“I gave Dylan my match cards to keep……he’s promised not to put them on Ebay.”
Referee David Gough nearly wore out his red card at the Athletic Grounds when Tyrone played Armagh in the National League a fortnight ago.
The Meath man used it on five occasions in a very feisty affair between the two Ulster sides, but that wasn’t the last bit of action it saw that day.
After the game, a young GAA-mad fan bumped into the match official, who kindly offered the cards in question as a gift, as long as he promised not to “sell them on Ebay.”
Dylan and his twin brother Padraig are two proud Derry boys, and both play for their native club Moneymore. However, as their mother comes from Armagh, they were happy to go and watch the match.
Noleen O’Brien, the mother of the two lads, has said that she “plans to frame the cards and the match programme”.
Had the luck of bumping into Dylan and his friends in Armagh last week after the game in the Athletic Grounds. Great to chat with children who always put things into perspective – gave Dylan my match cards to keep……he's promised not to put them on Ebay. pic.twitter.com/2lMmu8yy37
— David Gough (@goughd4) February 17, 2022
“However, in the interim, Dylan is keeping the cards in his room, and flashing them at me and his daddy John at every opportunity.”
With the amount of practice he’s getting in already, he could soon follow in the footsteps of Gough, who posted about his meeting with Dylan and his family on Twitter.
“Had the luck of bumping into Dylan and his friends in Armagh last week after the game in the Athletic Grounds.
“Great to chat with children who always put things into perspective – gave Dylan my match cards to keep……he’s promised not to put them on Ebay.”
As a Tyrone man writing this article, I’m just glad the cards are safe, sound and out of sight for the foreseeable future, and I’m hoping that Dylan is never tempted to take them out of the frame once they go in.
