Jimmy Dennigan

Jimmy Dennigan played for the Cork GAA minor team in 1956 and was the centre half-back in 1957.[2] He was an Avondhu senior player in 1958 and also played for Cork that year again.[2] In 1959 he was left half-back on the Fermoy team that won a prestigious Kelleher Shield.[2] Later, an injury that he got in 1960 forced his retirement from playing, but he still managed to feature for the Fermoy junior hurlers in 1964's memorable North Cork JHC final and replay victory against Ballyhea in Kildorrery.[2] Derry Gowen, the prominent inter-county referee, knew Dennigan and encouraged him to take up the thistle himself.[2]

Soon he was refereeing in the National League.[2] He refereed nine County SFC finals, seven of which were Cork Senior Football Championship finals and the other two in Limerick and Waterford.[1][2] He was involved in all grades of the game in Munster except senior, owing to Cork's constant presence there.[2] He refereed the All Ireland Minor semi-finals 1968 and 1976, the Minor final of 1978, the 1979 National Football League semi-final and final and the All Ireland Senior semi-final between Dublin and Roscommon.[2] He toured with the Bank of Ireland All Stars in 1982 and refereed games at Gaelic Park New York and in San Francisco.[2] He refereed the 1986 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final, where Kerry and Tyrone went at each other, the same day he was a Cork minor selector in the earlier game.[2]

After stopping playing he took up a position as a coach at Gormanston College, coaching Fermoy to three consecutive North Cork titles, the Fermoy junior football team and the Avondhu senior team.[2]

Later he took up the greyhounds, earning a reputation as an owner/trainer in the likes of Youghal and Curraheen Park.[2]