142 / 736
Four Courts. The following members were ap
pointed to the committee :
Peter D. M. Prentice,
Bruce St. J. Blake, P. C. Moore, Norman Spend-
love, Desmond Moran.
The question
of
suitable housing
for
the
Society's law school was also considered and several
suggestions as to alternative sites were considered.
A sub-committee of the finance committee of the
council is at present looking into the suitability of
suggested alternative sites and it is hoped that a
report will be available for the next council meet
ing-
Silver Jubilee
The President having taken the chair and before
the commencement of business the President drew
the Council's attention to the fact that his was
the twenty-fifth anniversary of the appointment
of Eric A. Plunkett to the position of Secretary of
the Society and the President said that a great
debt of gratitude was due by the Society to Mr.
Plunkett for his endeavours over the years. The
President also expressed his own personal grati
tude for the assistance which he had received
from the Secretary during his own year of office.
To mark the occasion and as a token of appre
ciation an inscribed silver plate was then pre
sented to the Secretary.
GENERAL MEETING
An ordinary general meeting was held in The
Library, Solicitors Buildings, Four Courts, Dublin,
on Thursday, 23rd May 1968. The President took
the chair at 2.30. The notice convening the meet
ing was by permission taken as read. The minutes
of the last ordinary general meeting held on 23rd
November 1967 were read, confirmed and signed.
The following were appointed as scrutineers of
the ballot for the Council for the year 1968-69 :
Alexander J. McDonald, Roderick J. Tierney,
Brendan P. McCormack, Thomas Jackson and
Laurence J. Branigan. The resignation of G. R.
McC. Blakeney on the grounds of ill health was
accepted. The Secretary was directed to convey to
Mr. Blakeney the Society's regret at his retirement.
The President addressing the meeting said :
THE MINISTER FOR JUSTICE
During the half year we have had the great pleasure
of seeing our colleague, Micheal 6 Morain appointed to
the post of Minister for Justice. Mr. O Morain will bring
to his office not only the experience of a very successful
Minister but also his experience as a practising solicitor.
There can be no doubt that under his guidance we can
look forward to the successful accomplishment of a pro
gramme of development of our legal system and mach
inery particularly on the practical side which will be (if
the highest public value. I should like to take this oppor
tunity of assuring
the Minister in public as
I have
already done privately that in the achievement of that
purpose he will have the full co-operation and support of
this profession collectively and individually.
It is my desire and I am sure it is yours that there
should be the most intimate and cordial co-operation in
all fields between the Minister and his Department on
one hand and this profession and the Council of the Law
Society on
the other. While co-operation being
the
opposite of contention and strife is always a good thing
this co-operation should be particularly fruitful because,
on the one hand, the Minister's Department have at
their disposal research facilities, statistical information
and highly trained and experienced personnel. The pro
fession on the other hand has a wide and intimate
practical knowledge of the working of the legal system
and the requirements of the people and the combination
of these two cannot but be beneficial.
INTERNATIONAL BAR ASSOCIATION
CONFERENCE
As, of course, you are aware the biennial meeting of
the International Bar Association will be held in Dublin
at Ballsbridge in July. I am sure you will agree with me
that it is a great honour for a small country like ours to
be chosen to provide a venue for so important an occa
sion. It will be attended by distinguished lawyers from
all over the world as far away as Australia, New Zealand,
South America, United States and almost all the coun
tries of western Europe. The President has very kindly
agreed to grace the opening of the conference with his
presence and U Thant, the Secretary of
the United
Nations, will address the general meeting. We feel this
to be a very great responsibility because we are repre
senting not only the lawyers of the country but the whole
country and its reputation and prestige are in our re
sponsibility. It is of the utmost importance, therefore,
that the conference should be run with the maximum of
efficiency and that the hospitality afforded should leave
nothing to be desired, either in its quality or warmth.
I am glad to say that since the conference was fixed the
Bar Council have applied for membership of the Inter
national Bar Association and we are now able to enjoy
the benefit of their valuable assistance and co-operation.
A special committee was established under the chairman
ship of Mr. John Carrigan and comprises members from
both within and outside the Council of the Society as
well as representatives of the Bar Council. There is also
a separate
ladies committee dealing with matters of
special interest to the ladies and this committee also has
representation on the general committee. Each member
of the general committee has a special responsibility for
some particular aspect of the conference. Mr. Plunkett,
as Secretary, has set up a special office to deal with the
business of the preparation. This work has been most
onorous and I cannot speak too highly of the whole
hearted way in which every member of the committee
has thrown himself into his allotted task without regard
for his own time or convenience.
Mr. Carrigan has been absolutely unsparing of his
time and energy and Mr. Plunkett as well as providing
the proficient office organisation which we
on
the
Council have come to take for granted has also been
unsparing of himself
in his unremitting attention
to
detail as well as making the most creative contributions
to
the work of
the committee. Thanks to the energy
and industry of
this committee preparations are well