John Keenan confirmed as referee for All-Ireland hurling final

Keenan hasn’t taken charge of any Limerick games thus far but was the man in the middle for last year’s epic Munster final with Clare.

The GAA have confirmed that John Keenan from Wicklow will be the referee for the 2023 GAA Hurling All-Ireland Senior Championship Final on July 23rd, between Kilkenny and Limerick.

The game will mark his first final, in what will be his 22nd game in charge in the senior hurling championship.

John is a member of the Aughrim club and has also refereed the All-Ireland Minor Final in 2016, U21 All-Ireland Final in 2018, Leinster Hurling Final in 2019, and the Munster Hurling Final in 2022.

Keenan hasn’t taken charge of any Limerick games thus far but was the man in the middle for last year’s epic Munster final with Clare.

In this year’s Hurling Championship, John has refereed Antrim v Dublin in the Leinster Championship, two Munster championship games – Tipperary v Clare and Waterford v Clare, along with the All-Ireland Quarter Final involving Galway and Tipperary.

In the Allianz League, he refereed Kilkenny v Cork and Waterford v Galway.

The Final will be John’s 22nd Liam MacCarthy game to referee since his first in 2014.

His umpires on the day will be Tommy Redmond (Tinahely) and Eddie Leonard (St Patrick’s), Paul Reville (Turin) and David Clune (Delvin).

His linemen on the day will be Galway’s Liam Gordon and Wexford’s James Owens, and Liam will be the standby referee and the Sideline Official will be Shane Hynes from Galway.

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