McConville: Inevitable that Maggie Farrelly will ref in the Championship

Oisin McConville has praised referee Maggie Farrelly for breaking new ground and said he expects her to be overseeing championship matches "within the next year or two".

The Cavan official made more history at the weekend when she became the first woman to referee in the Allianz Football League, taking charge of the Leitrim-London Division 4 encounter at a storm-battered Connacht Centre of Excellence after it was moved from Carrick-on-Shannon.

It's the latest in a series of landmark accomplishments for Farrelly, and McConville says her refereeing career will continue to reach new heights.

"Anyone who knows Maggie Farrelly and has seen her progress through the ranks will definitely say that she has served her apprenticeship and she has served it very, very well," the former Armagh footballer told RTÉ's Morning Ireland.

"Yesterday was the culmination of a lot of hard work. We've run a campaign of, if you can't see it you can't be it... I think this will inspire a lot of other females to get into refereeing.

"She did an excellent job, and let's face it, she couldn't have been put in any more difficult circumstances when you consider the [weather] she reffed her first league game in.

"I think that progression is going to continue and it's inevitable that within the next year or two she's going to be refereeing championship matches. Rightly so, because she is an excellent referee."

Reflecting on the weekend's action McConville said Dublin have issues, but issues that can be solved. The Sky Blues fell to their third league loss on the spin against Mayo, making it their worst start to an Allianz League campaign since 2001.

"The concern doesn't come from the fact they've lost three games," McConville said. "I think the concern comes