Most people experience sport not in a stadium, but on the side lines 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.

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What links Josh van der Flier, Kelly Harrington, Tadhg Furlong, and the O'Donovan brothers? Behind the scenes, it's David McHugh — advisor, strategist, and one of Irish sport’s most influential figures.

In this episode of Sports Matters, McHugh sits down with Ian Kehoe to talk through a career that’s taken him from Olympic hopeful to founder of Line Up Sports — and now to a leadership role at global agency Wasserman. He reflects on building trust with athletes, why he avoids the word “agent,” and how commercial sport has evolved from sentiment to science. McHugh also shares how he identifies talent, the future of women’s sport, and what elite performers are really like when they’re not wearing the jersey.

Sports Matters is sponsored by Whitney Moore.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After months of investigation, Currency Media presents Belfry, a powerful two-part podcast that uncovers the hidden story behind an extraordinary story — and the ordinary people left to carry its weight.

Between 2001 and 2006, AIB sold a series of funds to more than 2,500 individual investors. They were branded as the Belfry funds.

AIB raised approximately €300 million and channelled it into UK commercial property deals. Belfry 1 was a runaway success. Investors saw returns as high as 250 per cent. But Belfry funds two to six failed. Thousands of investors were left with nothing.

Through first-hand accounts, documents, and reporting, Belfry exposes how a series of institutional failures and human decisions combined to create a devastating loss.

Edited and written by Francesca Comyn and produced by Ian Kehoe, Belfry investigates a dark chapter for one of Ireland’s biggest banks.

Part two will be published on Thursday.

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In this episode of Sports Matters, former Dublin footballer Bernard Brogan joins Ian Kehoe to talk about his journey from GAA to entrepreneur — and what sport can teach business about culture, leadership, and performance.

Brogan, a seven-time All-Ireland winner and Footballer of the Year, hasn’t slowed down since hanging up the boots. He co-founded Legacy Communications, a fast-growing PR and marketing agency, and then turned his focus to PepTalk — a workplace culture platform now used by major engineering and construction firms across Europe and the US. He talks candidly about raising venture capital, sleepless nights as a founder, and how lessons from his time under Jim Gavin and Pat Gilroy shape how he leads today.

Sports Matters is sponsored by the law firm Whitney Moore.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Michael Kearney built and scaled a number of major businesses, including Snap Printing and Home Instead.

However, he also had another career - managing the Irish national rugby team. In this episode of Sports Matters, Kearney talks to Ian Kehoe about what the boardroom can learn from the dressing room, and the importance of culture and honesty in any high-performance environment. He also talks about his own business, reflects on the coaches he worked with, and talks about his role mentoring international rugby players for their post-playing days.

Sports Matters is sponsored by the law firm Whitney Moore.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Twenty years ago, Sport Ireland launched its Women in Sport programme with a bold aim: to give women equal opportunities on the pitch.

Two decades later, participation is up, sponsorships are stronger, and elite events are drawing record crowds. But stubborn challenges remain — from teenage dropout rates to a shortage of facilities and patchy media coverage.

In this episode of Sports Matters, Ian Kehoe sits down with two women at the forefront of change: Niamh Tallon, founder and CEO of Her Sport, and Emer O’Sullivan, corporate affairs director at Lidl Ireland and Northern Ireland. Tallon talks about why she launched Her Sport and the mission that drives it: “Our vision is equal opportunity in sport, regardless of gender… we have to be honest with ourselves when we look at the landscape and realise that the opportunity for girls and women is not the same.” O’Sullivan explains Lidl’s long-running sponsorship of ladies Gaelic football, from the controversial “Lady Ball” launch to grassroots investment in jerseys and equipment: “We want to do good, we want to be purpose-driven… but equally there are commercial reasons too.

It has to work both ways.” They discuss the barriers that still hold girls and women back — from lack of toilets at pitches to entrenched club cultures — and the power of visibility to change the game. “If girls have a positive experience, they have the facilities… they’ll tend to stay in sport,” O’Sullivan says.

Sports Matters is sponsored by the law firm Whitney Moore.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Sports Matters, world-renowned boxing coach Billy Walsh tells Ian Kehoe what it really takes to build a champion.

Known for reshaping Ireland’s amateur boxing program and now leading Team USA, Walsh speaks candidly about the demands of high performance, the cost of excellence, and why honesty is non-negotiable in the ring and in life. Speaking from home after a stop in Kazakhstan and ahead of another return to Colorado Springs, Walsh is candid about everything: the highs and lows of elite sport, the painful necessity of cutting talented athletes, and the brutal clarity the boxing ring delivers. But underpinning it all is his belief in honesty, discipline and culture—and a relentless desire to learn.

Sports Matters is sponsored by the law firm Whitney Moore.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.