Updates in the Charity Law Sector and Team News

Charities Regulator update

The Charities Regulator intends to refresh and review the Charities Governance Code in 2026 to make it more accessible and manageable for charities of all sizes. A revised Charity Governance Code was issued in the UK last month. It is authored by the sector through a cross section of voluntary steering groups. The revised 2025 version has retained the “comply or explain” principle, similar to Ireland’s Charity Governance Code. Of note is the new aspirational best practice that trustees should strive to be “courteous” and to “actively listen and show respect in meetings”.

CII Shared Island Leadership Forum

Ursula McMahon, Partner, recently spoke at the Shared Island Leadership Forum, organised by Charities Institute Ireland. The event, themed ‘Beyond Boundaries: Strategic Leadership for Collaborative Impact’, took place on 5 September at The Spencer Hotel in Dublin. Panellists shared interesting insights as a result of their personal experiences of charities collaborating and Niamh Callaghan facilitated and led one of the valuable roundtable discussions after the session.

It was a thought-provoking and timely forum, as it coincided with this year’s International Day of Charity, and offered a valuable day of insights and engaging discussion.

UK Charity Law Association Annual Conference

Claire Colfer attended the UK Charity Law Association (CLA) annual conference at the British Medical Association in London on 9 October 2025. The event was attended by CLA members from across the UK, Ireland, Canada, Australia and the US. Topics that were discussed included challenges currently facing the sector; a new publication on landmark cases in charity law; journalism as a charitable purpose; the future of philanthropy; and the current climate for charities in the US. The event is always a great opportunity for our charity lawyers to hear about changes and developments in the sector in other jurisdictions and gives us a perspective on where Ireland is when compared to those jurisdictions. It is also a nice chance to connect with colleagues both old and new and to share with them some information that their charity clients should be aware of, if considering establishing in Ireland.

Charity Trustee Week Goodbody Webinar: Leading with Clarity

Charity Trustees' Week is taking place in November. As part of that celebration and in support of Ireland's charity trustees, join us for Goodbody's fifth annual charities-focused webinar on Thursday, 13 November at 9.30am. Niamh Callaghan, Head of Charity Law & Not-for-Profit

During this webinar, panellists including Niamh Callaghan, Partner and Head of Charity Law & Not-for-Profit, will look at matters pertaining to charities such as:

• The updates in relevant charity regulation
• How charities are working together through various types of collaboration
• Navigating the most fundamental reporting changes in a decade, and
• When and how to find new charity trustees

This webinar will provide insights into these topics from both a financial and legal perspective, leveraging the expertise of our panellists.

Register

Five Reasons Why More Charities are Thinking Merger

Alice Murphy, Partner, recently wrote an article for the Institute of Directors (IoD) on why more charities are considering mergers. IoD members can access the article online.

Please contact a member of our Charity and Not-for-Profit team for expert advice.

The content of this article is provided for information purposes only and does not constitute legal or other advice.