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GAZETTE
M
W
H
DECEMBER 1993
Wi l l iam O'Rei l ly
Dymphna and the late William O'Reilly, who were guests at the Society's
Annual Conference in May, 1993.
Awards" reported a warning from the
Law Society that limiting the level of
claims compensation would be unjust,
unworkable and unconstitutional. The
article quoted a Law Society
spokeswoman as saying that the
Minister was trying to tackle the
problem from the wrong end and
arguing that the onus was on the
Minister to show that capping awards
would lead to a cut in insurance
premiums.
Mike Kemp
of the
Insurance Industry Federation was
quoted as saying that the likely impact
on insurance premiums of a cap on
awards was difficult to quantify. In
the Evening Herald of 16 November,
1993,
Kerry McCarthy
wrote a feature
article entitled "Staking Claims in the
Great Compo Goldrush" which
reported on the IBEC survey and the
increase in the cost of medical
insurance cover for hospital
consultants. "There is no doubt that
Ireland is in the grip of compo fever,"
he said. The article reported that
Seamus Brennan's proposal was being
"fiercely resisted" by the Incorporated
Law Society. Kerry McCarthy
commented that it might also be
necessary to consider curbing
solicitors' advertising and their
practice of free consultations which
were seen as fostering the 'compo'
culture.
The Law Society issued a detailed
statement on 18 November rebutting
the IBEC case. The Dublin city
edition of the
Irish Independent
of 19
November, 1993, reported this, saying
that the Law Society had accused
IBEC of using scare tactics to deter
employees injured at work from
taking civil legal action. The Law
Society's statement pointed out that
the IBEC study showed in fact that the
frequency of claims was decreasing,
not increasing, and said that it was
outrageous of IBEC to suggest that
people who suffered injuries in the
workplace through no fault of their
own should not make a claim.
The Society's statement was also
covered in the
Irish Times
of Monday
22 November under the heading
"Workers' injury claims defended by
Law Society."
Barbara Cahalane
•
386
Willie
passed away on 20 November
1993 in his 90th year. To a great many
solicitors, particularly those who
qualified between 1946 and 1978
Willie and his wife
Dymphna
(to
everyone "Mrs. O.") were an integral
part of their student lives and their
memories of Solicitors' Buildings in
the Four Courts.
Sergeant William O'Reilly, a
Wexfordman, commenced his long
association with the Law Society in
1946 after retiring from the Irish Army
in which he had served since May
1922. During the War of
Independence, Willie had played his
part as a boy messenger for General
Sean MacEoin.
As part of his army service Willie
acted for many years as personal
bodyguard to General
Richard
Mulcahy,
then a TD and up to 1932 a
Government Minister. When Willie
applied for the position of resident
warden of Solicitors' Buildings he
received a rare written testimonial
from General Mulcahy who referred to
his "intimate and close relationship"
with Willie, which led to wry queries
from the interview board!
For 32 years Willie and Mrs. O'Reilly
were an essential part of the Society's
activities at Solicitors' Buildings. If
you wanted a consultation room Willie
was the man. But it was the O'Reillys'
association with the Solicitors
Apprentices' Debating Society that
endeared them to generations of
neophyte solicitors. The tea and
sandwiches downstairs in the O'Reilly
drawing room were as important as the
debates upstairs in the library.
Willie's formal retirement in 1978
coincided with the Society's move to
Blackhall Place. But the O'Reilly
association with the Society continued,
and still continues, through Mrs.
O'Reilly, particularly in her attentive
care of the overnight guests who stay
at the Blackhall Place premises.
On his retirement, as a small mark of
the Society's appreciation, Willie was
conferred by the then President,
Gerry
Mickey
, with honorary life membership
of The Law Club of Ireland.
Willie's death, despite its sadness,
brings with it for those of us older in
vintage, the joy of recall of light-
hearted student days long past. To a
smaller, more privileged coterie there
is the added bonus of recollection of
late nights and early mornings
(whether in the Four Courts or at SYS
Seminar weekends) around the poker
table. If degrees were conferred for
that particular nefarious activity Willie
would have been a PhD. If Willie has
the 'deck' up there St. Peter had better
watch his 'pence'.
To Mrs. O'Reilly, son
Brian,
Solicitor, daughter-in-law,
Jacinta,
grandchildren, brother and other
relatives, we offer our sincere
sympathy on the death of a man who
was, most of all, a friend to us all.
•
MVO'M