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GAZETTE
NOVEMBER 1994
finished it is too late for praise to
give encouragement which all need,
and of which the successful get too
little. Still, there is a pleasure in
bearing one's testimony even at that
late time, and thus in justifying the
imagination of posthumous power
on which all idealists and men not
seeking the immediate rewards of
success must live."
Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes
on
F.W. Maitland.
Professor
John Kelly
died on January
24, 1991. It is unusual to commence a
book notice with such a lengthy
epigraph - but the above sentiments
are apt and reflect the writer's views
on the influence of Professor Kelly on
the legal life of Ireland. His
posthumous power, allied to the
present intellectual power of
Gerard
Hogan
and
Gerry Whvte,
are'reflected
in
The Irish Constitution
and will
influence generations of Irish lawyers.
Professor
RFV Heuston
writes fondly of
Professor Kelly in a foreword to the
book.
Gerard Hogan
and
Gerry Whyte,
the authors, in their preface write of the
explosion of constitutional litigation in
the last 13 years since the main part of
the preface to the first edition was
published in February 1990. The authors
write that respect for precedent and
earlier authority had been weakened in
the intervening 13 years. They state that
not only has the overruling of settled
doctrine become more frequent but there
is an increasing inconsistency of
approach and results as between major
constitutional decisions. I remind the
authors, however, of the words of Justice
Cardozo in
The Growth of The
Law
(1924).
"In our worship of certainty, we
must distinguish between the sound
certainty and the sham, between
what is gold and what is tinsel; and
then when certainty is attained, we
must remember that it is not the
only good; that we can buy it at too
high a price; that there is danger in
perpetual quiescence as well as in
perpetual motion, and that a
compromise must be found in a
principle of growth".
The authors will agree with the writer
that over emphasis on certainty "may
carry us to the worship of an
308
intolerable rigidity". Our judges
produce an immense amount of
written judgments:
The Irish Reports
f<jr a single year are now divided into
two volumes. The fecundity of our
judges in the context of case law
brings its own problems.
The authors have endeavoured to
remain faithful to the format and layout
used by Professor Kelly in the earlier
editions and supplements with two
exceptions. They now treat of
constitutional interpretation as a
separate and distinct topic in an
introductory chapter other than as an
aspect of Article 34.3.2. which is indeed
appropriate. Secondly, considerations of
expense have compelled the authors to
replace the distinctive marginal notes of
previous editions with sub-headings in
the body of the page.
I am conscious of Euripides,
(Iphigenia at Aulis).
"How can I praise thee, and not
overpraise,
And yet not mar the grace by stint
thereof?"
The Irish Constitution,
is an
encyclopaedic compendium, an
indispensable source of reference and
opens gateways to interpretations of
the Irish Constitution. A simple
recommendation - if you are
interested in the law, buy it.
Dr. Eamonn G. Hall
•
I R I S H
D O C U M E N T
E X C H A N G E
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Alternative
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Street,
Dublin 2
Tel 01 676 4601 Fax 01 676 7093
DX I Dublin
Event Di ary -
Oc t obe r /November
Law Society Council Meeting
28 October, Law Society
Parchment Ceremony
28 October, Law Society
Family Law Seminar
16 November, 2.00 - 4.00 p.m.
Blackhall Place
Contact: Erin Barry at the Law Society
Tel: 01 671 0711
Technology Committee Seminar
18 November
Presidents' Hall, Blackhall Place
(See page 301 for details)
Meeting of Presidents & Secretaries
of Bar Associations
24 November, 11.30 a.m.
Presidents' Hall, Law Society
Annual General Meeting of the
Society
24 November, 6.30 p.m.
Presidents' Hall, Law Society.
CLE Courses
Practical Medicine for Lawyers
13 October, 2 . 3 0 - 5 . 30 p.m.
Blackhall Place
Advising the Client in Custody
20 October, 6.30 - 8.30 p.m.
Blackhall Place
Administration of Estates
26 October, 2.00 - 6.00 p.m.
Blackhall Place
Residential Advocacy Course
4 -6 November
Bellinter House, Navan, Co. Meath
Contact for CLE bookings:
Emma
Shanley, Law Society
Tel: 01 671 0200.
Planning Law - A Review of Recent
Developments
(Local Government (Planning &
Development) Regulations 1994)
11 November, 6.30 - 8.30 p.m.
Blackhall Place
Building Contracts & Disputes
23 November, 2.00 - 6.00 p.m.
Blackhall Place
•