Clancy v Irish Rugby Football Union

• Jurisdiction: Ireland
• Judge: Mr. Justice Morris
• Judgment Date: 01 January 1995
• Neutral Citation: 1994 WJSC-HC 2296
• Court: High Court
• Docket Number: No. 5683p/1994
• Date: 01 January 1995

CLANCY v. IRISH RUGBY FOOTBALL UNION

BETWEEN

THOMAS CLANCY

PLAINTIFF

AND

IRISH RUGBY FOOTBALL UNION AND RONALD DAWSON

DEFENDANTS

1994 WJSC-HC 2296

No. 5683p/1994

THE HIGH COURT

Synopsis:

CLUB

Rules

Compliance - Rugby - Player - Exemption - Application - Refusal - Exemption refused by unauthorised sub-committee - Invalid refusal confirmed by appropriate committee without proper consideration of relevant matters - (1994/5683 P - Morris J. - 6/10/94)

|Clancy v. Irish Rugby Football Union|

INJUNCTION

Interlocutory

Club - Rules - Retroactivity - Rugby - Player - Appeal - Determination by one tenth of relevant committee - Invalid determination - Delegation by appellate committee invalid - Appeal not considered fully by appellate committee - (1994/5683 P - Morris J. - 6/10/94)

|Clancy v. Irish Rugby Football Union|

Citations:

FITZPATRICK V MIN FOR INDUSTRY & COMMERCE 1931 IR 457

HAMILTON V HAMILTON 1982 IR 467

IRISH LAND COMMISSION V DOLAN 1930 IR 235

CHESTVALE PROPERTIES LTD V GLACKIN 1993 3 IR 35

RAJAH V RCSI 1994 1 ILRM 233

1 Judgment of Mr. Justice Morrisdelivered the6th day of October 1994.

2 This matter comes before the Court as an application for an Interlocutory Injunction and the reliefs claimed in the Notice of Motionare:

3 (a) An Injunction restraining the Defendants, its servants or agents from declaring the Plaintiff ineligible to represent his Club, Blackrock College Rugby Football Club, in the Insurance Corporation League.

4 (b) An Injunction restraining the Defendants from seeking to rely on Rule 7(I)(B) of the Regulations governing the Insurance Corporation League Season, 1994/1995 so as to prevent the Plaintiff playing for Blackrock College Rugby Football Club until after the 31st of December, 1994 for conduct of the Plaintiff occurring prior to the 1st of March,1994.

5 (c) Alternatively, an Injunction requiring the Defendants to consider, on its merits, the Plaintiff's special circumstances for registering with Blackrock College Rugby Football Club, the said consideration to include consideration of submissions made by or on behalf of the Plaintiff.

6 (d) A Declaration that the purported amendment by the Defendants of the regulations governing the Insurance Corporation League has not retrospective effect and that the Defendants had no power to declare the Plaintiff ineligible to participate in the Insurance Corporation League commencing in September, 1994 for matters arising prior to the 1st of March, 1994.

7 (e) An Order declaring the Plaintiff is eligible for selection for participation in the Insurance Corporation League matches played by his Club, Blackrock College Rugby Football Club.

8 (f) An Injunction requiring the Defendants to give reasons for rejecting the Plaintiff's appeal that he be declared eligible to play for Blackrock College Rugby Football Club in the Insurance Corporation League matches prior to the 31st of December, 1994.

9 The circumstances in which this application arises can be summarised asfollows:-

10 The Plaintiff who is a Sales Executive has represented Ireland as a member of the Irish International Rugby Team on nine occasions between 1987 and 1989. In those years he was a member of Lansdowne Rugby Football Club. In 1990 he moved to London where he joined London Irish Rugby Club. In 1992he returned to Ireland and rejoined Lansdowne and played for that Club in the Insurance Corporation League matches in that season. After that season he moved to and joined the De La Salle/Palmerston Rugby Club which was a Third Division Club in the All-Ireland League and he played six Insurance Corporation League matches for that Club up until February of 1994 and two such matches in March of 1994.

11 The Irish Rugby Football Union, being the body which controls rugby football in Ireland, had created an All-Ireland League known as the Insurance Corporation League and it decided that alterations were necessary to the regulations governing this league and, in particular, that it had become necessary to regulate the transfer of players from one Club to another. These steps were necessary in order to preserve the amateurism of the game. Accordingly, amended regulations relating, inter alia, to the eligibility of players were introduced for the year1994/95.

12 The critical regulation, insofar as this application is concerned, is Regulation 7 and this provides that each Club playing in the league must submit to the I.R.F.U. a list of all its adult playing members for the following season and this must be done by the 1st of June in any year commencing on the 1st of June, 1994. At sub-paragraph (B) the ruleprovides:-

"A player, having played in three or more league matches in a season for a Club and having registered for another Club for the following season, may not play in a league match for his new Club until after the 31st of December in the same year."

13 For the season 1993/1994 the Plaintiff had played for De La Salle/Palmerston Rugby Club which was a Third Division Club but he decided that for the 1994/1995 season he would transfer to Blackrock College Rugby Football Club. He therefore signed the Club Register of Blackrock College Rugby Football Club on the 31st of May, 1994. At that time he had already played six Insurance Corporation League matches up to the end of February, 1994 and two Insurance Corporation League matches in March of 1994 for De La Salle/Palmerston Rugby FootballClub.

14 In essence, therefore, if Regulation 7 of the regulations governing the Insurance Corporation League is valid and binding on the Plaintiff, he would be precluded from playing for Blackrock College Rugby Football Club until after the 31st of December, 1994. This would, in effect, result in the Plaintiff missing his opportunity to be a substitute for the next match in the league and his opportunity to be picked as a member of the team for the last remaining match in the league. The importance of this, so far as the Plaintiff is concerned, is that he believes that it is essential for him to play in the Insurance Corporation All-Ireland League matches if he is to be considered for his place on the Irish Rugby team and to be considered as a member of the squad for the forthcoming World Cup. For these reasons he seeks an Order from the Court removing the prohibition against his playing in theleague.

15 The primary submission made by Counsel on behalf of the Plaintiff in this matter is that the rule was introduced by the Defendants and became effective only at the time when the Plaintiff had already, by playing in more than threeleague matches for De La Salle/Palmerston, become disqualified from playing for...