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44
The Gazette of the Incorporated Law Society of Ireland
[April, 1942
He was a great friend of the apprentices.
He seemed to understand them and fought
their battles before the Council and nearly
always with success. On one occasion he
went so far as to give an undertaking to the
Council on their behalf, and he was proud to
record his faith in them was fully justified.
His record as Secretary, in such a respon
sible position, must be unique.
He had
served over fifty-three years, so that the
hundred years' existence of the Society is
spanned by three Secretaries :
Edward lies,
1841-1864 ;
John Hawksley Goddard, 1864-
1888; William George Wakely, 1888-1942.
A deeply religious man, he took a great
interest in charitable and philantrophic work
of various kinds. He was a member of the
Church of Ireland and served on the general
Synod, and the Dublin Synod, and for a very
considerable time was a diocesan nominator.
, He was a trustee and a metropolitan director
of the Solicitors' Benevolent Association,
and served for many years on the boards of
the Molyneux Asylum (Leeson Park), of the
Mageogh Home and also of
the King's
Hospital. He was a life governor of the
Royal Hospital for Incurables.
In private life, he was very devoted to his
wife and family. His wife, Elinor, daughter
of Charles Thompson of Dublin, died in 1933,
and her death and that of his daughter, Mrs.
Rathborne, which occurred very shortly
prior, were to him grievous blows. He is
survived by his son, His Honour Ion G-
Wakely (Colonial Service) and two daughters,
Mrs. CaldBeck and Mrs. Johnson.
Every member of the profession feels he
has lost a dear friend. As the President said,
he left no enemies behind him. To the Council
his loss is irreparable.
To the members of the family, the Council,
in its resolution, tenders its sincere and most
heart-felt sympathy.
We quote the following extract from the
" Irish Times " of 27th March, 1942 :-—
" We regret to announce the death, which
" took place at his residence, Temple Gardens,
" Rathmines, yesterday, of Mr. William
" George Wakely, Secretary of the Incorpora-
" ted Law Society of Ireland. Son of the late
" John Wakely, D.L., and brother of Judge
" Wakely, he qualified as a Solicitor in 1887,
" and shortly afterwards, at the early age of
" twenty-three, was appointed Secretary of
" the Incorporated Law Society of Ireland, a
" post he held for fifty-four years until his
" death. A man of frail physique and retiring
" disposition, it was wonderful that for so
" long he carried with such distinction so
" onerous a duty ; but, as two generations of
" solicitors have proclaimed, there was no
" man more untiring or unselfish in his
" devotion to his work. He had out of his
" ripe experience a remarkable knowledge of
" the rules, regulations and conditions of the
" Solicitors' profession and on all matters
" was a walking encyclopaedia, never having
" to refer to a text or other reference book for
" any point on which he was consulted.
'' The calls on him in this regard were many,
" and he acted as Counsellor, guide and
" friend for all who sought his advice. Apart
" from the Incorporated Law Society, he
" took a keen and active interest in the
" Solicitors' Benevolent Fund, and never
" missed a Meeting, or neglected an oppor-
" tunity to further its interests.
" Mr. Wakely had seen the destruction of
" his office in the Four Courts, but here again
" he had sensed such a happening and had
" arranged for the removal of all his precious
" records to a place of safety, so that he was
" able to carry on the affairs of the Society
" without interruption. As more than one
" occupant of the office of President of The
" Incorporated Law Society stated in his
" Annual Report, they could never have
" managed without William George Wakely.
" His death will mean a heavy loss to the
" Society and to all its members. The warm
" regard in which he was held was demon-
" strated in practical manner, when on the
" occasion of his jubilee in the profession
" every Solicitor throughout the length and
" breadth of Ireland was associated with the
" presentation. He had seen the setting-up
" of two States in Ireland, and had given his
" advice, freely taken, in the setting up of
" the Solicitors' Society in Northern Ireland.
" There, as in the rest of the Country, he
" counted many warm friends. The deepest
" sympathy will go out to his daughters and
" son in the bereavement."