The Gazette 1967/71

the conference which far exceeded what might be ex pected from the demands of courtesy. It is in fact generally conceded by persons having experience that this was the biggest and best conference to date. This is something of which the Society can be justifiably proud. We did credit to ourselves as a profession and to our country. This success was not fortuitous. It was the result of long and thorough preparation by a com mittee of men and women, who, results prove to have been singularly competent and suited to their tasks. As you will see from the report the Committee was chaired by Mr. John Carrigan who devoted at least half of his working year to the work of the conference. Under him each member of the committee had assigned to him the exclusive responsibility for some specific aspect of the conference. The ladies sub-committee was similarly organised under the chairmanship of Mrs. Shirley Carrigan and the whole was served by a superb execu tive provided by Mr. Plunkett and his staff. All of these worked without complaint or regard to the unreasonable demands which were made on their time and energies. I think you would want me to extend on your behalf an expression of our gratitude to all these people and our congratulations on their success. I must also express our gratitude to the President, to the Taoiseach and his Government and in particular to the Minister for Justice for the encouragement and active co-operation which they gave us throughout and which contributed in such a large measure to the success of the whole. Amongst others there are two important matters which the success of this conference brings to our notice. Firstly the whole thing was ran exclusively by lawyers and their students; its success therefore and the efficiency of its conduct indicates the high degree of organisation, ability and efficiency which marks the education for and conduct of the practice ot law and with which it is seldom credited. Secondly this conference was of very considerable national advantage. Some years ago a similar conference took place in England and after the conference the Law Society conducted investigations through the mediums of the various bar associations involved. This produced the surprising information that each conferee spent in addition to his hotel bill an average of £20 per day. Taking this as a guide and allowing for the alteration in the value of money in the meantime our conference brought not less than £500,000 of money into the country. That would not have happened if Irish Lawyers and in particular representa tives of the Law Society had not for many years past been assiduous in attending similar conferences in other countries and got themselves involved in the activities of the International Bar Association. As can be deduced from the figures quoted above the attending at such conferences is a very expensive business. Most of the conferees who came to Dublin were allowed their expenses as a deduction for income tax purposes. The same facility is not granted here and it is not reasonable for the Government to expect foreign conferees to come here unless we are in our own small way to return the compliment. I trust that this is a matter that the Minister for finance will take into account at an early opportunity. The money that would be lost to the revenue would be trifling and the reward would be

23, Thomas V. O'Connor, 419; 24, George A. Nolan, 407; 25, James R. G. Green, 406; 26, James W. O'Donovan, 397; 27, Thomas Jackson, Jnr., 395; 28, Norman T. Spendlove, 381; 29, Desmond Moran, 375; 30, Gerald Y. Goldberg, 369; 31, William M. Cahir, 368. The scrutineers returned the foregoing as duly elected members of the Council for the year 1968/1969. The following candidates also received a number of votes placed after their names:—32, Patrick McEntee, 351; 33, William B. Alien, 345; 34, Maurice R. Curran, 311; 35, William A. Young, 308. The Chairman declared the result of the ballot in accordance with the scrutineers report. On the proposal of P. G. Moore, seconded by Kevin Burke the audited accounts and balance sheets for the year ended 30th April 1967 circula ted with the agenda were adopted. The President signed the accounts. On the proposal of P. C. Moore, seconded by Kevin Burke, Messrs. Kevans & Sons were re- appointed auditors. The President addressed the meeting as follows : Before I propose to you the adoption of the report may we call to your memories the doleful fact that since we last met many of our colleagues have left us for ever. They include:—Peter Canning, John W. Gentle man, James D. Kiernan, George Lynch, John N. R. McNamara, Trevor G. B. McVeagh, William J. Norman, Nicholas J. O'Donnell, Michael N. Phelan, James A. Power, Ernest W. Proud, Archibald Robinson, Edward D. Ryan, Hector J. G. Ryan, Sean Cormac Rynne, J. Malvern White, Gerald Quinn. May God rest their souls. I know you will want to join with me in conveying to their families and relatives our deepest sympathy. It is my duty to propose to you the adoption of the annual report. Before I put the report to you for your consideration there are some comments I wish to make by way of addition as well as explanation and elabora tion. The outstanding event of the year, was of course, the 12th Biennial Meeting of the International Bar Association. May I say straight away that this was an unqualified success. It was the biggest conference ever held by the association. Indeed the numbers attending— over 1500—exceeded by about 25% the estimated attendance thereby placing an extraordinary increased strain on the committees' arrangements both for the business sessions and the social activities, transport and hotel accommodation. But notwithstanding the difficul ties of the increased load the whole thing went off completely without hitch. Both during and since the conference I have been in close touch with the heads of the various divisions and many others and I have never heard of a single complaint or criticism of the manner of the organisation of the conference or of its ancillary facilities. On the contrary both during the con ference and since I have received a flood of messages both verbal and written praising the Society on the excellence of the arrangements for and the conduct of

very substantial. King's Hospital

For some time past it has become increasingly clear that the Society's present headquarters do not provide sufficient space for the expanding activities and functions 74