‘Dream come true’ for top rugby referee Helen
The panel provides officials for the Ulster Bank League, the Guinness Pro12 and European competitions, with O’Reilly set to cut her teeth in the AIL Division 2A and 2B action next month.
A delighted O’Reilly last night said: “This latest news is a major dream come true; to get onto the national panel is huge when you are competing with all the major male referees in Ireland.
“I am over the moon. I am on the panel now with the guys and they have been very supportive. The guys on the panel have been amongst the first to pick up the phone and tell me they are delighted for me.
“The positivity coming through today from everyone in rugby at all levels is fantastic. By making the panel, I feel that I am recognised as a referee — not a female referee — but a referee.”
A former Ashbourne RFC and St Mary’s RFC player, O’Reilly has been officiating for less than four years, but has made remarkable progress in that spell.
The 39-year-old was just one of two female northern hemisphere referees on duty at this year’s Women’s World Cup on the back of impressive displays in the Women’s Six Nations Championships.
She continued: “I am on the national panel and I will be refereeing All-Ireland League games in January. The fixtures haven’t been announced yet, so I don’t know my first game, but I do know I will be doing my first AIL game next month. I was involved for 13 years in Ashbourne and it is a good feeder club for a number of reasons, including for referees; they [Ashbourne] were very keen to keep me involved in refereeing and I was keen to be involved in the game, it was a natural progression for me when I gave up playing to go into refereeing.”
O’Reilly has already taken charge of men’s games and her presence has sometimes raised eyebrows.
“When you get out of the car, people think you are one of the physios and then you do get some looks when you appear in the referee’s gear. But the laws of rugby don’t change whether it is a man or a woman who is in charge and, to be honest, once players see you are officiating to a good standard there never is an issue.”
Having a female referee can, though, present some challenges. “Players automatically address the referee as ‘sir’ — they do it instinctively. A lot of players then apologise to me for that and some would call me ‘ma’am’ or ‘miss’. To be honest once it is polite I don’t mind what they call me.”
As to her ambitions, O’Reilly is keeping her feet firmly on the ground. “My mantra all along has been to take one game at a time. All I am thinking about now is the Women’s All-Ireland League final on Saturday night. After that, it will be the Ulster Bank League and then I return to the Women’s Six Nations in the spring.”
Ireland’s referee development director Owen Doyle said: “Helen’s appointment is based solely on merit, but as the first female referee to make the panel, she must be congratulated. Her hard work, dedication and strong refereeing performances have propelled her into the top handful of female referees in the world and into the national panel here in Ireland.”
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