Declan Harmon BL

Declan has a broad civil litigation practice.  He is experienced in a wide range of areas of law.  These include administrative law / judicial review, commercial and company law, land / landlord and tenant law, tort and personal injuries law and sports law.

Declan has a particular expertise in employment and equality law and he acts regularly for employers and employees in matters before the Workplace Relations Commission and the Labour Court.  He also acts in employment equality cases before the Circuit Court and in employment related disputes that originate in the High Court, particularly where injunctive relief is being sought.  He has been appointed to conduct a number of independent workplace investigations.

Declan has strong experience in data protection and privacy law.  He acts for both data subjects and data controllers / processors in litigation arising pursuant to the GDPR / the Data Protection Act 2018.

Declan is experienced in Alternative Dispute Resolution methods, particularly in mediation and arbitration.  He is accredited as an Arbitrator and he holds the Professional Diploma in Arbitration from University College Dublin.

In the area of sports law, Declan is a member of the Disciplinary Committee and the Appeal Committee of the Football Association of Ireland.  He is also a member of the FAI’s pool of arbitrators.  He is a member of the disciplinary pool for the Boxing Union of Ireland and the Hearings Committee of Gymnastics Ireland.

Declan is a member of the panel of counsel for the Diocesan Court of the Church of Ireland Dioceses of Dublin and Glendalough.

Born and raised in Dublin, Declan was educated at Trinity College, Dublin and the King’s Inns.  Prior to joining the Bar of Ireland in 2017, Declan worked for several years in the international airport operations sector for the overseas subsidiary of Ireland’s State-owned airports company, particularly in the Middle East.

Examples of some recent work that Declan was instructed in include:

Employment and equality law

• Representing the Commissioner of An Garda Síochána in an employment equality matter before the Workplace Relations Commission
• Representing the Minister for Education in a number of claims brought by a worker in the education sector being heard before the Labour Court

Administrative law / judicial review

• Representing a public body in an appeal of an order made in a judicial review matter before the Court of Appeal
• Representing a property development company in a judicial review of a planning decision
• Representing professionals within the local government sector in a judicial review of a decision affecting their employment and promotion
• Acting for members of a public sector representative association in a judicial review of a decision affecting their pay and conditions

Land / landlord and tenant law

• Declan regularly acts for an Approved Housing Body in a variety of matters relating to land law and landlord and tenant law before the Residential Tenancies Tribunal, the District Court and the Circuit Court
• He also regularly acts for an ICAV with a large portfolio of investment property in various land law matters before the Circuit Court and High Court

Tort law / personal injuries law

• Declan is regularly instructed for both plaintiffs and insurers on behalf of defendants in personal injury matters before the Circuit Court and the High Court
• Declan is particularly experienced in tort matters relating to allegations of historical sexual abuse and the evidential and Statute of Limitations issues that arise in such cases

Defamation

• Representing a public body in defending a defamation claim
• Advising a local authority in relation to defamatory statements made against officials by a vexatious customer
• Representing the directors of a management company in relation to defamatory statements made by a local resident

Declan is a member of the General Council of the Bar of Ireland for the 2023 – 2024 legal year and is Chair of the Young Bar Committee.

Declan volunteers his time as a member of the Board of Directors of Crosscare, a large charity that provides services to homeless people, young people and vulnerable members of the community across the greater Dublin region.  In addition to serving on the main Board, Declan is also Chair of Crosscare’s Governance and Risk Committee.

As an active member of his profession, Declan is involved in several legal groups.  He is a committee member of the Employment Bar Association and the British Irish Commercial Bar Association.  He is a member of the Advisory Council and Members’ Committee of the Irish Centre for European Law.

Declan has provided pro-bono advice and several talks on legal issues of particular interest to the LGBT+ community.  He is an active member of the OutLaw Network.