Limerick law firm Sweeney McGann recorded a double victory in the recently announced 2012 Corporate INTL Global Awards. The firm was awarded the ‘Irish Sports Law Firm of the Year’ in addition to winning the ‘Licensing Law Firm of the Year’ for the second consecutive year. The Sports Law department was formally established in 2011 to coincide with Limerick’s status as European City of Sport. The prestigious awards were announced in London by an international panel of legal, financial and business experts.
At the announcement of the double success, Sweeney McGann’s Managing Partner, Gearoid McGann outlined the delight of the firm. He said ‘it is great recognition for all the team across the various departments who have worked hard to establish their areas among the top ranked in their respective fields. Winning the ‘Licensing Firm of the Year’ award for the second consecutive year is a first in the history of the awards and is a credit to our team across commercial and licensing who work in this area.’ He added ‘the creation of a dedicated Sports Law department in 2011 was a significant development as Limerick was selected as European City of Sport at this time. This award adds further to Limericks reputation as a centre for the business and development Sport with so many leading national sports administrators and regional sports offices located in the City.’
Shane O’Neill, (pictured) Partner with Sweeney McGann and Head of Sport Law in the firm said the award was a strong endorsement for the work put into developing the Sports Law department. He explained; “We have had a long established involvement with many clubs and organisations such as Limerick GAA and created the sports specific department to cater for the growing legal requirements of all entities involved in sports. We have been requested to speak at many national and regional sports conferences on topics such as sports club trustees, social media in sports, child protection, sports employment law and commercial advice for large professional sports bodies.” He added; “the world of sport is changing whether it’s running an underage GAA club or dealing with complex professional contract negotiations. We are finding that clubs are now more aware of the issues that potentially exist through various high profile cases in the media. As a result we are dealing with cases throughout Ireland.”
