In addition to working as a rugby union referee, Courtney also served as the chief financial officer for the General Motors/Capmark Europe Bank.
He was attending a tournament organised by Old Belvedere when a tannoy announcer asked "is there a referee in the house?".
Courtney answered the call and subsequently refereed junior matches before working his way up to All-Ireland League level.
He made his senior international refereeing debut on 7 September 2002 when he took charge of a 2003 Rugby World Cup qualifier between Uruguay and Chile.
[14] In addition to refereeing, Courtney also served as a television match official and touch judge in the Six Nations.
At a post-match press conference, Scotland's coach, Frank Hadden, heavily criticised Courtney for his decision.
[16] On 24 February 2007 Courtney refereed his final Six Nations fixture, the match between Scotland and Italy at Murrayfield Stadium.
[5][8] Courtney continued in the same role with the European Professional Club Rugby before leaving the position in May 2016.