Most people experience sport not in a stadium, but on the sidelines of a local club. From fundraising committees to coaching under-10s, volunteers are the engine of Irish sport. But as Emma Richmond, managing partner of Whitney Moore, explains in this episode of Sports Matters, that passion comes with real responsibility.
Richmond outlines the unseen legal landscape of community sport: safeguarding obligations, data protection rules, trusteeship headaches, and the challenges of running staff with volunteer committees. She also discusses how mergers — like the planned integration of the GAA, LGFA and Camogie Association — will test constitutions and ownership structures across the country.
From finance committees to safeguarding officers, her message is clear: Understanding the legal framework isn’t optional. It’s what keeps clubs safe, solvent, and sustainable.
How can artists build sustainable careers without compromising their creativity? In this episode of Arts Matters, Alison Cowzer speaks to Bruce Stanley, advisor to Ireland’s leading creatives, about the often-overlooked business side of art.
From financial planning to intellectual property management, Stanley, global leader of arts and entertainment with HLB, explains why thinking like an entrepreneur is essential in today’s cultural economy. Arts Matters is sponsored by HLB Ireland.
Aubrey McCarthy can remember those moments when he felt alone. They were the moments that shaped him. They drove him in business and they drove him to make a difference in society. He talks to Dion Fanning about the presidency, addiction and Ireland’s unhealthy relationship with alcohol.
Don O’Neill doesn’t speak in slogans. He speaks in stories — slow-burning, salt-air-soaked, stitched through with a kind of quiet resolve. Raised in the small seaside town of Ballyheigue, County Kerry, O’Neill grew up sketching gowns in secret, dreaming of runways far from the Atlantic’s reach. But even as he dressed icons like Oprah and Michelle Obama, the pulse of home never left his designs.
His journey wasn’t a straight line. It zigzagged through kitchens and catwalks, through heartbreak and hard-earned success. O’Neill trained in design in Paris while working restaurant shifts at night. He spent years as Creative Director at THEIA, only to see the brand shutter suddenly — a moment that cracked open his identity but didn’t break his belief. In this episode of Arts Matters, he speaks with Alison Cowzer. Arts Matters is sponsored by HLB Ireland.
With a career spanning nearly four decades, Eleanor McEvoy remains one of Ireland’s most passionate musical voices. But behind the melodies lies a fierce advocate for creators’ rights, a seasoned entrepreneur, and the chair of IMRO, fighting for fairness in the age of AI and streaming.
In this episode of Arts Matters, McEvoy recounts her early breakthrough — a chance encounter with a Geffen Records executive in Dublin — and the evolution of a career that has since produced 15 albums.
Her deep belief in the transformative power of music is matched by a pragmatic understanding of the industry’s inner workings.
Arts Matters is sponsored by the HLB Ireland.
Ireland has the capital. It has the ambition. But does it have the people and planning in place to deliver the next wave of major infrastructure projects?
In this podcast, Ian Kehoe sits down with Aidan Scollard, Partner at Baker Tilly Ireland, and James Smith, Partner at MHA in London, to explore the real challenges behind turning billions of euro into concrete results—literally.
Together, they advise governments, developers, and international contractors on how to deliver large-scale infrastructure projects in challenging environments—and how to move the talent that makes it all possible. In this podcast, they explain the practicalities of delivering big projects on time and on budget.
This podcast is sponsored by Baker Tilly Ireland.
In this episode of The Tech Agenda, Darren O’Neill, Consulting Partner and Insurance Industry Leader at PwC Ireland, tells Ian Kehoe why reinvention is no longer a buzzword — it’s a survival strategy.
Drawing on insights from PwC’s Global CEO Survey, he explores how rapid technological advances, AI, and empowered consumers are reshaping competitive landscapes across industries. O’Neill challenges the myth that change is new, instead framing today’s “fourth revolution” as a natural — but dramatically accelerated — evolution.
The Tech Agenda with Ian Kehoe podcast series is sponsored by PwC.
Mike Cronin and Mark Duncan’s new book Revolutionary Times looks at the revolutionary period in Ireland. In this podcast he talks to Dion Fanning about the stories we tell ourselves, the problem with reunification and why Irish history remains such a hot topic to debate.
Guaranteed Irish and its instantly recognisable G symbol has been deeply linked with Irish business in its 50-plus-year history but it’s entering a new chapter, one dominated by economic uncertainty and unpredictable tariffs. CEO Brid O’Connell speaks to Jonathan Keane about the challenges for exporters in a changing economy, trade wars and how Guaranteed Irish will evolve in the future.
As sport evolves into a complex global industry, the legal frameworks supporting it have grown equally sophisticated. Emma Richmond, joint managing partner at Whitney Moore, and Aoife Farrelly, barrister and chair of the Sports Law Bar Association, are at the forefront of this shift.
In this episode of Sports Matters, they talks to Ian Kehoe about how grassroots clubs operate like SMEs, grappling with employment law, data protection, and regulatory compliance. Wearable tech and performance tracking have introduced new data privacy concerns, while volunteer-led organisations often lack the legal knowledge to manage risk effectively.
Richmond and Farrelly also highlight how governance structures—like the GAA’s Disputes Resolution Authority—serve as models for efficient, sport-specific adjudication. At the elite level, legal challenges span restrictive sponsorship contracts, IP rights, and disciplinary hearings with limited avenues for representation.
Sports Matters is sponsored by the law firm Whitney Moore.
Colm O’Gorman talks to Dion Fanning about the death of Bishop Brendan Comiskey, why it was not his failings as a bishop which led to the cover-up of abuse in the Ferns diocese and why Pope Francis never dealt with the issue as he should have.
