Trinity conference to shine spotlight on ethics in sport

Posted on: 01 November 2017

Sports news in the month of October has so far included allegations of systematic doping of athletes in China, crowd violence at a European football match, the possible banning of a nation’s athletes from the 2018 Winter Olympics and US politics and sport colliding with the NFL kneeling issue, to name but a few.

Confronted by an environment which is complex, competitive and demanding, are sports stars equipped to navigate the ethics of sport in a ‘survival of the fittest’ culture which arguably subordinates everything else in sport to winning?

The 4th annual Ethics in Sport conference, hosted by Department of Religion and Theology at the Confederal School of Religions, Peace Studies and Theology, will probe this question along with some of the most pressing ethical issues in sport today. The event, to be held in the Trinity Long Room Hub, will hear from key figures in the sporting industry, including legendary Irish sports figures: broadcaster George Hamilton; Galway hurler, Joe Canning; Armagh legend and mental health campaigner Oisin McConville and sports agent and former RTE broadcaster, Fintan Drury.

Event organiser Dr John Scally, Adjunct Assistant Professor in Ecclesiastical History, Trinity College Dublin, said: “The defects we find in sport: cheating, violence and drug abuse are an integral part of the wider society. In a win at all costs environment sports stars’ inherited values and ethics do not always prepare them to address confidently the issues that chemical advances and other ethical challenges have presented to them. These issues confront our society in general but our ethical tradition offers us no ready answers. The result is moral uncertainty and confusion. It has an impact on mental health and the responses of the sport industry and its audiences to issues like concussion doping and corruption. We would like our conference to begin a national conversation on this important issue.”

A key speaker at the conference will be legendary RTE sports broadcaster George Hamilton who’s talk, The Nation Holds Its Breath, will offer a personal reflection on ethics in sport through the lens of the professional commentator and sports broadcaster. Over 23 years of sports commentary with RTE covering a wide variety of sports including the Olympics, George has seen many sporting triumphs, but also many controversies and contentious issues.

Addressing the issue of mental health in sport, Armagh legend and mental health campaigner Oisin McConville, who has spoken openly about his own struggles with gambling, will speak about mental health in GAA and in sports in general. Also speaking on this topic is broadcaster, author and therapist Gareth O’Callaghan who will talk about good mental health in sport in an environment where mental health has become an increasingly pressing issue in the GAA and other sports, sometimes with tragic consequences. Following his own struggles with mental health Gareth became a therapist to help others in a similar situation.

Speaking about ethics in the history of Irish sport, sports historian and author, Mike Cronin of Boston College will ask the question, is sport in Ireland ethical? Mike Cronin is the co-author of a number of important sports books including The GAA – An Oral History.

Fintan Drury, sports agent and former broadcaster will examine the darker side of the beautiful game and will ask whether there is a culture of corruption in football today. Tackling an ongoing area of debate, Dr Kate Liston will take on the concussion crisis, reviewing the prevalence of concussion in a growing number of sports. Katie Liston is a former top ladies footballer with Kerry and an Irish soccer international. She lectures on the Sociology of Sport in the University of Ulster.

The event will also feature a public interview with Joe Canning by John Scally on his career and philosophy of sport. Galway’s Joe Canning is one of the greatest hurlers of his generation.

Admission is Free. Places are very limited so early booking is advised. For further information and for registration contact John Scally at: jscally@tcd.ie