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Annual General Meeting
The President, Mr. Peter Prentice, took the Chair
at 2.30 p.m. on Thursday, 28th November, 1974 in the
Library of Solicitors Buildings, Four Courts.
The notice convening the meeting and the minutes
of the ordinary general meeting held in Enniá in May,
1974 were read, and they were subsequently signed.
The President then requested that the accounts and
balance sheets for 1973-74 be adopted. The motion
"That the accounts be adopted" was formally proposed
by Mr. Gerald Hickey and seconded by Mr. Nash. .In
reply to Mr. Crivon, the President stated that they had
not taken any conveyance of the Blackhall Place prem-
ises. Originally, the Vendors, the King's Hospital were
a chartered body with perpetual succession who had no
powers to convey, but this was remedied in the Charities
Act 1973. In any event, they would eventually acquire
squatter's rights by remaining in possession for 12 years.
Mr. John Carrigan then proposed, and Mr. Joseph
Dundon seconded the motion that Messrs. Cooper &
Lybrand be appointed Auditors for the coming year.
BALLOT FOR THE COUNCIL 1974/75
REPORT OF THE SCRUTINEERS
A meeting of the scrutineers appointed at the Ordin-
ary General Meeting of the Society held in May, 1974
together with the ex-officio scrutineers was held in
October, 1974 at 1 o'clock. Nominations for ordinary
membership of the Council were received from 40
•candidates all of which were declared valid and the
scrutineers directed that their names be placed on the
ballot paper.
The following candidates were duly nominated as
provincial delegates in accordance with bye-law 29 (a)
of the Society and were returned unopposed.
Ulster — Vacant.
Munster — Dermot G. O'Donovan.
Leinster — Christopher Hogan.
Connaught — Patrick J. McEllin.
A meeting of the scrutineers was held on Thursday,
21st November, 1974 at ?? o'clock. The poll was con-
ducted from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. and the scrutiny was
subsequently held. The result of the ballot was as
follows:-
775 envelopes containing ballot papers were received
from members.
The valid poll was 773.
The following candidates received the number of
votes placed after their name and were elected:
Mrs. Moya Quinlan 530; Patrick C. Moore 526,
William A. Osborne 524, John Carrigan 515, Walter
Beatty 511, Anthony Collins 511, Peter D. M. Prentice
505, Bruce St. J. Blake 505, Patrick Noonan 505,
Francis J. Lanigan 489, John Maher 473, Thomas D.
Shaw 468, Joseph L. Dundon 456, Brendan McGrath
451, Peter E. O'Connell 449, Patrick F. CDonnell 445,
John J. Nash 439, William B. Allen .435, Robert McD.
Taylor 430, Gerald Hickey 430, Laurence Cullen 426,
Michael P. Houlihan 425, Maurice Curran 413, James
W. O'Donovan 403, Gerard M. Doyle 400, Thomas
V. O'Connor 389, Ralph J. Walker 387, Ernest J.
Margetson 381, John B. Jermyn 377, David R. Pigot
365, William D. McEvoy 359.
The foregoing candidates were returned as ordinary
members of the Council for the year 1974/75. The
following members also received the number of votes
placed after their names:- Raymond T. Monaghan,
332; Edward P. King, 307; Richard J. Black, 293;
Brian J. O'Connor, 262; Patrick J. Bergin, 250; Patrick
H. O'Doherty, 247; Nathaniel Lacy, nomination with-
drawn; Raymond V. H. Downey, 189; James F.
Kent, 159. The President declared the result of the
ballot in accordance with the Scrutineer's Report.
Report of the Council
The President stated that they had digressed from
previous reports, and had decided to publish it in the
Gazette. The cost of printing a separate Annual Report
would have been £400. This year each Report had
been prepared by the Chairman of the Committee in-
stead of by the Secretary, as formerly. As regards his
own Report, the President wished to add that he had
been entertained by the Young Solicitors Society at
their Autumn Seminar in Waterford, and that, for the
first time, he was invited, as President, with his English
and Scottish colleagues, to the Annual Dinner of the
Incorporated Law Society of Northern Ireland; he had
also attended the Annual General Meeting and a
Council Meeting of that Society and had met Sir
Robert Lowry, the Lord Chief Justice.
The motion "That the Report of the Council for
1973/74 be adopted" was moved by the President and
seconded by Mr. William A. Osborne.
The report of each Committee was then considered
separately. The adpotion of the Report of the
Regist-
rar
's
Committee
was proposed by Mr. Gerard Doyle
and seconded by Mr. James F. Kent. Mr. Doyle stated
that his Committee had to take decisions of serious
import, but that nevertheless an opportunity was given
to defaulting solicitors to seek help and put forward
their difficulties. The lack of staff in smaller firms
occasionally led to dire results. The Report was duly
passed.
The adoption of the Report of the
Compensation
Fund
which was said to be in a healthy state, was
moved by Mr. Gerard Doyle, seconded by Mr. John
F. Buckley and adopted unanimously.
The adoption of the Report of the
Privileges Com-
mittee
was moved by Mr. Michael Houlihan, and
seconded by Mr. John Carrigan. Mr. Houlihan stressed
that in general, members did not realise the essential
import of undertakings given by them, and that they
would have to be reminded from time to time about
this in the Gazette. Normally insufficient information
was given when problems were presented.
Mr. Quentin Crivon
asked whether there was any
prospect of Professional Indemnity Insurance being
made compulsory. The Director General stated that
an investigation had been undertaken, but that the
insurance market was not interested in this proposal.
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