His mind went back to the Leinster Senior Hurling Championship clash of Dublin and Kilkenny at the venue last May.
He was a spectator. He brought his son, Luke (4). Luke was standing at the gate when the referee, Johnny Murphy, was leaving the field.
Johnny spotted Luke and said: “This is for you.” The match ball.
“Johnny didn’t even know it was my son,” explained Thomas. “It was very kind of him.
But Luke wasn’t finished yet. “Daddy, I want TJ Reid’s autograph!”
This posed a problem for Thomas the inter-county referee.
He couldn’t be seen asking TJ Reid for his autograph!
“I told Luke he’d have to go over himself. Which he did. And returned with the autograph on his hurl.”
But Luke’s adventure still had more miles to run.
Thomas went off to Kilkenny for a few days break with wife, Emma, Luke and Noah (1).
“We were staying at the Newpark Hotel. It was our last day. We were sitting in the lobby.
“Emma said to me ‘I think that’s the Kilkenny manager over there.’
“And sure enough, it was. Derek Lyng came over and had a chat. It was nice of him to do that.”
Emma is a fine camogie player and is very much involved in the Naomh Fionnbarra Academy.
Luke loves hurling. “He’s out the back playing it all the time.”
It brings Thomas back to his own childhood. Growing up in Dominick Street in the city.
“We all followed the Dubs. We’d watch every game from Hill 16. Stephen Cluxton was my hero.
“It was amazing then that a few years later he taught me when I was in 6th year at St Vincent’s, Glasnevin.
“He’s an incredible goalkeeper. And a really remarkable person.”
In primary school, Thomas played soccer with all his pals. Then the school formed a Gaelic football team.
“That was the switch that started it all for me,” he said.
Then came another lucky day. Nicky Kehoe invited him to Naomh Fionnbarra.
“Finbarr’s were so good to me. They’d bring me to and from training twice and three times a week.
“Then I was able to hop on the Link bus and get out to Cabra myself.
“It became a big part of my life. Something to focus on. And to look forward to.”
He had the happiest days on the famous Bogies. Playing all the way up to senior football and hurling level.
“I was lucky to be on a very good football side. We won the Dublin Intermediate Football League three times. There were some outstanding players on that team.”
He was also coaching and became an officer at the club.
When he was Under-14, there was another fortunate twist in the road.
“After training one night, there was a Juvenile Referees Course in the club. I decided to do it.
“And the following Saturday, I got my first appointment. A match in Na Fianna.
“I cycled out to Mobhi Road but when I got there, there was only one person at the ground.
“He told me the game had been called off, so I cycled back to Dominick Street!”
Thomas has done many matches since that day. Including some high profile fixtures.
He refereed the 2022 Dublin Senior Hurling Championship final in which Kilmacud Crokes beat Na Fianna.
Last season, he took charge of three Division 1 Hurling matches. He also did his first Leinster Senior Hurling Championship game, Carlow v Wexford, and the Division 2A final involving Carlow and Laois.
He was one of the officials for the All-Ireland Senior Championship Hurling semi-final between Cork and Limerick in July.
Carlow’s John Michael Nolan (right) is shown a red card by referee Thomas Gleeson during the Leinster SHC Round 4 match at Netwatch Cullen Park in Carlow in May. Photo: Michael P Ryan/Sportsfile
Before that, he refereed the Electric All-Ireland Minor Hurling Championship final when Tipperary overcame Kilkenny after extra-time in Nowlan Park.
Nerves are all part of the kit bag. “It’s unbelievable to be walking out in Croke Park in front of 80,000 people.
“You are out there on the pitch, going through all the preliminaries, watching the parade, anxious for the game to begin. It’s probably the same feeling as the players have.
“But once you throw in the ball, the nerves disappear, and you just get on with it. You are absorbed in the game.
“And you have to remember that it’s your past performances that have earned you the appointment.”
Fitness is a prime requirement. “You have to put the work in. You are given a Training Programme.
“You have to go out and do your running, and your work in the gym. Then there’s the regular collective training with the provincial and national panels.
“I am lucky with the fitness because I am on the go all the time. I work as the Games Promotion Officer for Naomh Fionnbarra.
“I have been back here now for about seven months. I’m delighted.
“It’s a wonderful club. It’s about much more than the games.
“It’s at the heart of the community. The facilities are first-class. The club do so much for people. It really is a special place.
“We recently had our annual Festival Week. It was brilliant. It’s always a highlight of the summer.
“I spent eight years as GPO at Scoil Uí Chonaill, and I really enjoyed that.
“It brought me back to when I was growing up. Back to my roots because Scoil do a lot of work with the schools in the area where I’m from.”
Thomas would encourage people to take up the whistle. “It was one of the best things that I ever did. So many people have helped me.”
He has seen the sliotar soar through the roof.
“It’s great now to see young lads going around with hurls. In the Gaelscoil Bharra in Cabra, the kids are out with their hurls before school.
“They are then hurling on their mini break and again after school. That’s what you need to be doing.
“You have your regular training with your club a couple of times a week, but you have to be doing more than that. You have to be constantly working on your skills.”
He would have been pleased last Saturday to see a young lad, in a Na Fianna jersey, walking down O’Connell Street with his hurl and sliotar.
“It’s all about trying to keep improving. But the most important thing of all is that the kids have to be enjoying it.”
No better place to do that than his beloved Bogies, home to so many folk heroes.
Including Anthony Costello, the legendary Gossey. Many others have worn the Dublin jersey. Many more will follow.
Éilís Uí Longaín and all her colleagues will make sure of that.
Dublin have produced some fine referees over the years. And the Dubs, and the Barrs, have another top one now.
