New bar association to bring together sports law practitioners

The association has been incorporated with David Barniville SC as chairman, Paul McGarry SC as vice-chairman, Tim O’Connor as treasurer, and Robert McTernaghan as secretary.

Mr McTernaghan, speaking to Irish Legal News, said athletes are increasingly “finding they need full and proper representation when appearing in front of sports governing bodies”.

He added: “Athletes want true, proper representation at sporting tribunals where they haven’t been getting it in the past. Within the specialist sports law bar at The Bar of Ireland, we can now provide this for athletes who maybe didn’t know that this service existed.”

The association is in the process of organising The Bar’s first-ever delegation to the LawInSport conference in London this September, and participation in the 2018 Sport&EU conference at Edge Hill.

Mr McTernaghan added: “We are in the process of creating an executive council and we’re going to be having our first Sports Law Bar Association conference in Ireland before Christmas.”