The Gazette 1996

JULY 1996

A Time for Reflection

journalist or a memb er of the criminal fraternity. The proposed legislation must be w e l c omed by all right- thinking citizens, yet I must express a word of caution in relation to s ome areas of proposed change which could imp i n ge on well-established rights wh i ch have been available to the citizens of this country over a long period of time. We must ensure that in attempting to catch the criminal w e do not at the same time snare innocent parties wh o may we ll suffer in the long term as a result of an unfounded allegation. Within its o wn well- established guidelines the S o c i e ty wo u ld of course back the Minister for Justice and the relevant State authorities in its battle against crime. The recent appointment of John Buckley, Frank O 'Donnell and Michael Court has quite rightly been enthusiastically w e l c omed by the profession and our sincere congratulations must be extended to the three n omi n e e s. Both John Buckley and Frank O 'Donnell are long established memb e rs of the S o c i e ty wh o have g i v en of their time o v er very many years to benefit the profession, wh i le Michael White is in my v i ew an admirable n omi n ee in that he represents that branch of the profession wh i ch works quietly and in a very professional and dedicated way for the benefit of his clients. There are many such memb e rs of the profession around the country wh o may never aspire to judicial o f f i ce and yet they are the core of the profession and sustain it in its many hours of need. Wh en next I write to you it will be to c omme nt on the results of the Special General Me e t i ng which will take place on 25 July. You will already have received my covering letter and noted the vast expenditure incurred in notifying the profession of the matters to be raised at the meeting. It is hoped that this type of e x p e n se can be a v o i d ed in the future, but White as j u d g es of the Circuit

nevertheless, it is equally hoped that those who have been circulated will at least read the documentation and apprise t h ems e l v es of the contents thereof e v en if they do not attend the meeting. Th ey are your interests that Comm i t t e e 's recommendations, and I wo u ld hope that as many memb e rs as possible will be in attendance to v o i ce their v i ews on the proposed changes. On a sad note I must mention the passing of former President of the Law Society, David Pigot. I think his attributes were s ummed up correctly in an article in the Irish T i mes wh i ch referred to his zest and enthusiasm. In that article they were referring to his i nv o l v eme nt in Irish cricket, but those of us wh o met him on a daily basis, be it in practice or in the Law Society, agreed that his zest and enthusiasm extended to every area in wh i ch he i n v o l v ed himself. A s with all of us he ruffled a f ew feathers on his way through life, yet it cannot be denied that he was a gentleman first and foremost, an excellent President during his year of o f f i ce and a c o l l e a g ue wh o is and will be sadly mi s s ed by all w h o had the g o od fortune to regard him as a friend. T o his w i fe Detta and his f ami ly I extend, on behalf of the profession, sincere sympathy c oup l ed with a big 'Thank you' to Detta for their contribution in the life of the Society. • we are seeking to protect in the implementation of the R e v i ew

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Andrew F. Smyth

With the approach of the long vacation the workload appears to increase yet it is also a time for reflection on the happenings over the past f ew months. Und o ub t e d ly the mo st consistent headline in our n ews p a p e rs has related to crime and h ow to deal with it. The totally unwarranted and s a v a ge killings of De t e c t i ve Sergeant Gerry McCabe Guerin has stirred the c o n s c i e n ce of the nation in a manner wh i ch can only be described as unique and yet to a certain extent we have lived c omp l a c e n t ly with the same problem for many years n ow. The death of a memb er of the Garda S i o c h a na and of a journalist should not in itself be a reason to deal with the insidious cancer of drug-related crime wh i ch has festered in our society for mu ch longer than po s s i b ly w e care to admit. If a memb er of the drug fraternity meets his or her death in similar circumstances the natural human response is to the e f f e ct that "if y ou live by the sword, you will perish by the sword", but this surely o v e r l o o ks the underlying principle that life is sacred and the taking of life is contrary to the l aws of the land and warrants the s ame response whether the d e c e a s ed is a high profile and Veronica

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