FOR quite some time, there has been a widely held belief that the 1983 All-Ireland final put an end to John Gough's refereeing career at the elite level.
Others believe it is no coincidence that referees from the "wee six" have been overlooked for the subsequent 31 All-Ireland deciders .
But we'll get to that later.
When Dublin took on Galway on a blustery day in Croke Park in ‘83, the St John's clubman sent off four players in the most ill-tempered final on record.
Despite three of the red cards belonging to the Dubs, Barney Rock's bizarre 11th minute goal set Kevin Heffernan's side on their way to a 1-10 to 1-8 victory.
Unsurprisingly, it wasn't Dublin’s 21st Sam Maguire title that made the headlines.
Scenes of thuggery and violence dominated the post-match reports as Gough was made to officiate a game unlike any other in All-Ireland final history.
Supporters were being crushed throughout the game in the Canal End and in Hill 16 and as the pandemonium heightened, a man was stabbed as the crowds flocked towards the exits after the match.
The entire spectacle left a sour taste in the mouths of GAA fans and only added to the GAA's primitive and uncouth reputation.
Heff’s ‘Dirty Dozen’ were berated up and down the country but within the capital, they earned the epithet ‘The 12 Apostles’.
It was a far-cry from the game Gough had dreamed of refereeing as the rain-soaked turf and gale-force winds made it impossible for any sort of constructive football to be played.
Despite the devilry on and off the field, the Belfast man still has fond memories of his 70 minutes at Headquarters.
"It was a fantastic, tough game of football from my perspective," said Gough.
"There were bad incidents in it but I enjoyed every second of being in Croke Park that day. I have great memories of it. I’m sorry it didn’t turn out to be the sort of game I wanted it to be in the build-up to the final but if I could do it all over again, I would ref it exactly the same.
"Some incidents were unfortunate but having watched it again, I couldn’t see myself refereeing it any differently. I still stand by my decisions."
It was shortly after Rock's 40-yard screamer found the back of the net that the game turned ugly. In midfield, Dublin's Brian Mullins swung an arm back and connected with Brian Talty's jaw and the St Vincent's man was the first to receive his marching orders.
As half-time approached, the teams clashed beneath the Hogan Stand. Gough wasn't sure who started the incident but Ray Hazley (Dublin) and Tomás Tierney (Galway) were dismissed next for their part in the brawl.
The man who delivered the sneakiest of jabs - Galway's Peter Lee - was retrospectively banned for a month when the game was later analysed yet he managed to stay on the field that day. His evasive tactics still irk Gough three decades down the line.
"Believe it or not, there could have been more red cards," said the Belfast man.
"I missed the Galway centre-half back [starting it]… I knew what had happened but I couldn’t see who actually delivered the punch.
"He disappeared in the melee over by the stand and I always regretted that. I knew later it was him. I would have sent him man off as well but in any game, a referee can miss things.
"It depends where you are and what angle you are looking at it all from. Unless you can clearly see the incident or the strike, you aren’t going to send anyone off. You have to be certain."
Five minutes after the restart, another unsavoury incident occurred as Dublin forward Ciaran Duff swung his boot at the face of the grounded Pat O'Neill. Minimal contact was made but Gough acknowledged the intent.
"It doesn’t matter what match it was in, whether it was a U10 match or the All-Ireland final.... if I caught you striking, or attempting to strike, I put you off. It was that simple.
"I maybe got the reputation for putting people off regularly but I only put people off if I saw them striking. I was more tolerant than most referees.
"I played the game rough in my day and I expected Gaelic football to be played that way when I was a ref.
"I always expected to handle a good, hard, tough game but I didn't tolerate striking of any nature. It’s a rule I like to see applied consistently."
Gough, meanwhile, is quick to dispel the notion that the '83 All-Ireland final alerted GAA officials to a certain prototype of referee from the north. He suggests the blame lies a lot closer to home.
"Definitely not, I refereed the big National League games, the Sigerson Cup and the U21 All-Ireland after that game," he said.
"The Association supported me 100 per cent. I have great respect for them and I got stacks of really great matches after that. That's just a conspiracy and one without any truth.
"People have to realise I was 46 at the time. I was quite late in getting my All-Ireland final in comparison to others but I was stepping down from the inter-county circuit shortly after that. It was nothing to do with my display on that day.
"The reason we haven't had a referee from the ‘wee six’ in an All-Ireland final since '83 is nothing to do with the number of cards I issued. We haven't been good enough and that’s just it.
"If you’re good enough, you’ll get there. If you can bring a consistency to your refereeing and you have a good understanding of the game, the GAA will only be too happy to give you the big games. I know from my own experience, all they are looking for is the best people."
Gough prefers to look at the refereeing landscape as an ‘Ulster thing’. Monaghan’s Pat McEnaney refereed three All-Ireland finals in nine seasons (1996, 2000, 2004), Cavan’s Brian Crowe took charge in 2006 while Joe McQuillan has refereed two of the last four Croke Park showdowns in 2013.
Commitment to the development of referees in the North just hasn’t at the required level.
"There are a few [referees from the North] out there getting big games and if they continue on the right road they will get their rewards,” said Gough.
“Paudie Hughes refereed the Muster final recently and that's one of the biggest games in the country so there's clearly no agenda within the GAA.
"But if I'm honest, I never count the six. Within the GAA, we always look at the nine [in Ulster] and when Pat McEnaney was good enough, he done plenty of All-Ireland finals.
"I would look at Pat and John Maloney of Tipperary as the best referees the Association has ever had. They understood every aspect of the game and John was a huge influence on me.
"We just haven't produced enough people like McEnaney up here."
The debate about the standard of refereeing is as old as the game itself. One side will always feel aggrieved.
A fortnight ago, Brian McIver castigated referee Conor Lane as he quit his Derry post in the wake of his team's All-Ireland Qualifier defeat by Galway while Joe Brolly has found himself in hot water once again after criticising Paudie Hughes's performances of late.
In his post-match interview, McIver made a claim that every element of Gaelic football has progressed in the last 20 years except the standard of refereeing.
Gough, who went on to be a national tutor and assessor of referees, doesn’t buy that for a second.
"Brian mustn’t remember the referees of 30 or 40 years ago," he said.
"Even a lot more recently than that, in Belfast and Antrim, you would have had a series of games that weren’t even refereed by someone that was qualified.
"There was a habit of referees not turning up and one of the club members having to do it. "That might happen every now and again at juvenile level but in general, that ethos has gone completely.
"The entire refereeing structure has developed immensely. I agree though that they could certainly do with a higher calibre of athlete and person going into refereeing at the top level but overall, the change has been fantastic.
"The quantity of people with a top understanding of the game just needs to increase. I think we need to make refereeing more appealing to ex-county players because the more you understand Gaelic football, the intricacies of the game and how to judge physical contact and maliciousness properly, the better you will be.
"You need to be a physical athlete too and that's why the onus is on the GAA to recruit top athletes with a concise understanding of our sports. Ex-players are perfect for that.
"There’s no way you would enjoy it if you weren’t fit. If you’re not keeping up with the game, you’ll not make the right decisions. If you’re doing it from 30 or 40 yards away, you’ll make mistakes and that's when the abuse and mental strain begins."
Gough decide to put his whistle on the shelf in 1997, aged 60.
He argues the game has slowed down since then, making it less acceptable for referees to be shrouded in controversy.
"Fitness is hugely important but referees nowadays are tested regularly so that isn't the issue at inter-county level," he said.
"The game has slowed down with the introduction of these defensive systems. It’s all about getting men behind the ball and when they go side to side - like rugby and other professional sports - that makes it easier for modern day referees to keep up with the speed of play.
"They should never be off the pace in situations like that.
"But the main reason for wrong decisions is pressure. Some of them can't deal with it at all and it’s obvious to see. It’s the one thing they have to overcome.
"Pressure should not enter into the equation at all otherwise they will never referee a game properly. Referees who clearly can't deal with the pressure from crowds should simply walk away."
