Kildare referee Brendan Cawley to take charge of All-Ireland senior football final
He officiated Kerry's All-Ireland quarter-final victory over Armagh last month as well as the Ulster final between Donegal and Armagh, which Jim McGuinness' side won after extra-time. He was also the man-in-the-middle for their provincial first-round victory over Derry.
Monaghan's Martin McNally is his stand-by referee on the day, which will be Cawley's 30th championship game as referee.
Kildare GAA lauded Cawley's 'dedication, consistency and composure' in a statement on X saying it was a matter of when rather than if he'd get the top job, having previously taken charge of the All-Ireland club football final in 2024 when Derry's Glen defeated Roscommon's St Brigid's.
'His dedication, consistency, and composure have long marked him out as one of the very best in the game, and it is fitting that he now takes charge of this prestigious fixture,' wrote Kildare GAA.
Cawley follows in the footsteps of Sean Hurson who threw the ball-in for last year's decider between Armagh and Galway. He'll be the first Kildare man to referee the final since 2005 when Michael Monaghan took charge of Kerry's victory over Tyrone.
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