EXCLUSIVE | 

Disgraced former GAA star accused of ‘posing as a lawyer’ in Scotland

The 42-year-old apparently turned up at a Glasgow court last month to represent an alleged criminal he’d met in a pub

Yesterday at 17:35

Disgraced GAA star Kevin McGourty has been accused of posing as a lawyer in Scotland, we can reveal.

The 42-year-old former Antrim player apparently turned up at Glasgow’s Justice of the Peace court last month to represent an alleged criminal he’d met in a pub.

But when officials began asking questions, they found no record of him with the necessary qualifications to practise law.

An investigation has been launched by a number of legal bodies in Scotland.

McGourty comes from a famous Antrim GAA family and won a coveted All-Ireland club title with west Belfast side St Gall’s and also represented Antrim at senior level.

Five years ago McGourty was in court as the defendant when he was convicted of carrying out a sickening campaign of harassment against a female solicitor.

He was eventually sentenced to 18 months’ probation after he pleaded guilty to disclosing a sexual photograph of his victim, and harassing her over a two-month period.

He was also hit with a five-year restraining order banning him from contacting or going within 30 metres of the woman or her brother, to whom he sent the topless image.

McGourty bombarded the woman with hundreds of texts, emails and phone calls over a six-week period.

He even turned up at family celebrations, causing the woman “distress and upset” and problems with her work.

The disgraced sportsman threatened to send an explicit photograph and video of the woman to her brother and father if she didn’t speak to him.

Now he’s facing an investigation into the claims he was posing as a fake lawyer.

The Sunday Mail reported that using the Irish spelling of his name – Caoimhean MacDhorchaidh – he identified himself to the prosecution, other defence lawyers and a court official as a solicitor.

His client said they had met in a pub and had their legal consultation in a coffee shop, sources told the paper.

The ‘solicitor’ asked for his case to be called first as he needed to be in Peterhead to represent another accused but he didn’t have a traditional black court gown and had to borrow one from another lawyer.

McGourty said that both he and his firm, which he called The 3 Nations Legal Consultancy/ Services, were registered with the Law Society of Scotland and that he held a valid practising certificate.

about:blank

The Law Society of Scotland has no record of a lawyer by the name of Caoimhean MacDhorchaidh or of the firm named above.

When the case was called in court, McGourty told his client there was a problem with his licence and said he would need to get another lawyer to represent him. He then left the building.

Members of lawyers’ body the Glasgow Bar Association were reportedly sent an email which said the incident had been reported to the Law Society of Scotland.

The Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service said the Procurator Fiscal Service (Scotland’s public prosecution service) had also been notified. A spokesperson said: “A person attended court this week claiming to represent an accused in criminal trials. When his details were checked, it was established that he wasn’t on the roll of solicitors and nor was the firm he claimed to represent.”

An investigation by the Sunday Mail found a Caoimhean MacDhorchaidh registered with Companies House as a director of firm 3Nations Pubs Ltd at an address on the outskirts of Airdrie.

When the paper called at the property a man, who said his name was Kevin McGourty, answered the door.

He said he had no knowledge of a Caoimhean MacDhorchaidh or any firm being registered at the property. He added: “I don’t know where this is coming from. I don’t know anything about 3Nations Pub Ltd. I am quite concerned about this.”

Law Society of Scotland president Sheila Webster said: “It is a criminal offence for an unqualified person to pretend to be a solicitor.”

A legal source told the Sunday World: “It’s Kevin McGourty because that’s his company he registered and he’s well known in legal circles in Ireland.

“He’s a very intelligent man but he’s also a complete head-the-ball.”

McGourty is an Irish republican, with previous ties to the Fianna Fail party, and had been an infrequent blogger on sport, politics and legal matters.

In 2018 the Law Society of Ireland awarded him a MOOC Certificate in Sports Law.