Christopher McMahon BL

Christopher McMahon is a practising barrister with a general civil practice focusing on commercial law and public law. He has experience advising and acting for a wide range of public bodies and commercial entities.

In addition to his practice at the Bar, Christopher is an Adjunct Assistant Professor at the School of Law, Trinity College Dublin. He is also the Lecturer in Administrative Law at the Honorable Society of King’s Inns, where he has also delivered lectures in other subjects including public procurement law and legislative drafting.

Christopher holds degrees in law from Trinity College Dublin and the University of Oxford. He holds a doctorate in EU State aid law from Trinity College Dublin and his academic work has been published in leading Irish and international journals.

C McMahon, ‘Economic Effects and EU State Aid Control: Recalibrating the Impact Standards for the Identification of Aid in Article 107(1) TFEU’ (2025) Journal of Competition Law & Economics (available here)

C McMahon, ‘Selectivity as discrimination: : lessons from the case law on fiscal measures for identifying State aid’ (2024) Yearbook of European Law (available here)

C McMahon, ‘Unseating the “Supreme Inspector of Taxes” for the European Union: Luxembourg and Engie v Commission (C-451/21 P and C-454/21 P) EU:C:2023:948 (2024) 49 European Law Review 294

C McMahon, ‘No Further Assistance to the Court: The Distinction between Legal Advice and Legal Assistance in the Irish Law on Legal Professional Privilege’ (2022-2023) 43 Dublin University Law Journal 109

Christopher McMahon, ‘Judgment by Formula: Regulatory Form and the Differentiation of Fiscal Measures and Non-Fiscal Measures in EU State Aid Law’ (2024) 23 European State Aid Law Quarterly 4

C McMahon, ‘Country Report – Ireland’ (2023) 22 European State Aid Law Quarterly 427

C McMahon, McMahon ‘Keeping an Autonomous Principle at Arm’s Length: Fiat Chrysler Finance Europe and Ireland v Commission’ (2023) 60 Common Market Law Review 1153

C McMahon, ‘Changed Utterly: The Impact of the Tax Cases on EU State Aid Law’ (PhD thesis, Trinity College Dublin 2023) (available here)

C McMahon and A Eustace, ‘Nothing to Lose but Their Restraints of Trade: Lessons for Employment Non-Compete Clauses from EU Competition Law’ (2023) 52 Industrial Law Journal 409 (available here)

H Hogan, A Eustace and C McMahon, ‘Mutual Trust, Mutual Recognition and the Rule of Law’ (Country Report for Ireland – FIDE Congress XXX, 2023)

H Hogan, A Eustace and C McMahon, ‘European Social Union’ (Country Report for Ireland – FIDE Congress XXX, 2023)

C McMahon, ‘Endorsement for Commission’s Approach to Tax Rulings from the Court of Justice: The Decision in Commission v Belgium and Magnetrol (C-337/19 P) EU:C:2021:741’ (2022) 43 European Competition Law Review 196

C McMahon, ‘Unlawful State Aid and the Inevitability of Recovery: the Conclusion of the Air Travel Tax Litigation in Minister for Finance and Ireland v Comhfhorbairt (Gaillimh) t/a Aer Arann [2021] IECA 264’ (2022) 29 Commercial Law Practitioner 95

C McMahon, ‘Sporting Organisations on Thin Ice: Speed Skating, Arbitration and the Competition Rules (T-93/18 International Skating Union) (2021) 5 European Competition and Regulatory Law Review 431

C McMahon, ‘The Relationship between Economic Advantage and the Compatibility Assessment in Decisions Not to Raise Objections – Case T-578/17 a&o hostel and hotel Berlin GmbH v Commission (Jugendherberge Berlin)‘ (2021) 20 European State Aid Law Quarterly 427

C McMahon, ‘State Aid Junkies, Viruses and the Aviation Industry: Ryanair’s Litigation against Approved Aid Measures for Airlines During the Pandemic’ (2021) 20 European State Aid Law Quarterly 249

C McMahon, ‘Unwarranted: The Validity of the European Arrest Warrant in the light of Saqlain and Shahzad” (2021) 39 Irish Law Times 230

C McMahon, ‘Conspicuous by its Absence: Explaining Ireland’s Minimal State Aid Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic’ (TCD Law School COVID-19 Observatory Blog, 18 March 2021) (available here)

C McMahon, ‘Statutory Reform, Judicial Interpretation and Libel Tourism – A Ticket from London to Dublin?’ (2018) 1 Tort Law and Litigation Review 29

C McMahon, ‘The Abortion Referendum Revisited – The Decisions in Byrne v Ireland and Jordan v Ireland (2018) 36 Irish Law Times 263

C McMahon, ‘The Limits of Separate Legal Personality in Ireland – Statutory Exceptions Overtaking the Common Law’ (2018) 36 Irish Law Times 248

C McMahon, ‘Judicial Deference – Reassessing Political Accountability’s Pedestal in Irish Administrative Law’ (2018) 36 Irish Law Times 68

C McMahon, ‘Turning Gold into Lead – A Reappraisal of Inferences from Silence’ (2018) 36 Irish Law Times 78

C McMahon, ‘iPromise: How Contract Theory can Inform Regulation of Online Consumer Contracts’ (2018) 21 Trinity College Law Review 174