Leinster vs Connacht

Acme Whistles
Leinster Rugby Referees are
delighted to announce our
partnership with Acme whistles
as our preferred whistle supplier.
Speaking about the partnership Leinster
Rugby Referees President David
Robb said: “We are delighted to be
partnering with Acme as our whistle
supplier, a company that has been
providing whistles to referees since
before the foundation of Leinster Rugby
Referees in 1902.
“It’s a company of long-standing
tradition with quality workmanship
providing rugby referees from grassroots
to the elite of the game with a quality
whistle to officiate.”
Ben McFarlane of Acme Whistles
said: “Through this partnership we
continue to evolve and align ourselves
with proactive and forward thinking
organisations such as Leinster Rugby
Referees. Playing our small part in the
wider rugby community is one we take
immense pride in, the role of the official,
from grassroots to elite level cannot be
underestimated, and we are here to
support and help in any way we can.”
Annual Dinner
The annual dinner of the Leinster
Rugby Referees is the highlight
of our somewhat limited social
calendar and is always a great
event. This year it took place in
Lansdowne FC on Saturday, 9
April, and was hosted by Leinster
Rugby Referees President David
Robb, who had to wait an extra
year for this fantastic evening.
On the night our much-anticipated
annual awards are handed out. There
are five main awards, one for lifetime
achievement, one for referee of the year,
another for refereeing performance
of the year, one for the referee who
progressed the most during the year and
one for club of the year.
The lifetime achievement award is
named after Ham Lambert who passed
away a few years ago. Ham was an
Irish cricketer, rugby union player
and later international rugby referee.
By profession a veterinary surgeon,
he was noted for being the first in
Ireland to own a practice devoted to
the care of companion animals. This
year’s winner was Peter Donnelly of St
Mary’s College RFC who has devoted
a number of years to the association.
As well as being a former president of
the association he is in charge of match
ticketing, an unenviable task. He follows
a long line of winners including Brendan
Jenkinson, Tom Aplin, Des McCabe and
Brian Pender, to name a few.
The award for referee of the year is
named after Harold ‘Harry’ Ardill.
Harry was instrumental in developing,
recruiting and educating referees within
Leinster. The referee of the year award
accounts for both on- and off-field efforts
and contribution to the association.
This year’s award went to long-serving
member and Honorary Treasurer Keith
Spendlove. Keith officiates at all levels
and is always there when needed,
another tireless servant to the referees.
The Club of the Year award is named
after Terry Doyle, former President of
the association and was presented
by his wife Deirdre. The award was
named after Terry in 2011 and the first
recipients were Edenderry RFC. This
year’s recipients of the Terry Doyle
Memorial Award were first-time winners
Coolmine RFC. In a tightly fought
contest they came out above last year’s
winner Greystones (2nd), and Terenure
College (3rd). Other winners of this
award include Old Wesley, Greystones,
Terenure College, Lansdowne,
Ashbourne and Skerries. Coolmine were
clear winners amongst the active referee
population for both their captains’ and
players’ attitudes and their off-field
facilities and welcome.
The Alain Rolland Referee Performance
of the Year was won last year by
Andrew Cole. Andrew had an even
better season this year culminating
in an international appointment and
Schools Cup Final. This year’s winner
was Robbie jenkinson. Robbie, a new
national panel member, is a member of
Skerries RFC and made his All-Ireland
League debut earlier this year, in a
great match between Malahide and
Blackrock, Robbie has progressed
through the ranks over the last number
of seasons and is thoroughly deserving
of this award.
The last award of the night was the
Denis Collins Perpetual Award for
Progressive Referee. Presented by the
great man himself, this award is for the
referee who was seen to progress the
most during the season and has shown
themselves to have put in time and effort
into their own development.
No one encouraged referees more in
his time as referee administrator than
Denis Collins. Last year, Katie Byrne
won the inaugural trophy. This year’s
winner was Mitch Enderby. Mitch
hails from Zimbabwe and became a
Leinster Rugby Referee in 2017 and
has made great progress since joining.
He refereed this year’s Junior Cup
game between St Mary’s College and
St Fintan’s. We’re looking forward to
seeing his future progression.
With only a few weeks left in the season
we are immensely proud of the work
that has been put in by referees at all
levels this season and look forward
to moving onwards in the 2022/23
season.
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