Personal information | |
---|---|
Born | 1935 (age 89–90) |
Years active | 1952–present |
Employer | GAA |
Sport | |
Sport | Gaelic football |
Position | Referee |
Club | Round Towers |
Seamus Aldrdge (born 1935) [1] is a Gaelic games administrator, Gaelic football referee and former player. He is a member of the Round Towers club in County Kildare.
Aldridge played for the Kildare minor football team. [1] He played until the age of 29. [1] He refereed his first match in 1958. [1]
He began refereeing in 1963 after his playing career had concluded. He allowed Dublin player Éamonn Breslin's header into the goal at the Canal End of Croke Park twenty minutes into a National League game against Laois in 1964; this was the first header scored at Croker. [2]
He referred the famous 1978 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final when Mikey Sheehy lobbed the goalie. [3] Death threats followed. [1] He has also refereed in hurling. [1]
Aldridge first became involved in administration in 1952. [1] He served in various roles: secretary and chairman of Kildare's Referees Committee; secretary (1975–2000) and treasurer (1976–2000) of the Kildare County Board. [1] Aldridge spent 20 years as a delegate to the Leinster Council. [1] He became vice chairman (1996–1999) and chairman (1999–2001) of the Leinster Council. [1] [4] He oversaw the managerial appointments of Mick O'Dwyer and Dermot Earley Snr, and then the reappointment of O'Dwyer in advance of the county's appearance in the 1998 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final. [1] Central Council: GAA Management vice-president (1999–2001). [1]
He ran for the position of President of the Gaelic Athletic Association, finishing as runner-up to Seán Kelly. [1] He was later appointed President of Kildare County Board. [1] Aldrigde was President of Kildare GAA during the 2018 over the Mayo fixture in Newbridge. [5] the Newbridge or Nowhere". [6] [7]
Aldridge attended De La Salle and St Joseph's Academy (both in the town of Kildare) for his primary and secondary education respectively. [1] Tom Keogh, an uncle of his, played for the Kildare county team that won the 1927 and 1928 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship titles, before he played for Laois. [1]
Aldridge is Secretary of Athy Golf Club and Athy Rugby Club and a member of the Fine Gael political party. [1]