Referee takes exception to the condition of changing rooms
Oliver Plunkett's were dismayed when the referee Alan McKenna (inset) walked out before the game.

Wednesday April 22 2009
A LOUTH referee left a large crowd of supporters and two teams stranded in Drogheda on Sunday afternoon because he wasn't happy with his changing facilities.
Officials of the Oliver Plunkett's club were dismayed to see experienced ref, Alan McKenna, walk out on their Division 2 clash with St Mary's in Mell, after taking exception to the condition of his changing room.
It is understood two wheelie bins were in the way, but rather than wait for them to be moved, McKenna left the venue.
His actions sparked a frantic search to find a replacement match official and Tommy Mulholland eventually came to the rescue, starting the game half an hour late.
Referee coordinator, Liam O'Neill later confirmed an incident had taken place and conceded that McKenna's reaction to the situation was over the top.
'I was doing a game myself at the same time and rang home just before three o'clock to see if there were any last minute problems. My wife told me about the incident and thankfully she was able to get in touch with Tommy Mullholland, who was just sitting down to his dinner.'
Mr O'Neill has previously raised the issue of sub-standard referee facilities at a number of venues throughout the county, but insisted Oliver Plunkett's is not one of them.
'I called in there [Oliver Plunkett's] after my own game and was told that two items were in the way when the referee arrived.
'Plunkett's offered to move them, but the referee wasn't happy with that and left the ground.
'There are issues with showers at certain venues, but I would never condone that kind of action � he left two teams and supporters out to dry with his decision.'
Mr O'Neill added that he was extremely grateful to Tommy Mullholland for stepping into the breach at the last minute, but, by yesterday, had not managed to make contact with Alan McKenna about the incident.


Louth referee retires
30 April 2009

Louth referee Alan McKenna has hung up his whistle after taking exception to comments made about him by the Wee County's referees co-ordinator.

Clan na Gael clubman McKenna walked away from a Division Two match between Oliver Plunketts and St Marys recently when he found the changing conditions available to him at Mell to be unacceptable.

A member of the intercounty referees panel, he subsequently decided to retire altogether from GAA officiating after coming under fire in the wake of his walk-out:

"I feel like I was hung out to dry by some of the things that were said last week by the referees coordinator Liam O'Neill. He said he couldn't get in contact with me over the incident, but I was trying to ring him and texting him and he never got back to me.

"I arrived at the ground that day and went in to change to discover that I was expected to change in a storage room that was packed with stuff, including two huge refuse bins with stuff piled up on them. There was none of the basic things you expect - like a hanger, a chair or a shower.

"To cut a long story short, I said I couldn't change there but at that moment a Plunketts mentor came past me and lobbed a bag of balls over the bins in behind them and said he didn't know what I was complaining about.

"The words he said to me were 'It'll do you'. After that, I just felt humiliated and degraded, so I said to myself: what am I doing here? His voice was contemptuous so I said to him: I think you'll have to get someone else to referee the game.

"This is in no way me thinking I'm important or anything, but I just couldn't put up with the way I was treated. The way I see it, I'm volunteering my time to referee and I was a guest from the Clans.

"I wasn't treated as a guest, though. I was basically treated like s**t. If one good thing comes from this, I hope the next referee there will be treated better."