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#Post#: 60396--------------------------------------------------
English referees officiating in Ireland
DIR By: Hendo
Date: February 22, 2023, 3:57 pm
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I went to Walter Johnson’s funeral last week; an almost packed
crematorium with a true celebration of his life and well
attended by many from the local football association.
One thing i was intrigued to learn is that during the height of
the troubles in Ireland in the 60s a number of referees from
England were asked to take games there when it was felt
Protestant/Catholic tensions merited a neutral referee. Walter,
a referee on the Lancashire Combination at the time, was one of
those who helped out occasionally, which involved taking the
boat to Ireland on the Friday, reporting it the Irish F A to see
which game he was being allocated, reffing it and returning home
on the Sunday. Walter found it challenging but rewarding and
helpful in his rise up the ladder.
Has anyone come across this before and, if so, know of any other
English refs who also helped?
#Post#: 60399--------------------------------------------------
Re: English referees officiating in Ireland
DIR By: John Treleven
Date: February 22, 2023, 4:22 pm
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Yes I have come across it before. It was happening pre
"Troubles" too
1930 Tom Crew (Leicester) and J.O. Rickwood (Sheffield)
officiated in Dublin and Waterford
In 1932 when some referees commented on English referees
travelling over for the League games played on Sunday in the
Irish Free State.
Sunday football was "taboo" in England at the time and the
question was raised whether these referees should be suspended
1938 3 of the 4 Irish F.A. Cup Quarter-Finals were to have
(unnamed) English referees
#Post#: 60549--------------------------------------------------
Re: English referees officiating in Ireland
DIR By: Boris10
Date: February 25, 2023, 4:22 pm
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I hve referred to this before-quite some time ago.Mostly West
coast referees-I have mentioned CF Duxbury before.I also have a
vague idea R.Tinkler once was mentioned.I can't specifically
remember names now but West Lancashire referees of the time were
involved.Information was from the Sunday Post,a famous Scottish
newspaper that had a comprehensive soccer section.The English
edition also covered teams from the NE and NW of
England,together with a report on the top Irish match of the
day.
#Post#: 104554--------------------------------------------------
Re: English referees officiating in Ireland
DIR By: Law18
Date: April 22, 2026, 8:10 am
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English and Scottish referees were regularly appointed to
matches in Ireland, and particularly to Northern Ireland, from
the early years of the 20th century through to the early 1970's
when "the Troubles" brought things to a halt. Scottish referees
were heavily used in the periods 1900-1914, 1925-39 and the late
1940's to the early 1950's.
English referees were used throughout.
The English and Scottish referees handled many Cup Finals. The
Scottish referee Tom Robertson refereed 8 Irish Cup Finals
between 1901 and 1911.
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