Marty on his life as a referee
West Sligo’s Marty Duffy became a household name as one of the GAA’s top referees at national level. He also has worked diligently for Sligo LGFA and is now chairperson of progressive Enniscrone-Kilglass GAA Club
learning from each and every game.” “There would be many days when I would be driving home and I would think to myself that I didn’t have a good game and other times I would be happy enough that I got most of the calls right.”
It is when a referee gets the calls wrong, however, that the fun starts.
For many who follow GAA, blaming the ref for their team’s ills has become so fashionable.
Now there is social media with which to create bonfires to burn match officials who become the fall guys. We’ve all heard the story of two GAA True Gaels talking about the game they had just watched. The big
“There are so many good stories about being a referee, stories that never get told, because we always go back to that one thing – which is the criticism.”
story was that the referee had been attacked during proceedings. One of the old salts was aghast, although only slightly, that such a violent act occurred. “Sure he was having a bad game anyway,” remarked the other.
DUFFY had heard it all from the terraces, along the sidelines and the stands. Whatever about the potential vitriol when he has to do his job at a provincial final, with thousands at the venue, at club games it is much worse. When overseeing the meeting of two parishes in Sligo, with possibly just a handful of spectators present, it is likely that Duffy would know who is doing most of the verbal baiting.
“At club level it is different because you hear a lot of it. There are people who might have shouted at me during a game and half an hour after the full-time whistle they are different, very friendly.”
“They might say to me ‘I could never do what you do, I’d never be a referee’. But for the hour or so before that they had no problem giving out.” He points out that the vast majority of those watching or participating in games aren’t familiar with the GAA’s rules, they’ve never held a rulebook in their hands or even downloaded a PDF version of it.
But that doesn’t stop them questioning the very people whose role is to simply enforce the rules.
“To hear criticism is never easy, no matter what part of sport you are involved in,” he says.
“There will always be criticism but constructive criticism is good – especially when it is from people who know what they are talking about.”
The culture of continually shouting at a ref – as if the match official actually kicked a point or stood in goal to prevent a score – can only stop at grassroots level according to Duffy. He believes that if clubs take it upon themselves to rein in their ‘shouters’, especially when it is verbal abuse and not fair comment, will set a precedent for the boys and girls at these fixtures. “I have said this at the very beginning of becoming chairman [of Enniscrone-Kilglass], that we should have respect for referees, respect for opposition players and for our own players.”
“When someone consistently steps out of line when it comes to giving out at a referee, an opposition player or their own player, that person should be tapped on the shoulder and told that this behaviour is not acceptable.” “We can talk about ‘give respect, get respect’ but if we don’t start this at grassroots, if every club isn’t willing to take this on then it won’t be addressed.”
“When we talk about recruiting referees, inevitably we mention the criticism that they will have to face, the verbal abuse and how they deal with this.
Whatever about being shouted, that is only one aspect of being a referee. There are so many other facets to the role. He emphasises the buzz of covering exciting underage fixtures in Corballa or Templeboy, games he has enjoyed as much as the many big occasions.
The trips abroad, including being part of the 2014 International Rules Series in Australia, are things that only came about because he became a referee. He has also been on GAA trips to Hong Kong, the Middle East, China and Argentina.
It helped, of course, that he was one of the best, continuing Sligo GAA’s tradition of producing excellent referees.
“For every bad day that I had as a referee – and I had some – I had 100 good ones. For every bad experience I had with a person, I had 100 good ones.”
“To stand in Markievicz Park on county final day, MacHale Park on Connacht final day, Clones on Ulster final day, Killarney on Munster final day and Croke Park on All-Ireland final day – to be part of those occasions was just unbelievable.”
“For myself and the umpires that I had working with me, for us to be part of those games was just fantastic.” “There are great opportunties for anyone who gets involved as a referee. I’ve travelled the world.”
“There are so many good stories about being a referee – stories that never get told – because we always go back to that one thing, which is the criticism.”
“Referees who have worked at the higher level will tell you that while criticism can be very difficult, it is just a small part of what being a referee means to them and for what they get out of it.”
HE continues to be immersed in the GAA – locally, provincially and nationally. A former club player who wore the famous black and amber of Enniscrone-Kilglass, he is now club chairperson.
Duffy chairs the Connacht GAA Referees Committee (a role he was first invited to take up by Leitrim’s Gerry McGovern) and at Croke Park level he is chairman of the GAA’s Central Referees Appointments Committee.
For the 2018 season, the year he would turn 50, he had to step down as an inter-county referee, having reached the upper age limit according to the stipulation adopted in 2010. Also a referee tutor, he hopes to guide the next generation of referees, whether that is in this county, Connacht and further afield. And if any of his family approached him about starting out as a referee, he’d get them signed up straight away.
This is a discussion that he and his wife, Geraldine, haven’t had yet because neither Leah, Aaron, Conal nor Aimee (their four children) have expressed an interest in the refereeing trade.
When Duffy was a fledging referee in the late 1990s, family support meant everything – although his parents Martin and Nan were initially a little unsure of what their son was getting into.
“At the beginning they tended to ask me why would I want to be a ref ? But as time went on I would hope they were proud of what I was doing.” “There were certain matches that my mother would have been in attendance. For the bigger games, it is a spe
cial day to have my family watching on from the crowd.”
His father passed in 2000 aged just 69. From Rathlee, Martin never forgot his Easkey Sea Blues roots although he became an avid Enniscrone-Kilglass supporter when he moved to Kilglass and his children got involved with the club (Marty recalls with fondness of him and Michael being brought to training and matches by their dad when they were kids).
AS for the future of refereeing, technology could play its part – especially when it comes to the big, controversial calls. Duffy, though, says that any help from a referee and a TV monitor must have its parameters defined.
How many phases back from the penalty claim does the TMO [Television Match Official] examine?
For example, if there was – or wasn’t – a foul on a corner-forward who was through on goal, what if the ball was picked off the ground earlier in the move?
“Ultimately, you can’t have someone up in the stand refereeing the game – the TMO [Television Match Official] should be a useful aid but it can’t take over the whole game.”
His passion for the LGFA is as strong as his lifelong fever for GAA matters.
Along with his work with Ladies Football, firstly with Enniscrone-Kilglass and then Eoghan Rua, he has an added interest in how this organisation thrives because one of his daughters, teenager Leah, is a highly promising player.
For Duffy, Ladies Football has progressed immeasurably since 1993 when he was chairperson of the inaugural Sligo LGFA County Board.
The sport is still fighting for greater recognition, more exposure and a parity that – he suggests – may only arrive when governing bodies LGFA and GAA work even closer or even merge.
“In LGFA, behind the scenes, at county and club level, there is such an amount of work going in. Standards have improved, there is also more respect and exposure for the sport.” “Still, I don’t think the players and the sport’s volunteers get the recognition that they deserve from the general public.”
“There is absolutely no comparison now to when we started in 1993.” Being chairperson of Enniscrone-Kilglass GAA Club isn’t just about hoping that the club’s teams prosper on the pitch, there is the redevelopment of the facilties at Quigbar, a project that will see a new clubhouse and dressing-rooms to go with the already constructed all-weather indoor playing area.
“The club is ambitious. My predecessor, Declan Rouse, drove the indoor astroturf project.”
“It was always part of our thinking to upgrade the dressing-rooms. We want to improve the facilities for ourselves and the community.”
“We are trying to go back to the basics of having Enniscrone-Kilglass GAA Club as part of the community and that the community would be part of the club.”
“In time we would like to have facilities that are there for everyone in the club’s catchment area, all year round.” “There are a lot of good people in the club, some very talented people on all our committees. Individuals who are willing to do so much work on behalf of the club.”
Duffy wouldn’t be adverse to Enniscrone-Kilglass – currently trying to get into the Senior Football Championship arena – amalgamating so that their up and coming players would get a taste of life in the top tier. Enniscrone-Kilglass have previously joined forces with neighbouring clubs and successfully so, winning county ‘A’ titles at Minor and U-21 level with Easkey.
Whatever roles and achievements await Marty Duffy, be that in the GAA or LGFA, he has made his name as a referee.
Even now when he watches a game he tends to focus on what the referee is doing (although if Enniscrone-Kilglass have a crunch tie, be that a semi-final or a final, he says will be a regular supporter).
“At different times you get a buzz from different things you are involved in. But, looking back, a lot of my sporting highlights have come from being a referee – I suppose I put a lot of time and effort into it.”
“When I became a referee, all I wanted to do was improve and get to the next stage. I loved it. I love being part of it. Now I love trying to improve the whole standard [of refereeing].”
HE has always had a basic mantra when it comes to being a referee. “I don’t know of any referee that leaves the house with the intention of having a bad game.”
“If someone said to be after a game that I did poorly, I would say ‘that’s fine, you are entitled to your opinion’.
He added: “A referee should never be biased. Sure, a ref will make mistakes – remember it is about trying to make the most honest call you can make in that split second.”
“It may be the wrong call, but it was the most honest call you could have made at the time – then you can look anyone in the eye afterwards and say, ‘OK, I made a mistake’.”
“Once a referee wants to decide who should win or lose then they should stop being a referee.”