Cork referee Colm Lyons to take charge of All-Ireland hurling final

MAN IN THE MIDDLE: Kilkenny's Richie Reid, Referee Colm Lyons and Limerick's Declan Hannon ahead of the 2022 All Ireland final. Pic: ©INPHO/James Crombie.

Colm Lyons of Cork will referee the Galway-Limerick All-Ireland SHC final on Sunday week, July 19.

The GAA announcement on Wednesday afternoon that Lyons has been given the nod will see the Nemo Rangers clubman take charge of his second Liam MacCarthy decider, having whistled Limerick’s narrow win over Kilkenny on the concluding Sunday of the 2022 hurling championship.

Lyons has already officiated both teams this summer. He policed Limerick’s comfortable Munster round-robin win over Tipp, while on the Galway side, he was in the middle for their Leinster opener against Kilkenny, a comfortable maroon win where he sent off Conor Whelan for the home side and John Donnelly for the visiting Cats, as well as black carding Paddy Deegan.

He returned to Salthill a month later for Galway’s sole defeat of the championship, at the hands of Dublin.

As well as the 2022 senior All-Ireland, Lyons has refereed the 2012 All-Ireland minor final and the 2018 and 2020 All-Ireland senior club deciders.

Wexford’s James Owens, who is in his final year of inter-county refereeing and who was strongly tipped to get the final, will be one of the linesmen on Sunday week. He will also serve as standby referee. Chris Mooney will be the other linesman.

The sideline official will be Niall Malone from Clare, David Grogan from Tipperary will operate HawkEye.

Lyons’ four umpires on the day will be Ciarán Hanley from Brian Dillons, Jim McEvoy from Blarney, and Philip Mackey and Finian Mullane, both from the Nemo Rangers club.