Reluctant role-model ref Maggie Farrelly focused on future

It has been a busy few months, even for a trailblazer like Maggie Farrelly.

In November, she became the first woman to ref a men's senior club county final when she took charge of the football replay in her native Cavan.

In February, she was the first female referee for an Allianz Football League clash (Leitrim v London) and also took the whistle for the Division 3 encounter between Longford and Wicklow in March.

During the Ulster SFC championship she has been a lineswoman and sideline official.

"Extremely satisfying," she tells RTÉ Sport . "There have been a number of firsts but they are opportunities I have been preparing for and wanting to get, like any other referee at this level.

"Refereeing the county final was a huge honour for me, and then being invited onto the national referees panel was another great milestone in my own refereeing pathway.

"It's been a busy league campaign, whether it was refereeing or out doing the line or being on standby and so on. It's given me a great taste and a great flavour of what's expected of an inter-county referee.

"You're never going to get the All-Stars for being a referee and you're going to have good days and bad days but it's about being able to outweigh the bad days and to learn from those negative experiences."

Farrelly has enjoyed being a sideline official and lineswoman- "You're not giving a running commentary for the referee 'That should have been this or that should have been that’. You’re their eyes and ears when needed" - but admits taking charge of a senior championship game is next on her bucket list. "Yeah. I just have to see out the year and see how I get on. We’ll just have to wait and see what happens and see where the next level takes me."

Despite her achievements,