Cavan's Maggie Farrelly becomes first woman to referee an Allianz Football League game

Cavan referee Maggie Farrelly will again make history by becoming the first woman to referee in the Allianz Football League when she takes charge of the Leitrim-London Division 4 encounter in Carrick-on-Shannon on Sunday.

Farrelly is well used to achieving firsts, having last November become the first woman to referee a men's county final, when she oversaw the Cavan SFC final replay between Ramor United and Gowna.

A highly experienced official, Farrelly began refereeing in 2006, swiftly rising through the ranks to oversee the 2007 All-Ireland junior football final.

She refereed the 2014 All-Ireland Ladies Senior Football Final between Dublin and Cork.

A year later she refereed her first men's inter county game – Fermanagh versus Antrim at minor level – and in 2016 she become the first female referee to officiate a senior men’s inter-county game for the refixed McKenna Cup clash between Fermanagh and St Mary's.

Speaking during a Sport Ireland webinar focused on women in officiating last year, Farrelly said she hoped that the fuss over her achievements would reduce over time.

"Starting out when I made my debut as an inter-county GAA referee, 'history making', 'barriers’, and ‘gender’, all that kind of terminology was used," she said.

"What we are hoping for in the future is that we can take these words away, that it is no longer about gender, that it is just a referee that turns up to referee a game, that we shouldn’t have to distinguish between male or female referees, that it is just a referee, and hopefully that these headlines will be diminished, the glass ceiling is broken, and that many more people will follow in the footsteps of the likes of myself."