John Finucane, 71, advances an age discrimination case against the Royal Irish Academy of Music over a 70-year retirement age. The WRC refused to dismiss the complaint.
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John Finucane, a 71-year-old clarinetist and former principal clarinet with the National Symphony Orchestra, is set to advance an equality complaint against the Royal Irish Academy of Music (RIAM) over a mandatory retirement age of 70. The Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) published a preliminary decision dismissing RIAM's motion to block a full hearing.
Finucane, who has taught clarinet at RIAM for three decades, was told in a letter in late 2024 that the academy would follow a public-sector policy mandating retirement at 70. His barrister, James Doran BL, told the tribunal that RIAM "unilaterally contended" Finucane had agreed to that age. Finucane objected through correspondence in late 2024 and early 2025, arguing that colleagues had worked into their 80s and 90s.
He registered an equality complaint in June 2025. After discussions, Finucane signed a fixed-term contract last September. Doran said the contract was signed under "time pressure" and left his client on less favorable terms.
RIAM's lawyer, Heather Watters of Ibec, argued that the WRC could not rule on events after the complaint was filed, such as the contract. She asked adjudication officer Gaye Cunningham to dismiss the case.
Cunningham ruled that the Employment Equality Act protects workers from future discrimination on protected grounds. She noted a "sequence of events" extending into her jurisdiction and that RIAM was "on notice" of Finucane's age discrimination claim. "I find that the matter should proceed to an investigation of the substantive issue," she wrote.
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