The Gazette 1967/71

547 / 736

MISCELLANEOUS LEGAL NEWS
NEWS OF THE MONTH
We were sorry to learn of the death of two
eminent parliamentarians recently. Senator Owen
Sheehy Skeffington, Reader in French, Trinity
College, must be remembered by his transparent
honesty and his undoubted sincerity in espousing
unpopular causes; his charm overcame any oppo
sition that his somewhat unorthodox views might
sometimes provoke.
Patrick O'Donnell, one of our recent past presi
dents, was at all times genial and his ease of
manner and quiet efficiency had unavoidably
ensured that he had built up a magnificent prac
tice extending from Sligo to Malin Hea
declined to indulge in personalities in the ,
and was consequently immensely popular
all.
To their relatives, we extend our sincere
sympathy.
Amongst the forty who attended the third
course on Law Librarianship organised by the
International Association of Law Libraries, in
Heidelberg from 7 to 10 September 1970, was
Mr. Gavan Duffy. This very thorough course
covering the legal bibliography of Germany, Aus
tria, and Switzerland was directed by Dr. Steiner,
librarian of the Max Plank Institute for Compara
tive Public Law and International Law, Heidel
berg, and given by experts in German. A visit was
paid to the premises of the German Supreme
Court and of the German Constitutional Court
in Karlsruhe.
An international Legal Conference on the
Expansion of the European Communities was
held under the auspices of the British Institute
of International and Comparative Law in the
Royal Hibernian Hotel, Dublin, from 2 to 4
October 1970. Great praise is due to the organ
ising committee, who not only attracted nearly
200 eminent legal experts from the six Common
Market countries, as well as from the four Appli
cant Countries (Britain, Denmark, Ireland and
Norway), but also from the Common Market
headquarters in Brussels. The social functions
included a reception in Iveas;h House, given bv
the Minister for Justice, a dinner in the King';
Inns given jointly by our Society and the Bai
Council, and a banquet given by the British Insti­
tute at the Hibernian Hotel, at which Lord
Denning, in proposing the toast of "Our Guests",
and the Chief Justice, in replying thereto, made
memorable speeches.
LEGAL AID AND THE BAR
At a general meeting held on 13 February 1970
the Bar resolved to withdraw from the State legal
aid scheme. In pursuance of that resolution all
except two members have had their names re
moved from the list kept by the Minister. As a
corollary to that resolution, it was ruled that no
counsel might accept instructions from a solicitor
who had been assigned under the Department's
scheme. In order to alleviate hardship, the Bar
Council ruled on 19 March 1970 that where an
accused person was held in custody counsel might
accept instructions from a solicitor assigned under
the Department's scheme.
The position in relation to the Department's
legal aid scheme is therefore that no counsel may
act for a person granted aid under that scheme
unless that person is in custody.
At the time of the withdrawal from the Depart
ment's scheme, the Bar decided to operate its own
free legal aid service. A panel of twenty senior
counsel and forty-six juniors is in existence of
counsel who are prepared to offer their services
to impecunious accused persons without fee, pro
vided that person has not been assigned aid under
the Department's scheme. The list of names of
those on the panel has been supplied to the
Secretary of the Incorporated Law Society of
Ireland.
In order that the burden of operating this free
scheme may be fairly distributed, applications
for counsel to be assigned from the panel should
be made to : G. D. Coyle, Secretary, Bar Council,
Law Library, Four Courts, Dublin 7. Applications
should state the nature of the case, and, if known,
the venue of hearing and the likely duration.
CORRESPONDENCE
A Career at the Bar
Sir—Members of the Society have read with
amazement the 'Guide to Careers' which appeared
in your edition of July 8. The part dealing with
the work and earnings of an Irish barrister is, in
our belief, so incomplete and inaccurate that it
must grossly mislead any young person contem
plating entering the profession. To redress the