124 / 436
G A Z E T T E
' A P R IL
1 9 9 0
Lawyers Fishing Club
During the Summer of 1988, a
letter from Mr. Frank Wickham-
Smith, Solicitor, on behalf on the
Lawyers Fishing Club in the UK was
published in the Law Society
Gazette inviting the formation of a
similar club for the purposes of
promoting contact between the
professsions within the islands by
means of angling competitions.
A number of people responded
and an invitation was received in
Ireland to participate in a friendly
"International" in England in
September, 1989.
Shortness of time and the inter-
vention of holidays proved some-
thing of a handicap so that, in the
event, the team consisted of Bill
Tormey, Ernest Williams and John
Jermyn (Senior) from the South,
two barristers from the North and
a Welsh barrister whose sole claim
to the right to fish for Ireland lay in
the fact that he had once advised
An Bord Bainne in a case in
England!
The competition was fished on a
still water fishery at Church Hill
Farm, Mursley, Buckinghamshire,
about 35 miles north of London on
the 30th of September 1989. The
southern half of the team stayed
near Mursley in a very comfortable
B & B where we were made very
welcome.
Next morning we presented our-
selves at Church Hill Farm where
we had our first sight of the fishery.
This consisted of two "put and
take" lakes, one of two and a half
acres and the other a little larger.
It was a rather different proposition
from Lough Corrib and Lough Mask!
Fishing
started at about
10.00a.m. and continued until
7.00p.m., when it was almost dark,
with a break for drinks and a large
lunch at about 1.00p.m.
Each rod was allowed to choose
his own section of the bank of the
lake, which he flogged all day, fish-
ing long casts with dreadful leaded
nymphs fished deep at the end. The
southern representatives dis-
tinguished themselves only by their
consistency; none of them rose a
single fish all day, although we
were informed that 100 trout of
two and a half pounds each had
been put into the lake the previous
day. Our northern friends caught
two fish between them but, of
course, we were all beaten to a
frazzle by the English who had a
very nice bag of trout, almost all of
-which had been caught between
6.30p.m. and 7.00p.m.
After the weigh-in at which we
were presented with a bottle of
champagne, we adjourned to the
local pub where our English friends
provided sandwiches and we pas-
sed a very pleasant evening.
The normal charge for the
Church Hill Farm Fishery is £40.00
per rod per day. Whilst this is
somewhat reduced in the case of
a block booking such as ours, our
hosts paid all our fees and paid for
all our drinks and a three-course
lunch at the fishery as well as food
at the pub. It was not until we
reached the bar that we were
allowed to put our hands in our
pockets. We could not have been
treated more kindly or made to feel
more welcome.
Before we broke up, it was
agreed unanimously that the fish-
ing contest should be established
as an annual event to be fished in
each country in turn. Scotland has
already expressed a desire to be
involved and Bord Bainne's advisor
has promised to raise a team from
Wales. It is also hoped that the
North of Ireland Bar Angling As-
sociation may also field their own
team.
With the timely ending of the Rod
Licence Dispute, arrangements are
at present being made to have the
first of these full internationals
fished on Lough Corrib in Sept-
ember next. A formal meeting to
establish the Lawyers Fishing Club
of Ireland has been arranged for
Tuesday, 15th May, 1990, at
8.00p.m. to be held at Blackhall
Place, Dublin. There can be no more
haramonious way to promote con-
tact and fellowship between the
professions than through angling
and all those interested are asked
to volunteer their support to this
worthy and highly enjoyable proposal.
For further information please
contact Adrian P. O'Gorman at
DunLaoire Corporation.
The Irish Society For European Law
Founded in 1973
Irish Affiliate to the
Fédération Internationale
Pour le Droit Européen (F I D E.)
President:
The Hon. Mr. Justice Brian Walsh
Chairman:
Mr. Eamonn G. Hall, Solicitor
Programme for Spring/Summer 1990
1 Thursday, May 10th, 1990:
Nuala Butler, Barrister, National Rapporteur, FIDE (Madrid - 1990) Congress
- Fiscal Harmonisation;
Jeremy Maher, Barrister, National Rapporteur, FIDE (Madrid - 1990) Congress
- Impact of European Communities Merger Control on Ireland.
2 Tuesday, July 17«h, 1990:
Mary Robinson, Senior Counsel, Director Irish Centre for European Law, National
Rapporteur, FIDE (Madrid - 1990) Congress -
Public Procurement.
Lectures take place at 8.15 pm at the
Kildare Street and University Club,
17 St.
Stephen's Green, Dublin 2, by kind permission.
Members and their guests are invited to join the Committee and guest speakers
for dinner
at the Club at 6.15 pm on the evening of each lecutre. Members intend-
ing to dine must communicate with the Membership Secretary, Jean Fitzpatrick,
Solicitor's Office, Telecom Eireann, Harcourt Centre, 52 Harcourt Street, Dublin 2.
(Tel. 01 714444 ext. 5929, Fax. 01 793980, Electronic Mail (Eirmail) (Dialcom) 74:
EIM076) not later than two days before the dinner, as advance notice must be given
to the Club.
Membership of the Society is open to lawyers and to others interested in European
Law. The current annual subscription is £15.00 (£10 for students, barristers and
solicitors in the first three years of practice). Membership forms and further details
may be obtained from the Membership Secretary.
108