A Derry man saw how close to home sporting events can get, when he found himself refereeing a match in which his sisters were playing on opposite teams.
Micky Quigg spoke to MyDerry about this unique and memorable sporting experience.
He said: "I have been refereeing about 6 years now, since I was 22. My first Senior Hurling Final was in New York back in 2017, and Kilkenny’s TJ Reid was playing. My first Adult Camogie final came last year in the Intermediate Derry Championship Final."
Micky has previously avoided refereeing his sisters due to a conflict of interest, so when the opportunity came up to referee both sisters on opposite sides in a challenge match, he knew he could not turn down the chance.
Micky said: "One of my sisters Finola was playing for the Ulster University Magee team. My other sister, Eileen was playing for her local GAA club, Ballerin. Once I had seen the fixture I knew it was an opportunity not to be missed."
The match itself, Micky said, was an enjoyable game, with both sisters receiving a yellow card.
Micky said: "Eileen got hit a hard tackle in the first half and I jokingly shouted at the tackler "hi that’s my wee sister, don’t do that again", keeping in mind this is friendly game and the joke was taken well.
"My other sister, Finola said a jokingly derogative comment towards me as the referee, so for that she received a yellow card.
"Then at the end of the game when there was 30 seconds left, I went over and gave Eileen a yellow card too. My mother always said ‘you can’t give to one and not the other!’"
Micky posted a tweet with a photo of himself and both of his sisters and there was a large, positive response to the rare sporting occurrence.
Micky said: "It was the most liked tweet I have ever put up! I think it is funny because it is just one of those scenarios that you will rarely see again.
"You might hear about siblings playing on opposite teams, but the referee being the brother just makes it funnier, we couldn’t not get a picture at the end.
"I think the photo encapsulates the ethos of the GAA family, community and enjoyment. I am glad they asked me to do and it was a great night’s craic.
"The GAA is a real family affair all round. My brother, JohnJoe and my best friends are my umpires as well!"
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