Why would you be a referee with the insults they get?

A permanent haze shrouds the dividing line between heroism and stupidity – somewhere in that haze live generations of GAA referees.

The impulse that brings referees to choose of their own free will a life of Sundays filled with insult remains a profound mystery.

GAA referees are largely devoid of the narcissism of their counterparts in the English Premier League, whose pursuit of cult status induces nausea.