The Gazette 1958-61

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every sense of the word he was a man—a gentle, kindly, brilliant man, whom, we shall miss in fellow ship and in friendship. May all these, our former colleagues, rest in peace. To their relatives I extend the sympathy of myself and of our Council. I sometimes marvel at the vast amount of work which has constantly to be done by your Council. The volume never seems to be reduced no matter how assiduously we apply ourselves. The ever- changing pattern of business life and of legal and social relations is constantly giving rise to new problems vitally affecting our Profession. In the past six months we have had six Council Meetings and somewhat over fifty Committee Meetings. Despite that, most of our work during this period is still only in the formative stage. A great portion of it concerns principles which have yet to be considered and decided upon by the Government and the Judiciary. Until they have come to a decision, courtesy forbids me to refer in public to these matters. During the past decade or so the pattern of life in Ireland has undergone a fundamental change among the farmers, the wage-earners and the business community. What is known as " out-put " in the business world has become a matter of primary importance with all sections of the Community. Even our rural community who are so conservative feel that one can no longer kill time without in juring Eternity. Efficiency — whether real or simulated — has become so common-place that even the man who does nothing in particular does it very well. Life has become more complex and the outlook of Society has substantially changed. Our profession comes into close contact with all sections of the community. We must serve the public as they want to be served. With the changing outlook of the community we have had to change our out look also. No profession which does not continually test its ideals, techniques and measure of accomplish ment can claim real vitality. Ours has always been virile and vital. It is the ambition of your Council to keep it so. To serve the public adequately today a solicitor must know his law thoroughly and be able to apply it without hesitation. Your Council are charged with the education and training of our students. They have the responsi bility of ensuring that these students of today will be a credit to their chosen profession tomorrow. They will have to cope with the changed and more complex atmosphere in social and business relations and in the laws applying thereto. To meet this situation your Council have drastically overhauled the entire system of lectures, education and examina tion for our students. The course of studies is more advanced and more detailed. The examinations are much more searching.