Sports Law in Ireland by Laura Donnellan and Susan Leahy has just been published by Kluwer as part of Kluwer's International Encyclopaedia of Sports Law. The monograph begins with a chapter on the general background of sport and the law in Ireland. It examines the Irish Sports Council, the Legal Definition of Sport, the History of Sport in Ireland, the Development of Sports Law and Sources of Sports Law. Part 1 of the monograph focuses on Public Regulation of Sports Participation including Criminal and Civil liability in relation to participants, the Potential Negligence Liability of Entities and Individuals Other Than Participant, Legal Regulation of Sports Organisations including Spectators: Control and Safety and the Protection of Children and Young Persons: Vetting Requirements. Chapter 2 of Part 1 covers Dispute Settlements which includes Judicial Review and ADR. Chapter 3 examines Taxation and sports bodies and individuals. Part II entitled Sport and Status focuses on Sports Employment Issues and Sports Personality Rights including the Right to Privacy, Image Rights, Passing Off, Trade Marks and Advertising Regulations. The final part of Part II documents the laws relation to Social Security with a focus on pension plans for sports persons. Part III discusses Doping in Irish Sport. Part IV examines Sport and Commerce and includes a chapter on the Broadcasting of Sports Events, a chapter on Sport and Competition Law, a chapter on Sponsorship and concludes with a chapter on Merchandising.

While the monograph is titled: Sports Law in Ireland, the authors’ emphasis that in an Irish context, the most appropriate term is Sport and the Law. The term ‘Sport and the Law’ reflects a more interdisciplinary approach. By using the term ‘Sport and the Law’, it contends that there is no separate identifiable body of law that currently relates to sport; however, it equally acknowledges that recent developments suggest that in the near future there will be a substantive corpus of law pertaining to sport.