The Court of Appeal has dismissed Christopher Connolly’s appeal against a High Court decision upholding an exclusion order made by Bord na gCon. The order bars him from greyhound race tracks, authorised coursing meetings and public sales of greyhounds. The court did not set it aside.
Connolly challenged the order, arguing that the Board had not carried out the investigation required before proposing an exclusion order under section 47 of the Greyhound Industry Act 1958. He also argued that the process was unfair and that the Board should have considered limiting the order to fewer activities.
The case followed disciplinary proceedings in Victoria, Australia, over Connolly’s involvement in live animal baiting. The Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal reduced a life ban to a ten-year disqualification, with five years suspended on conditions. The active period was recorded as running from 13 February 2015 to 12 February 2020. The Court of Appeal noted that Connolly had entered guilty pleas to three offences in those proceedings.
Bord na gCon began considering Connolly’s application for a kennel hand authorisation in late 2016 and refused it in February 2017, finding him not fit and proper. Separately, it sought his written observations for a section 43 investigation into the Australian proceedings and their implications for the Irish greyhound industry. Connolly did not respond to the first request, but his solicitors later made submissions. The Board considered those submissions and other material before proposing an exclusion order. Connolly then made further submissions under section 47.
The Board had initially sought approval for a three-person investigation team, but that team did not proceed. The Court of Appeal held that this did not invalidate the investigation that followed. It found that the Board’s Regulation Department had considered the matter, and that section 43 did not require a particular investigative format or a formal written report. The Board’s July 2017 minutes recorded the result of its consideration and the decision to proceed with the order.
The court also rejected the claim that the kennel hand authorisation process and the section 43 investigation had become one process. It found they were distinct, though they considered some of the same material. Given that the core facts were not disputed and Connolly had opportunities to make submissions, including after the Board proposed the order, the court concluded that fair procedures had been followed. It also held that the Irish Coursing Club had no role in considering Connolly’s representations, and that the Board was not required to consider a narrower order.
The High Court had refused judicial review in January 2019. The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal. The order had taken effect on 25 June 2018; the judgment does not revoke or vary it.