Pictured above are L-R Ciaran O’Reilly, Kiltoom and Conor Fitzgibbon, Taughmaconnell who both graduated from the FAI Refereeing Department’s School of Excellence at the weekend, following a ceremony held in Dublin.
The Roscommon and District Football League Referees are pictured receiving their Diplomas from Mr. Billy Attley, Chief Referee Observer and Mr. Ian Stokes who was one of those overseeing the course.
Both Conor and Ciaran, who have been refereeing in the Roscommon and District Football League for the past number of years, are now eligible for inclusion on the League of Ireland panel for the new season beginning in February of next year.
The School of Excellence programme began over two years ago and involved regular attendance at various modules which included both written and physical tests. Regular assessments were carried out also over the two years. During this time, both Conor and Ciaran, together with their colleagues in the Roscommon branch of the ISRS, were involved in some high profile games, including National League U17 and U19 games, and also latter stages of the FAI Junior Cup.
Both the Chairman of the Roscommon Branch ISRS, Eugene Deering and the Secretary of the Roscommon and District Football League, Mr. Gerry Tully both paid warm tribute to Conor and Ciaran for their strong dedication to the School of Excellence.
“Both Gerry and I have been very strong supporters of promoting young referees and making sure that the Roscommon and District Football League is served by some of the top up and coming referees in the country,” said Eugene.
“The standard of refereeing in Roscommon has been one of the success stories of the FAI’s refereeing department in recent years which has been reflected in the top appointments that the local branch has received and I would like to wish both Conor and Ciaran all the best as they continue their refereeing progress to elite level,” said Gerry.