The Partners - Tom McGrath

Tom McGrath, Solicitor & Notary Public

Tom McGrath is the Managing Partner of the Dublin based firm of solicitors McGrath O'Donnell & Associates. Educated at Rockwell College, Co Tipperary and later at UCD and the incorporated Law Society of Ireland, he was a Partner in a number of large law firms in Dublin before establishing his own legal practice in 2001.

A fluent Spanish speaker and keen enthusiast of all Hispanic related matters, he is a former President of the Ireland Spain Economic Association (ISEA) and continues to be a council member. Tom spent most of his career both in the Four Courts and in many of the Circuit and District courts around the country practicing as a litigation solicitor before deciding to capitalise on his Spanish links to establish a niche service for clients wishing to buy property in Spain in 2001.

It’s a career change he has never regretted and while he misses the drama of the court room, he relishes the working life and the challenges that growing your own business brings. He has extended the service to other parts of the world and now he and his network of overseas associates – he now has some 26 associate offices in Spain and Portugal alone - work together to safeguard the interests of clients wishing to invest in property overseas, ensuring that developers own the land they propose to build on; that they have licenses; that planning permission is complied with and that money paid is secured by bank guarantees. They also act on behalf of the client, ensuring that they do not need to travel overseas. The success rate is high - with 25.5% of those clients buying in Spain purchasing houses in Alicante, only 0.7% have encountered any difficulties with the purchase, while in Malaga, where 23.4% of our clients purchased their houses, the percentage of clients in dispute is the same.

Through his associate network, Tom has also established links with key reputable developers and estate agents both at home and abroad. The specialised service that he provides has been extended to help investors also in UK, Portugal, Madeira Island, Cape Verde Islands, France, Germany, Poland, Turkey, Bulgaria, Romania, Morocco, Montenegro, Italy, Florida, Mexico, Panama, Brazil and Dominican Republic.

On legal matters relating to overseas properties Tom has written numerous articles for Irish and UK magazines and newspapers; appeared on radio and has lectured at the Law Society of Ireland both to solicitors and trainee solicitors, and at various property seminars. His appointment as a Notary Public last year has allowed him to authenticate documents for use in foreign jurisdictions thus saving the clients from having to travel overseas to sign documents.

In 2006 McGrath O'Donnell & Associates were asked by a number of large reputable estate agents to service their clients and participate in seminars with them to support their exhibitions, an invitation Tom was happy to accept as he believes that the service his firm provides is of great benefit to the investor and holiday home buyer abroad.