Tim O’Connor BL

Called Trinity 1998.

Devilled in Dublin 1998-99.

Devilled on the Cork Circuit 1999-2000.

Member of the Ombudsman Junior Counsel Panel in respect of Public and Administrative, Constitutional, and European law.

Member of the IHREC Specialist Human Rights Law Panel.

Junior for the Respondent in the case of SRS & AA v. Minister for Justice and Equality [2020] IESC 78, with the recent decision of the CJEU on the preliminary reference. https://www.courts.ie/acc/alfresco/b73b9af0-f104-42e3-a650-f9ed96c75048/2020_IESC_78%20(Unapproved).pdf/pdf#view=fitH

https://curia.europa.eu/juris/document/document_print.jsf;jsessionid=504BFBE5DC363EDD3C9090BB7A37D213?mode=DOC&pageIndex=0&docid=265547&part=1&doclang=EN&text=&dir=&occ=first&cid=5845

Junior for the Minister for Justice in Fox v. Minister for Justice & Equality [2021] IESC 61 on the extent of Article 2 ECHR rights in Ireland and legacy investigations, and when and whether the state must carry out investigations into deaths. https://www.courts.ie/acc/alfresco/aa6a53ce-dbb5-4d09-858b-7d2e4b5857cc/2021_IESC_61.pdf/pdf#view=fitH

Junior for the Minister for Justice in  AZ, a test case on the application of the Supreme Court’s decision in Gorry. https://www.courts.ie/acc/alfresco/cf8439c1-b63f-44c9-8bff-1eab42594b83/2021_IEHC_770.pdf/pdf#view=fitH

Presented on legal liability at the World Rugby Transgender Policy Workshop in London, February 25th-26th 2020.

Panel Member in the Tokyo 2021 Appeal Process of arbitrations run by Sport Dispute Solutions Ireland, and in the arbitration on the Amateur Boxing Association of Ireland.

Recently successfully involved in defending challenges to the Regularisation of Long Term Undocumented Migrants Scheme.

Chair, World Sailing Transgender Policy Working Group

SDSI Arbitrator for Olympic and Paralympic Nomination and Selection Appeals for Paris 2024

Peer-Reviewed Articles and Publications:

• • Bringing it Down on Their Own Heads: Negligence and Changes to the Laws of Rugby (2008) 26 ILT 191

  • Counting the Hidden Costs — the Personal Injuries Assessment Board (Amendment) 2007 and Infant Plaintiffs” (2009) 27(7) ILT 98.

  • Rugby Discipline and the Courts: Going Through the Phases? (2013) 18 Bar Review (4) 75.

  • Law in Sport, 18^th December, 2013: How The Perceived Risk of Litigation Affects the Rules of Rugby http://www.lawinsport.com/articles/regulation-a-governance/item/how-the-perceived-risk-of-litigation-affects-the-rules-of-rugby

  • Law in Sport, 29^th April, 2016, When Sports Banter Crosses the Line – Joe Marler and “Heat of the Moment” Comments.

  • Chapter 12, “Compensation Culture in Sport” Damages and Compensation Culture: Comparative Perspectives Quill & Friel Eds., Hart Publishing, 2016.

• March 2010 – Southern Law CPD on the effect of the judgement in Meadows v. MJER [2010] IESC 3.

• April 2011 – Concussion Liability in Rugby – Aviva Stadium, Dublin, Irish Bar and NW Circuit of the English Bar.

• 3rd March 2012 – European Treaty Rights and Player Contracts in Irish Rugby – Aviva Stadium, Dublin, Irish Bar and Northern Ireland Bar.

• May 2012 – Rugby Discipline and the Courts: Going Through the Phases? Irish Bar and NW Circuit of the English Bar, Manchester.

• 11th May 2013 – Employment Law and Equality in Sporting Contracts Irish Bar and NW Circuit of the English Bar, Dublin.

• Presented a paper on Compensation Culture and Sport at Compensation Culture: Comparative Tort Law Reform in the 21^st Century, ICEL, University of Limerick, May 23^rd/24^th, 2014, 

• Jim O’Driscoll Memorial Address The Myth of Compensation Culture, 23^rd January, 2015.

• Cork Family Lawyers’ Association CPD, Legal Aid in Family Law: Recent Developments in the UK March 6^th, 2015

• National Sports Law Conference, 18^th October, 2015 Contact Sports, Concussion and the Law – A Coming Crisis?

• Kings Inns, 23^rd April, 2016; Verbal Abuse on the Sports Field; Thoughts on the Marler “Gypsy Boy” Incident.

• Brexit, Competition Law and Sport, Law Library, Distillery, February, 2017.

• Irish Sport and Concussion Liability, Sports Law Bar Association of Ireland conference, Dublin, February 23^rd, 2018.

• GDPR and Sport, Bar of Ireland breakfast briefing, Dublin, May 4^th, 2018.

• Brexit and Sport: Ireland and Cross Border Sport Sport & EU Annual Conference 2018, July 4^th, 2018, Edge Hill University, Ormskirk, England

• Sports Law and EU Rights Law July 5^th, 2018, Sports Law Summer School, Edge Hill University, Ormskirk, England

• Contemporary Issues and Debates in Sports Law UCC Sports Law Clinic, March 28^th 2019 – panel chair.

• World Rugby Transgender Workshop, February, 2020.

• On the Ball: The Rugby Union Conference with Morgan Sports Law and Kings Chambers, as a panel member on “The International Movement of Rugby Players”

• “Enforceability of Barristers’ Fees – Pipe Dream or Possibility?” 10th May, 2021

• Game, Set, Match: How would the Djokovic saga play out here?

•  “Torts, Sports and the Courts: Thoughts on Litigation Reform” Munster Circuit Dinner, 5th May, 2022

• “Intersection of Sport and Politics”, Sports Law Bar Association, 5th July, 2022

• Part of the Panel on Transgender Athlete Regulations at the LawInSport Annual Conference, 7th/8th September 2022.
• “Torts, Sports and the Courts: Does Statutory Reform of Tort Liability Work?” TIBA CPD, 17th November 2022
• “Legal Considerations in Policy Development for Transgender Athletes in Sport”, MedEduCare conference, Royal Society of Medicine, London, 2nd December, 2022.
• Joint SLBA/TIBA event on the e Law Reform Consultation Paper on Liability of Clubs, Societies and other Unincorporated Associations.   https://www.slba.ie/
• Joint SLBA/EUBA Dublin International Dispute Week satellite event on Sports and EU Competition Law, 6th June 2023

Member of the Sport Resolutions Pro Bono Service

Member of the PILA Pro Bono panel.

Judge in the Sports Law Arbitration Moot

Member of the FAI Disciplinary Pool.

Elected Member of the Council of the Bar of Ireland, 2023-25

Member of the Standing Committee of the Bar of Ireland 2023-2025

Chair of the Circuit Liaison Committee of the Bar of Ireland 2023-2025

Chair of the Sports Law Bar Association of Ireland, 2023. Former Treasurer of the SLBA

Committee Member of the Immigration Asylum and Citizenship Bar Association.

Committee Member of the Tort and Insurance Law Specialist Bar Association

Member of the Bar Council Personal Injury Committee 2020-21 and 2021-22.

Member of the EU Bar Association.

Lecturer Law Society of Ireland Sports Law Diploma.

Examiner Law Society of Ireland Sports Law Diploma.

Lecturer, Law Society of Ireland Sports Law Advanced Elective.

Member of the Sports Disputes Solutions Ireland Arbitration Panel.

Irish Sailing judge.

Member of the Editorial Board of Law in Sport for Europe.

Member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators

Member of the Irish Centre for European Law