184 / 216
THE PRESIDENT'S ADDRESS TO THE
STUDENTS
BEFORE announcing the results of the Society's
Examinations, held in October, 1943, the Presi
dent addressed the apprentices and intending
apprentices in the Hall of the Society as follows :—
To-day it is my duty to announce to you the
results of the recent Preliminary, Intermediate
and Final Examinations.,
together with
the
results of the First and Second Examinations in
Irish. As I pointed out on the last occasion,
Universities have their ceremonies for conferring
of degrees. The members of the Bar are called
in Court by the Chief Justice, but in our depart
ment of the Legal profession, there is no ceremony
or formality on admission. Personally, I am a
believer in some ceremony in which the President
of the Society can formally welcome to the ranks
of the Profession, those who have been successful
in their Final Examination and that he can then
give them words of encouragement and hope for
their future careers.
To-day I have again to congratulate all those
who have been successful
in the Preliminary
Examination. To them and also to those appren
tices who have not been under the obligation of
presenting themselves for the Preliminary Exami
nation but who are at the commencement of their
apprenticeship, I desire, on behalf of the members
of the Council of this Society, to wish them every
success in their work and in their study, and to
express the hope that they will realise that their
future will depend on the manner in which they
prepare themselves, during their years of ap
prenticeship and legal training. They should be
particularly careful to gain all the legal experience
in practice that they possibly can, in whatever
office they may be apprenticed ;
and those who
are apprenticed outside the city, should, when
they are in Dublin for Lectures, be regular in
their attendance in the Town Agent's Office and
take advantage of all the extra training in the
practice of work in the High Court, that they
can possibly obtain. Perhaps it may seem rather
strange to add that there should be introduced
among our students a greater discipline and a
greater desire to appreciate the necessities of the
care and of the attention that they must give
to their work when they are admitted to our
Profession, and that they can f>nly obtain the
necessary training for that care and attention by
regular and punctual atten
dance, at the'lectures
given them by the Society a.nd the exercise by
them of restraint and discipline at these lectures.
Those who are attending lectures at the Uni
versity should be most regular in their attendance
and attentive to the subjects of the lectures.
To all who have passed the Intermediate
Examination I also extend hearty congratulations
and I would urge those successful candidates,
now that they have passed the first stage in their
training, that'they should give greater attention
to the work that they are doing in their offices
and to the study of the subjects that are laid
before them in the course for the Final. We feel
that our apprentices should make every possible
effort to equip themselves to the utmost both in
their legal training and their practical work.
Again, to the students who are entering on
their apprenticeship and to those who have just
passed their Intermediate Examination, may I
recommend that everyone of them should become
a Member of the Solicitors' Apprentices' Debating
Society and benefit by the ample opportunities
that the Society affords to its members to become
experienced in public speaking and debates. They
will also benefit by the social activities of the
Society. From the membership of this Society,
they will gain the self-confidence that they will
require when they are qualified and when they
must attend Court on behalf of the clients who
will be theirs in the future.
I would also urge upon them to endeavour to •
acquire such an excellent knowledge of theory and
of practice that our future examinations will
disclose results far more excellent than any that
have been won by brilliant students of the past.
I am especially pleased to be able to announce
medal awards
in the Preliminary and Final
Examinations, and the award of the Findlater
Scholarship for the first time since J937.
To those of you who are now waiting for the
results of the Final Examination, and who have
passed that examination, I desire to address a
few brief words of congratulation and encourage
ment. May I heartily congratulate all those who
have passed their Final examination. May I
wish to them, each and every one, a very brilliant
career in the profession which they have chosen
for their life work and may I hope that in the years
that lie ahead, the students who leave this Hall
to-day with the knowledge that they have passed
their Final examination will be determined to
carry 011 the traditions of many great members
of our profession who'have gone before them.
Let them realise that in their hands lies the
future of this profession and in their hands and
30