John Keenan named as referee for 2023 hurling decider

Wicklow official John Keenan has been named as the ref for the 2023 All-Ireland SHC final between Kilkenny and Limerick on Sunday week.

The 49-year old official has been on the national panel since 2012, previously handling the 2019 Leinster final and the 2022 Munster final. Before that, he reffed the 2016 All-Ireland minor final and the 2018 All-Ireland U21 decider.

This season, Keenan has overseen four games in the senior hurling championship, including two Munster SHC games - Clare-Tipperary and Waterford-Clare - as well the All-Ireland quarter-final between Galway and Tipperary.

His handling of the thrilling 2022 Munster decider between Limerick and Clare attracted great acclaim from supporters and neutrals, though came under scrutiny from the assessors in the week following with incidents involving Rory Hayes and Peter Duggan going unpunished.

Keenan was overlooked for the 2022 final, with Cork's Colm Lyons getting the nod.

His linesmen for the final are Liam Gordon and James Owens, with Gordon pencilled in as the standby official.