2007 was a year of firsts for Ballymachugh stalwart Brendan Sweeney. Chances are that '08 will continue to see his star rise in the world of Gaelic games. History was made in early August last when Brendan Sweeney became the first Cavanman to officiate at a premier intercounty hurling championship game in Croke Park. The popular Ballymachugh clubman was appointed to act as one of the two linesmen for the plum Kilkenny versus Wexford All-Ireland SHC semi-final tie. The penultimate round clash - a repeat of the 2007 Leinster SHC final - acted as the centrepiece of a three match bill and was played out in front of over 55,000 fans. Westmeath and Kildare opened proceedings at headquarters in the Christy Ring Cup while the all-Munster All-Ireland SHC semi-final battle between Waterford and Cork followed. "It was a great experience and probably the highlight of 2007 for me," says the respected man-in-black who was appointed by Croke Park's Competition Controls Committee. "Croke Park is where you want to be whether that's as a player, mentor of official and I'm no different and getting the chance to play a role on the day was just great." 'Running the line' last autumn marked a major elevation for Brendan among his peers but, overall, '07 saw his profile and his rating shoot upwards as big match followed big match. He acted as the standby referee in the Nicky Rackard Cup final between Donegal and Roscommon, for instance. Meanwhile, in the Ring Cup decider between Westmeath and Kildare, he performed the role of linesman. Brendan again made history when he became the first Cavan man to officiate at an All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship final at Croke Park. Performing the role of Fourth Official for the Kilkenny v Limerick decider in front of a full house of some 82,000 fans is an experience he will never forget, he insists. So how did he know he was a wanted man for Croker on hurling followers' biggest day out? "Basically I got a phone call from the National Refs' office in Croke Park and I was surprised and delighted to take up their offer, and why wouldn't I!" Despite coming under the glare of thousands in the ground and millions watching proceedings on t.v. at home and abroad, Brendan passed his test with flying colours. "It would have been different if I was refereeing or even running the line," the full-time Cavan County Board coach explained. "My job was to record the subs used by either team and announce how much extra-time there was at the end of the first half and the same at the end of the second half. "It wasn't a major pressure-type job that I did. I operated what they call the 'bingo board' and fortunately everything went alright on the day." The newly appointed Gaelic games promotion manager at St. Pat's College stayed overnight as a guest of the GAA in preparation for last year's blue riband hurling decider. As one of referee Dermot Kirwan's (Cork) team, he was, like all good match officials, hardly visible in the maelstrom generated by the Cats and the Shannonsiders. Thankfully he wasn't called into action on All-Ireland finals day quite as quickly as he was for the Nicky Rackard Cup final when Donegal and Roscommon battled it out. "The sliothar was thrown in by the referee and within a half a second it came flying towards me and into the Hogan Stand," Brendan recalls. "I was 50 yards away from the midfielders when one or two of them connected with the ball so I wasn't sure whose ball it was so I threw it in. I'm glad there was no repeat in the final!" Now into his fifth year on the senior intercounty panel, Brendan is well used to getting himself keyed-up and ready for whatever challenge is set down for him by the authorities. "We all have to do plenty of preparation for the jobs that we're given," he says. "It's like most things, you have to prepare yourself and make sure that you've done your homework. "We do a pretty strict fitness test every year and every two years we do a written test and have to achieve a certain mark in both of them," adds Brendan. The former Ulster Under 21 medallist explains that he has his own team of umpires alongside him when he's refereeing matches. In that regard, he says with some certainty that he is the only intercounty referee who looks to the assistance of a lady umpire, Suzanne O'Reilly, a Castlerahan lady and wife of one of his other umpires Shane O'Reilly. Brendan's other umpires on call are his brothers Enda and Packie Brendan plus Owen Smith (Ballymachugh) and Matt Galligan (Crosserlough). Linesman also for the 2004 All-Ireland 'B' hurling final beween Mayo and Kildare, Brendan has amassed quite a lot of experience as a man in black since first taking up the whistle some ten years ago. His first intercounty hurling match saw him take charge of the Fermanagh v Monaghan NHL tie in Scotstown in 2001 which co-incided with his winding down of his own senior hurling career with Cavan. The four-times Mullahoran SHC medallist has impressed many referee assessors with his knowledge of hurling, common sense approach and player-management skills since taking up the whistle in small ball circles some seven years ago. In 2005, the 40 year old had the distinction of being a linesman for the Nicky Rackard Cup final between London and Louth and last year he was the fourth official when Antrim and Carlow clashed in the Christy Ring Cup decider. An experienced hand at this stage with regard to the National Hurling League arena, he has also acted as the referee for a raft of Rackard and Ring cup clashes at this juncture. In addition, he was the man in black for the All-Ireland B semi-final contest between Roscommon and Kildare last July in Mullingar and prior to that was in charge of the All-Ireland Under 16 C final. Winner of a NHL Division Three medal with Cavan (under Meathman Paddy Kelly) in 2000, the former Cavan senior hurler and Ulster Under 21 FC medallist has been busy this year. He took charge of the All-Ireland club quarter-final between London champions Robert Emmets and Connacht champions Thomas Larkins (Galway) at the end of January in Watford. Just a few weeks ago, he was also the man in the middle for the Armagh v London NHL clash in Armagh. But better was to follow a couple of weeks later. In arguably his biggest, most high profile match to date as a referee, Brendan called the shots in the Antrim v Wexford NHL Division One contest. As a qualified football referee also, one wonders is there any major differences between taking control of a football game as distinct from its hurling equivalent? "No, not really. The basic rules are much the same but you can't allow a fella lose the rag with a stick in his hand. Overall, common sense is a big thing with refereeing. "Having said that, a referee can have all the common sense in the world but if both sets of players have none, you're going to have trouble!" Interestingly, Brendan finds challenge games, on average, the most difficult matches to officiate "cause generally speaking players have less regard for officialdom in those matches." "I think most players in challenge games go out with the attitude that there won't be any serious consequences if they don't behave themselves and that they won't get reported. "In my experience, the higher the standard of hurling in a match the easier it is to control because the ball is moving that much faster and the game flows more quickly." Brendan is passionate about Gaelic games and he has a particularly soft spot for the small ball game as his many roles in the game testifies. He is the current vice-chairman of Cavan Hurling Board as well as being Secretary of Ballymachugh Hurling Club and it's liason officer on Ballymachugh's parent committee. For a living of course, he's gainfully employed by Cavan County Board as Games Promotion Officer in St. Patrick's College, Cavan; a post he firmly gotten his teeth into. "A lot of the fellas who are keen on playing hurling in St. Pat's have already been playing the game with their clubs so it's just a change of environment for them. "The big thing for hurling in 2007 was the abolishment of Bord peil na nOg because with the new arrangement, hurling is guaranteed not to clash with football fixtures. "It's great to be on that committee and know that hurling will have its own dates for the matches and that we're not fighting for dates on the calender all the time." Brendan believes hurling has stronger roots in the county now than ever with three new clubs, Kingscourt Stars, Drumlane and Lacken Celtic all coming on board since his own club was established in 2004. He says 40 hurling clubs in the county would be Nirvana for followers of the ancient sport in Breffni but, in the short term, an amalgamation of neighbouring clubs to form one strong hurling outfit would represent a more realistic wish. And the top of his personal own wish-list for 2008? "I'd like to referee a hurling match in Croke Park," he answers unequivocally. Roll on the summer! Tweet

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