Dickie Murphy is a shock omission from the panel of the referees who will officiate in this year's senior hurling and football championships.

It is the first time in 21 years that the Wexford whistler has failed to make the cut and as he turns 50 next year (the maximum age a referee can officiate at inter-county level under new rules), it now looks as if his days at the highest level are over, although he will continue as a linesman and standby referee.

Murphy refereed his first senior championship game between Dublin and Laois in 1989 and went on to take charge of four All-Ireland finals. His most recent championship assignment was in last year's All-Ireland qualifiers when he took charge of Cork v Offaly.

Other talking points from this year's championship panel is the absence of officials from Kilkenny, Galway, Clare, Limerick and Dublin, and the inclusion of two Westmeath referees - Barry Kelly and James McGrath - on the hurling list, despite the Lake County not even challenging for the Liam McCarthy Cup.

2010 championship referees

Football: P Fox (Westmeath), D Fahy (Longford), C Reilly (Meath), D Coldrick (Meath), M Deegan (Laois), S Doyle (Wexford), G O Conamha (Galway), Marty Duffy (Sligo), Michael Duffy (Sligo), A Mangan (Kerry), M Collins (Cork), M Condon (Waterford), J McQuillan (Cavan), P Hughes (Armagh), J White (Donegal), M Higgins (Fermanagh), P McEnaney (Monaghan), M Sludden (Tyrone).

Hurling: A Stapleton (Laois), B Kelly (Westmeath), J McGrath (Westmeath), B Gavin (Offaly), J Owens (Wexford), C McAllister (Cork), J Sexton (Cork), D Kirwan (Cork), J Ryan (Tipperary), M Wadding (Waterford). Tweet

Most Read Stories