The Gazette 1971

ANNUAL MEETING

The Annual General Meeting of the Society was held in the Library, Solicitor's Buildings, Four Courts, Dublin 0:1 Thursday, 24th November 1971. (1) The President took the chair at 2.30 o'clock. (2) The notice convening the meeting was by per- mission taken as read. (3) The minutes of the Ordinary General Meeting held on 8th May 1971 were by permission of the meet- ing taken as read and were signed by the Chairman. Result of Ballot (4) The Secretary read the report of the scrutineers of the ballot for the Council for the year 1971-'72 as published hereunder. The President declared the result of the ballot in accordance witht he scrutineers report, as follows : The following candidates were duly nominated as provincial delegates in accordance with bye-law 29 (a) of the Society and were returned unopposed : Ulster John C. O'Carroll Munster Thomas E. O'Donnell Leinster Christopher Hogan Connaught Patrick J. McEllin A meeting of the scrutineers was held on Thursday, 18th November 1971 at 11 o'clock. The poll was con- ducted from 11 a.m. until 1 p.m. and the scrutiny was subsequently held. The result of the ballot was as follows : 695 envelopes conta'ning ballot papers were received. Valid poll was 691. The following candidates received the number of votes placed after their names : 1, John Carrigan (514); 2, Eunan McCarron (504); 3, Brendan A. McGrath (495); 4, Patrick Noonan (492); 5, Anthony E. Collins (466); 6, Patrick C. Moore (463); 7, Francis J. Lanigan (460); 8, Mova Quinlan (458); 9, Bruce St. J. Blake (456); 10, Robert McD. Taylor (454); 11, William A. Osborne (452); 12, Gerald Hickey (448); 13, Senator J. J. Nash (445); 14, James W. O'Donovan (445); 15, Joseph L. Dundon (440); 16, Walter Beatty (435); 17, Thomas J. Fitzpatrick (433); 18, John Maher (430); 19, James R. C. Green (421); 20, Peter D. M. Prentice (416); 21, Peter E. O'Connell (413); 22, Ralph J. Walker (411); Law and the Individual Reading the newspapers and looking at television in reccnt months and there witnessing the evidence of a host of collective pathologies from whxh the whole world appears to be presently suffering, and listening also to the calls for law and order both at home and abroad, I wondered if this Annual General Meeting might not be an occasion upon which I should, as President of your Society, make some observations on the role of Law and Lawyers in contemporary society. The practice of law is, after all, the art of the relevant, and we claim as a habit of mind and as the tools of our trade, objectivity and disciplined thought.

23, George A. Nolan (402); 24, Laurence Cullen (397); 25, William B. Allen (390); 26, Michael P. Houlihan (390); 27, Patrick McEntee (380); 28, John B. Jermyn (379); 29, Thomas V. O'Connor (376); 30, Gerard M. Doyle (370); 31, Patrick F. O'Donnell (370). The foregoing candidates were returned elected as ordinary members of the Council for 1971-1972. The following candidates also received the number of votes placed after their names : 32, Desmond Moran (366); 33, David R. Pigot (365); 34, Thomas Jackson Jnr. (363); 35, Norman T. J. Spendlove (282); 36, Robert W. R. Johnston (259); 37, Brian K. Overend (247). The President declared the result of the ballot in accordance with the scrutineer's report. (5) On the motion of Mr. John Carrigan, seconded by Mr. Christopher Hogan the audited accounts and balance sheet for the year ended 30th April 1971 cir- culated with the agenda were adopted. The President signed the accounts. (6) On the motion of Mr. James R. Green, seconded by Mr. Gerald Hickey Messrs. Cooper Brothers & Co. were appointed auditors to the Society. (7) The Pres : dent proposed the adopting of the Report of the Council for the year 1970-'71. The motion was seconded by Mr. Gerald Doyle. The President, in reviewing the work of the Council for the past year then said : President's Statement Ladies and Gentlemen I would like to preface my remarks in proposing the adoption of the Report of the Council by welcoming our Secretary Mr. Eric A. Plunkett on his return to duty after an absence of some months due to illness. We are extremely glad to see him there again. In welcoming Mr. Plunkett I would also like to pay tribute to the extremely competent and devoted manner in which the Assistant Secretaries, Mr. Finnegan and Mr. Healy, carried on during his absence and the way in which they dealt with the additional work which fell upon them. I know from my own experience that they worked long hours in order to keep the work of the Society up to date.

Nevertheless, I hesitated because I realised that this would he an ambitious undertaking, and perhaps, be- yond the range of my own personal competence. How- ever, on Sunday last, after Mass, I met a priest, and in the course of conversation he made a comment to the effect that the legal profession has a significant part to play in helping to solve the ills that presently beset society. Emboldened by this and supported by two quotations which I now offer I decided to undertake the task. Speaking of the role that law can play in the resolution of tensions domestic and international Paul Freund, an

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