McDermott was honoured last weekend at the League of Ireland referee seminar in Limerick. FAI Referee Department Manager Pat Kelly paid tribute to McDermott’s career, highlighting the important role she played in encouraging women into the profession.



“Hilda has been a fantastic referee. She was the first ever woman to referee a League of Ireland match and her career has opened the doors for a lot of other people. Hilda was a FIFA referee and it was fitting that her last ever match was a Women’s World Cup game, between Greece and Georgia last November.



“Thankfully, we have not lost Hilda to refereeing and she will play a very important role for us in terms of recruiting women referees.”


McDermott acted as Assistant Referee between 2001 and 2003, before creating history by becoming the first female League of Ireland referee in January 2003 when she took charge of the First Division fixture between Dublin City and Athlone Town.

Incidentally, Athlone Town player Conor Frawley created his own little bit of history that day by becoming the first ever League of Ireland player to be sent off by a female referee!