John not blowing the final whistle on his career just yet

Veteran Tyrone referee John Kerlin is on the road to recovery after a serious workplace accident

By Niall Gartland

IT probably should come as no surprise that a 69-year-old who spends his evenings and weekends traversing club grounds the length and breadth of Tyrone hasn’t retired from the world of work.

And in theory, Monday, June 15 was supposed to be just another day at the construction site for John Kerlin, that well-known and genial referee who has been a familiar presence at local matches stretching all the way back to the early nineties.

It turned out to be anything but normal though, and he considers himself incredibly fortunate to be here to tell the tale.

The Aughabrack native suffered a freak accident, falling stomach-first onto a scaffolding bar, and his initial instinct was to get on with it. But there was no walking this one off, and it soon turned into a medical emergency.

He was whisked off to nearby Craigavon Hospital by a work colleague, and the rest was a bit of a haze. The doctors knew precisely what was wrong though; John had a perforated bowel and there were very clear indications of sepsis, a life-threatening condition that requires urgent treatment.

He underwent surgery that night, and in total he would spend 15 days in hospital, including a week in intensive care. And it had all started in the most innocuous of circumstances.

“I wasn’t up that high,” said John. “It wasn’t more than two metres.

“I was grand for about 10 minutes. You know what it’s like – when you have a fall, you get up. You don’t want anybody to see!

“But the stomach started to swell up and I went and sat down on a bale of blocks. I was just sick as a dog.

“There were other workers on the site, and one of the boys rushed me into hospital in his van. Craigavon was only about nine miles away, and the medical people took over right away.

“I don’t remember much after that, though I don’t know how many times I was asked for my date of birth. I suppose that’s how they check who you are – I remember that bit.”

The surgery that same evening was a success – not that John was in a position to realise that. He regained consciousness 72 hours later, surrounded by loved ones, and he wishes to put on the record his eternal gratitude to his wife Anne and children Matthew, Paul and Elaine.

“The nurses and doctors at Craigavon saved my life. I didn’t wake up until Thursday night and family were standing around the bed. It was a bit of a blur, but I remember a doctor coming along and dabbing my lips with water. They can’t give you a full glass of water as it would upset the stomach.

“I also had a needle in my neck which was pretty horrendous, that’s how they fed me and it seemed to control everything.”

There were also 28 staples lined across his abdomen. Before being discharged, they’d need to be removed.

“I was in the ICU from Monday to Sunday, and I’ll never forget going back up to the ordinary ward. I stayed there before getting to go home, and eventually they come round and take the staples out. They come along, pull the curtains, and what else can you do but get on with it. But I have to say all the doctors and nurses are brilliant. It’s 12 or 13-hour days, non-stop. They go from me, to somebody else, to somebody else. They’re incredible really.”

Life has now returned to a fair degree of normality. Kerlin is a familiar presence at the ongoing club championships as part of the team of officials, he’s returned to the world of work, and he’s back walking the dogs – his beloved cocker spaniels Mia and Alfie.

By his own admission, he isn’t quite at full-pelt though. He’s a keen runner and a member of the Run for Enda club, but he’s parked that for now. He’s also mindful of over-exerting himself at work.

“I was down for a medical assessment a few weeks ago. I’d say I’m at 85 percent at the moment.

“The doctor explained everything that happened to me when I was ill. I learned a lot more than I did when I was in hospital even though they came around every morning. Some of the things he told me were pretty scary to be honest.

“He also said I could go back running and refereeing if I wanted to, but I’m a bit cautious about it at the moment.

“I’m on the mend but I just have to be more careful about what I’m doing. Working on a building site doesn’t help, so you could say I’m on light duties at the moment.

“I’ve been in the building trade since 1978 and it’s hard to get away from it! It’s a bit like the refereeing in that respect.”

And Kerlin is hopeful that he hasn’t hung up the whistle for good. Since it all began with a meeting at the Glenavon in Cookstown in 1992, the Clann na nGael man has refereed finals at every level from Under-13 right through to senior level.

The pinnacle was refereeing the 2002 Senior Championship Final between Errigal Ciaran and Killyclogher, but overseeing three Intermediate Championship finals in a row between 1999 and 2001 was arguably just as noteworthy. He also refereed the Junior Championship Finals in 1998 and 2005, and has officiated at every club ground in Tyrone.

“Intercounty referees unfortunately have to retire now at 49, and you could say I’m still going twenty years later.

“There’s a small pool, and I’ve been out five nights in a row on occasion. I live centrally, in Omagh, so I suppose I can go here or there at short notice.

“It’s tough on the family at home to be fair. I remember the first game I was actually appointed to, it was Omagh v Killyclogher U14s in 1993.

“My wife Anne took the day off work to look after the children, and I got a phone call that morning to say the game was postponed. It was sore on Anne as she was working at the time.

“It is a busy lifestyle but I have enjoyed it, I’ve made a lot of friends.

“In saying that, sometimes it’s been tight going! I’ve done a lot of derby matches down the years. I remember one evening covering Ardboe-Moortown on Moortown’s small pitch, with no wire around it or nothing.

“Those Errigal Ciaran and Carrickmore games back in the nineties took on a life of their own as well. You had serious footballers like Raymond Monroe and Peter Canavan playing, it was tough stuff.

“I’m not overly fussy I think – I let the games go as best I could, and took action when I had to. I really enjoyed it, and I miss it at the moment. Maybe it’s a case that the head’s young and the body’s a bit older.

“Hopefully I get back and will give it another year anyway. I was doing reserve games and plenty of youth matches before I got injured – I’ll let the younger boys at the senior stuff.”

Kerlin’s stint in hospital also brought into even sharper focus the power of the GAA community to rally around each other in times of need.

The day before his accident at work, he was on communications duty at Tyrone’s All-Ireland SFC match against Mayo at Healy Park. That game’s referee, Brendan Crawley, was among those who sent messages of goodwill as he recuperated in hospital.

“Brendan, the gentleman that he is, texted me during that week but obviously I was in no position to text anybody back, but I’ve been in touch with him since. It just shows you the sense of fraternity in the referee community.

“I received messages from all over the place. I remember the night before the All-Ireland final, I got a message from Benny Hurl, offering me two tickets for the game.

“I didn’t take him up on the offer because it would’ve been too much to travel to Dublin at the time, I’d only been four or five weeks out of hospital at that stage.

“I’ll never forget things like that. He said there’ll always be other years, and I’ll hold him to that!”