Collins first took up refereeing in 1985 when he officiated a West Cork Junior B Football League game in Barryroe.
[1] He made his inter-county debut in 1994,[2][1] overseeing a Munster MFC game between Waterford and Tipperary.
[1] His first involvement at senior inter-county level saw him referee Limerick against Tipperary in the 1998 Munster SFC.
[1] Collins's inter-county refereeing career concluded in 2013, after he officiated the Division 2 game between Longford and Laois.
[3] He was replaced by David Gough, who would become an All-Ireland SFC final recipient himself, though there was space on the panel after Pádraig Hughes injured himself against Eamonn Doherty when he was officiating the Dublin game in Ballybofey.