The Gazette 1996

189 / 448

JULY 1996
A Time for Reflection
m -TB
/ it? ' ^ 9
j f ^ j f f l
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 and
Veronica 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
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 White as j u d g es of the Circuit
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
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
we are seeking to protect in the
implementation of the R e v i ew
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. •
ENGLISH AGENTS:
Ag e n cy work undertaken for Irish
Solicitors in both litigation and
non-contentious matters -
including legal aid.
Fearon & Co., Solicitors,
Westminster House,
12 The Broadway, Woking,
Surrey GU21 5AU.
Fax:0044 -1483 - 725807
173