John Walter Carpenter was born in Dublin on the 22nd of August 1936 but sadly passed away on the 30th of May 2021.

In his early days, Carpenter was a goalkeeper for Bulfin United and St Patrick’s Athletic, but a leg injury brought an end to his playing career so instead, he opted to make the switch to refereeing.

He progressed through the Dublin & District Schoolboys' League, the Leinster Junior League and the Athletic Union League before joining the League of Ireland panel in 1964.

He would soon grab the attention of UEFA and was appointed the referee for the first leg of the UEFA Cup final in 1982 in Gothenburg between IFK and Hamburg to become the first, and so far only, Irish official to take charge of a European club final while he would also do two FAI Cup finals.