plaque will be erected in the New Year.
All of the officers were re-elected unopposed. Three motions put forward by the regrading workgroup passed comprehensively. This committee was chaired by Paddy Joe Ryan. The amount of regrades a club can make has been reduced from seven to five. In another rule change, a player shall not lose his status by coming on as a substitute in a higher grade championship.
“If you start a game, you lose your status,” Ryan explained. He hopes that this change will level the playing field for junior clubs. A player over 17 in his first year at adult level will no longer be able to move up or down between grades during the group stages of the championship.
Once upon a time, the annual convention was held over two days. Thursday’s meeting lasted just 90 minutes. Paddy Ryan wrapped up proceedings with a rendition of Amhrán na bhFiann.
