Turin's James McGrath was honoured with the National Young Hurling Referee of the Year Award at the Referees Banquet and Awards Night in Croke Park on January 26 last. The award recognises McGrath's standing as one of the most promising referees in hurling and increases the prospect of him following in the footsteps of fellow Westmeath whistler Barry Kelly by taking charge of an All-Ireland senior hurling final in the coming years. A member of the Athlone Community College teaching staff, James began his refereeing career in 1996. He joined the Leinster panel of referees in 1998 and the national panel two years later. Since then, he has progressed from refereeing Kehoe Cup and National Hurling Division 3 fixtures to the more high-profile fixtures in Croke Park. His biggest assignments to date have been the 2001 Leinster minor final, the 2003 All-Ireland junior final, the 2005 Leinster under 21 final, the 2006 Leinster senior club final, the 2006 Christy Ring Cup final, the 2007 All-Ireland under 21 semi-final and the 2007 All-Ireland senior quarter-final between Wexford and Tipperary. He was the 'man in the middle' for the 2005 Westmeath SHC final between Castlepollard and Lough Lene Gaels, and has also taken charge of numerous Fitzgibbon Cup fixtures. James is also a talented hurler, and after taking a break last year due to his refereeing and management commitments with the Westmeath minor team, plans to resume his playing career with Turin this year. Tweet

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