GAA official Seán Hurson is encouraging others to take up officiating as part of #SportMaker Officials Week.
Hurson may never have planned to be an official but it’s a decision that changed his life. The Galbally Pearses GAC man has become one of the top officials in the sport by refereeing the All-Ireland Minor Final in 2018, U20 All-Ireland Final in 2021, All-Ireland Senior Club Final in 2022 and two All-Ireland Football Finals in 2022 and 2024.
The 2024 All Ireland Final was Sean’s 34th Senior Football Championship fixture, since his first in 2016.
Hurson said: “I think anybody growing up doesn’t think of officiating, they always think they want to be the player. In reality that doesn’t happen for everybody. So I got an opportunity to officiate in house games at my club and that really developed into me enjoying it.
“Officials are a team of people that are trying their best to maybe get a game played. If we’ve got no referee, we’ve got no game. We are going to make mistakes, players are making mistakes, managers are making mistakes, but it’s how we react to them.”
Congratulations Sean, you are a #SportMaker! And you can watch the rest of his interview above.
But, do you know another #SportMaker? Let us know by uploading a photo or video of your #SportMaker on social media and use the SportMaker hashtag and tag Sport NI on social media.