At the end of July, sixteen referees from around the country came together in Clongowes for a two day conference. They were aged between 18 and 22. They are young referees who have been identified by the Branches. They have all come from the schools course and are showing potential for the future.

Those who took part were: Leinster - Peter Dennehy, Eanna O'Dowd, J.P. Doyle, Paul Sweetman, Barro O'Keeffe, Paul Haycock, Robbie O'Flynn. Munster - Ken Henley-Willis, Stephen O'Brien, Ken Imbusch, Shane Coveney,. Ulster - Michael Dooher, Chris Gibson, Ralph Mitchell, David Wilkinson, Phil Bell.

The conference was hosted by the I.R.F.U. in Clongowes Wood College. David Keane, Referee Development Officer, International Referee Dave McHugh and All Ireland League Referee Marshall Kilgore ran the workshop for the weekend.

The first task was to put them through their paces with Raymond Bourke who is Director of Fitness Liam Hennessy's latest addition to his fitness coaching panel. He ran through the principles of training and diet with them. Some then felt they had enough energy left to participate in a fitness test after spotting Dave McHugh running the 150m sprint test. The marks were very good for first timers.

The young referees were then instructed in Planning & Preparation, skill drills and important areas of the game such as Tackle, Scrum and Communication. It was a very beneficial two days for them and we hope to see them maximise their obvious potential.