Laois manager Mike Quirke, 2010 All-Ireland winning Cork manager Conor Counihan, and four-time All-Ireland hurling final referee Brian Gavin have called for the introduction of the clock-hooter system to lessen the "unsustainable" demands being placed on football referees.

Four-time All-Ireland hurling final referee Brian Gavin has urged the GAA to embrace a trial of a new yellow sliotar in order to assist umpires in spotting the ball.

New Offaly chairman Michael Duignan said he wants to unite Offaly GAA again after his election to the role at last night’s county convention in O’Connor Park.

The new rules had their first official airing this past weekend in the five O’Byrne Cup games, and it was encouraging that the Leinster Council brought in the five referees last week to brief them in advance.

Michael Duignan has said he will continue working for RTÉ if elected chairman of Offaly County Board.

Two-time All-Ireland winner Michael Duignan will go head to head with incumbent Tommy Byrne for the position of Offaly GAA chairman at next month’s county convention.

A Kerry referee has suggested GAA broadcasters need to help fans better understand the rules.

David Gough will take charge of the All-Ireland Senior Football final between Dublin and Kerry.

Aidan O'Mahony has added his voice to calls in Kerry for the GAA not to appoint David Gough as referee for the All-Ireland final.

Former Kerry manager Eamonn Fitzmaurice believes it would be wrong if Meath referee David Gough is nominated by the GAA to handle next month’s All-Ireland final between Dublin and Kerry.

James Owens will be the All-Ireland SHC final man in the middle for the second year running on Sunday week.

The winners had three goals disallowed but finished strongly to secure a final berth against Kilkenny - the county that Cleere hails from.

While we had two dramatic All-Ireland semi-finals that went down to the wire, unfortunately, the standard of refereeing will come under scrutiny.

Referees chief Willie Barrett is in favour of cynical play being punished by a 20-metre free.

Davy Fitzgerald has been dividing opinion since the days of my childhood.

Former Cork player and selector Diarmuid O’Sullivan says he wouldn’t last 10 minutes in today’s game with the prevailing approach of referees.

Last Sunday, soccer referee Daniel Sweeney was attacked after a match in Mullingar. He sustained a broken jaw and fractured eye-socket.

Margin of error is something a lot of observers don’t consider when analysing a referee’s performance. Refs don’t go out with a plan to make mistakes but neither do they believe they are going to get everything 100% correct.

YESTERDAY’S events in Thurles told us more about a man who wasn’t on the field than one who was. If anybody was in doubt about the Westmeath man taking charge of the All-Ireland final, they aren’t now.

Where to start with this enthralling weekend? It was unbelievable in so many ways. To have two outstandingly exciting All-Ireland semi-finals one after the other. Referees get just as thrilled about these days too.

What an amazing spectacle in Thurles yesterday and James McGrath can believe he contributed to it, writes Brian Gavin.

Yesterday was a day for hurling referees to step up to the mark and both James McGrath and Fergal Horgan did just that, in Semple Stadium and Croke Park.

As Alan Kelly returns to action as a linesman in next Saturday’s Kilkenny-Wexford Round 5 Leinster SHC game, GAA referees chief Willie Barrett wants to see HawkEye score detection technology extended to the goal-line.

Last week, I spoke about the importance of a referee’s team and unfortunately it was the topic of most discussions yesterday, writes Brian Gavin.

It’s still difficult to wrap your head around the tumultuous goings on in Offaly last week, following their defeat to Wicklow in the Leinster football championship.

I came in for a bit of criticism during the week about Offaly football matters, which I’ll come back to shortly, but I’m never going to shy away from calling it like I see it. At referees seminars, I would have been known for speaking my mind, whether I was right or wrong, and it’s an attitude I’ll be sticking to here, writes Brian Gavin.

The Offaly County Board management committee last night voted to remove Stephen Wallace as manager of the senior footballers.

"I left the dressing room to get some air, have a sulk and feel sorry for myself... nothing more!!!"

Pressure continues to mount on Offaly football manager Stephen Wallace following their Leinster SFC defeat to Wicklow on Sunday.

It is understood that there is serious unrest in the Faithful camp following yesterday's 1-20 to 1-15 Leinster Championship defeat to Wicklow.

Galway football captain Damien Comer has credited Paddy Tally with bringing greater directness to the county’s attacking play.

That finally brought an end to the gripping match five minutes short of three hours – one which is being labelled the longest inter-county hurling game of all time.

The messages have been plentiful as they have been humbling. Heart-warming texts from Derek McGrath, Anthony Daly, and Nicky English. 

Retiring hurling referee Brian Gavin admits he felt pressure from Tipperary supporters during his officiating career, as they deemed his style of reffing favoured Kilkenny.

Tommy Walsh has spoken openly for the first time about the difficulty he experienced in being dropped by Brian Cody in 2014.

Mary I 3-24 IT Carlow 1-19: DJ Carey said that Mary I manager Jamie Wall is an inspirational figure who could enjoy a successful career in charge of county teams.

LIMERICK IT 1-20

NUI Galway 4-14 St Pat’s Dochas Eireann 1-12: NUI Galway manager Tony Ward praised his side’s character but knows they didn’t play to their potential as they saw off a valiant St Pat’s in the Fitzgibbon Cup at Dangan in Galway.