Kildare referee enjoys historic day in Croke Park

Although Kildare haven’t appeared in an All-Ireland Final since 1998 (well Mayo did wear the white jerseys on Sunday last), Kildare match officials have been to the fore in Headquarters on football’s big day in the meantime. 

Mick Monaghan reffed the Kerry V Tyrone match in 2005 and Brendan Cawley was the man in the middle for last year’s Kerry v Donegal Final. 

On Sunday last, then, Kilcock’s young whistler, Killian Jones was on Hawkeye Official duty when Mayo bridged a 75-year gap by beating Kerry in the Final. That was his second All-Ireland having been in the same role for the Galway v Armagh Final two years ago. 

“It's a great privilege, honestly, to be here and be able to represent my club and county and I suppose my family as well at the highest level of the game and being recognised then with a with a nice Celtic Cross at the end of the season,” Killian Jones says.

One of Kildare’s bright young refereeing talents Killian started refereeing at the age of thirteen when he was “invited” by then Kilcock Chairman, Sean Walsh, to cover a local U15 game when the appointed Referee failed to show. 

“That was 21 years ago,” he told the Kildare Nationalist this week as he reflected on his big day in Croke Park. “I was bitten by whatever you might call it and I never really looked back since then." 

He continued to play himself, mainly hurling, up to about three years ago. Jones moved to refereeing at senior level when he was 16. 

“Mick Fennin would have been the Kildare Referee Coordinator at the time and he had no fear of throwing us into games, junior and intermediate football, no problem,” he said.

Killian joined the Leinster Referees Panel when he was 18. “I was the youngest referee on the Leinster Panel for a couple of years and around a year later I moved on to the National Support Panel,” he explained. 

Work commitments prevented Jones from advancing to the Senior National Panel, but when the Hawkeye opportunity came five years ago it allowed him to stay involved at the highest level of the game. 

“Our role is purely to be the decision maker. Assuming the umpires get it right, we don't get involved. If they don't get it right or they need our assistance, they'll call us or we'll call it,” he said of the role which only exits for matches in Croke Park and Semple Stadium only. 

Goal-line technology might be the next advancement for Hawkeye, Jones believes, but again it would probably be only at the same two venues. He wouldn’t be in favour of the VAR approach, however.

As for the call for this year’s Final Killian Jones tells us, “I was driving between Amsterdam and Eindhoven and I got a call from Bernard Smith in Croke Park to ask me whether I would be interested in joining the guys for last Sunday. 

"I couldn't have be happier. Martin McNally hadn’t even been announced as the Referee at that stage. I think everybody can agree that he had a fantastic game and contributed perfectly to what was an historic occasion.” 

Jones met with McNally and all the Final Officials in Abbotstown on the Wednesday evening before the Final. “Myself and the umpires spent a bit of time out in the pitch while the referees did a bit of a session themselves to loosen out. 

"We ran through different scenarios in terms of what they needed to be aware of. We went in as a group then and went through a couple of video analyses and different things over the last couple of weeks in terms of what was expected as the team of officials,” Killian explained. 

They all met again on the Saturday evening in the Castleknock Hotel and preparations began in earnest for the Final.

Mass was attended on the Sunday morning which was a poignant affair as former Monaghan footballer, Stephen Gallogly had passed away. “Stephen was from Martin's club, Carrickmacross, and a number of the umpires, one of the umpires in particular was very close to him,” Killian says.

The Match Officials left for Croke Park at 12.30pm. “We all went out on the pitch at about ten past two and went back in then and from about half two onwards we we're getting ready, getting geared up and mic'd up. 

"We all had a chat at about quarter to three until five past three and the lads went out in the pitch at that stage. Marty Duffy, who was Timing Official, and I went up to the box then,” Killian recalls.

They stayed in the box during the half time break and reviewed any calls from the first half. Hawkeye was only called on twice in the game.

Did he get caught up in the excitement as the final whistle approached, we wondered? 

“Ah, you stay focused but sure you're surrounded by the atmosphere as well. The Referee is talking on the open mic all the time so we're always engaged with what's going on the game.” 

“After the game we made our way down to the pitch to meet the lads. They were still in the zone a little bit but it was great to be on the pitch and be there when the Cup was being lifted. “It's a sound I don't think I’ll ever forget. Like last year it was a game that had absolutely no controversy and went very well."

Like Brendan Cawley last year it was quickly back to the grindstone for Killian Jones after Sunday’s Final. He was due to cover the Broadford v St Laurence’s IHC game but had to cry off because of travel but expects to have a minor or U16 game very soon. 

“It's the best way to get back out on to the pitch,” Killian says enthusiastically. “I’m in an extremely privileged position to be doing what I'm doing and loving what I'm doing,” Killian says. 

“As well as that, being involved at the highest level of the game and seeing the best players and the best referees and everything week in and week out, it's a true privilege,” adds the man who is married to Siobhan and they have two daughters, three-year-old Aoibheann and eight-month-old Aisling.