The Gazette 1955-58

G. Overend, Dermot P. Shaw, Joseph TyrreU, Ralph J. Walker, Reginald J. Nolan, John B. Jermyn, John Bolton, Desmond Moran, Scan O hUadhaigh, Peter Prentice, William White, Patrick Noonan, John P. J. Smyth, John B. McCann, Thomas D. McLoughlin, Denzil O'Donnell, Gerard Doyle, John Gibbons, Patrick C. Moore, Oliver G. Fry, Samuel V. Crawford, Matthew Purcell, Robert Osborne, J. R. Downes, S. H. Lynch, Edward Barrett, James J. Hickey, T. Finbarr O'Reilly, Brendan T. Walsh, Donough O'Donovan, Gerard Lyons, Kevin Burke. The notice convening the meeting was by per– mission of the meeting taken as read. The minutes of the ordinary general meeting held on 25th November 1954, and of the special general meeting held on the same day, were read, confirmed, and signed by the Chairman. The Chairman announced that he nominated the following members of the Society to act as scrutineers of the ballot for the election of the 'Council to be held on iyth November 1954 John R. McC. Blakeney, James R. Green, Thomas Jackson, Brendan P. McCormack, Roderick J. Tierney. The President addressing the meeting said: Since our last meeting, death has taken its toll of our members and we have lost Mr. Louis O'Dea (Galway), Mr. John Meldon (Dublin), Mr. Patrick McCarthy formerly of Dublin, Mr. Thomas Williams (Dungarvan), Mr. William Hodgins (Nenagh), Mr. Francis O'Connor (Dublin), Mr. Herbert McClenaghan (Dublin) and Mr. Colin Maidment (Dublin). I must refer particularly to Mr. Louis O'Dea of Galway, who was a member of the Council from 1933 to the time of his death. He was President of the Society in 1944 and was elected to the Senate in the same year. Mr. O'Dea was a man who stood for everything good in the profession. He had practised for just 50 years, and the high esteem in which he was held not only in Galway but all over the West of Ireland was clearly shown by the very large and representative attendance at his funeral. In his passing the Society and the Council have lost a very able administrator. I must also refer to the recent death of Mr. Herbert McClenaghan, of Dublin, who died under such tragic circumstances only a few days ago. Mr.. McClenaghan was a comparatively young Member of the Society, but those of us who knew him had come to hold him in very high regard, and it will be remembered that at a Meeting of the Society held in November last, he contributed very mater– ially to matters arising at that meeting.

This is the first Meeting of the Society at which we can refer to the Solicitors' Act. For many years back my predecessors have referred, with a certain amount of pessimism to the delay in having the Solicitors' Bill passed into legislation, and I am very pleased that at this meeting I can at last refer to the Solicitors' Act, and not to the Solicitors' Bill. As you are aware this Act was initiated by the Society as far back as 1937, and I feel that it is no small tribute to the profession that eventually it passed through both the Dail and the Seanad as an agreed measure and went through all its stages and was signed by the President of Ireland within a month after it was introduced into the Dail. In referring to the passing of the Bill through the Dail and Seanad I would like to express our thanks and appreciation to Senator Cox for the assistance he gave when the Bill was before the Seanad. As you are aware the Act places many burdens on us, but we welcome the Act, as a good Act for the profession, and a good Act for the public. It gives us much greater facilities in the management and control of our own affairs and particukrly in the education of our apprentices. A concession to the Society has been made in the abolition of Stamp Duties on Practising Certificates and partial remission of the Stamp Duty on Inden– tures of Apprenticeship, but it has been agreed that the Society will pay an annual sum of £500 to the Incorporated Council of Law Reporting and relieve the Government from responsibilities for the pub– lication of students' legal text books. The pub– lication of legal text books in this country has been practically impossible, due to lack of finance, and it will be necessary for the Society to consider building up a fund for the purpose of publishing text books in due course. About the year 1945 the Government voted ,a sum of £7,500 for the purpose of publishing specified works, but this sum does not appear to have been utilised and if it can be obtained as the nucleus of a fund it should be possible in due course for young barristers and solicitors to consider offering their services in the writing of text books, in the knowledge that the necessary finance will be available for that purpose. It will be remembered that at a General Meeting held in October last, it was arranged that the Council should endeavour to have some amendments made to the Bill, provided that it did not unduly hold up its passing. Immediately after the Meeting a deputation called on the Department of Justice with a view to having these recommendations implemented. One of the recommendations from the Meeting was that the quorum of the Disciplinary Committee should be raised from 3 to 5, and this amendment was agreed. A recommendation was also made on the suggestion of Captain Cowan in