108 / 462
g a z e t t e
april
1991
The author states in his preface
that he seeks to increase our delight
in words, especially those in dis-
cussing public affairs.
Wore/gloss
(a
dictionary of words concepts and
ideas) consists of words drawn
from a number of sub-sets. One
such sub-set is of key political
concepts such as democracy.
Another consists of key insti-
tutions, such as the Constitution,
the President, the Taoiseach, the
Cabinet, the Dáil and the Seanad.
Another consists of legal terms
such as law, Act, crime, injunction,
jury, and statute. There are also
sub - se ts
of
ph i l osoph i ca l,
economic, social and historical
terms. A sub-set of Latin ex-
pressions such as
in camera, de
facto,
and
ultra vires,
are also
explained.
Jonathan Sw i ft (1667-1745)
wrote that lawyers were "a society
of men bred from their youth in the
art of proving by words multiplied
for the purpose that white is black
and black is white according as
they are paid". The reader should
comfort himself or herself with the
knowledge that lawyers are more
honest today in their use of
language.
Jim O'Donnell has given us a rich
treasury.
Wordgloss
contains a
treasure house of words arranged
according to ideas and meaning.
Wordgloss
cannot fail to improve
our knowledge of English.
Eamonn G. Hall
ROAD TRAFFIC LAW IN THE
REPUBLIC OF IRELAND
By Robert R. Pierse.
[Butterworth (Ireland) Ltd, 1989
Ivl + 403 pp £29.50, hardback.]
In the words of the author " t h is
book a t t emp ts w i t h in narrow
confines to state and outline the
present law on Road Traffic in the
Republic of Ireland." As Mr. Justice
Johnson says in his Foreward " a
great deal of well ordered industry
has gone into the production of this
book". There are 387 pages of text
dealing methodically w i th the
myriad of legislation, including
statutory instruments and bye
laws, governing this topic.
It must be said that so far as this
reviewer could establish no topic,
ranging from lost property in street
serviced vehicles to tachographs,
has been omitted. The chapter
topics are as logically ordered as
t hey are comp r ehens i ve and
Mr. Pierse has limited himself
strictly to road traffic law and has
not been tempted to meander
into the wider issues, such as
those relating to the initiation of
proceedings and the validity of
summonses or charge sheets.
The c ommen t a ry is largely
factual rather than discursive and
the author seldom attempts to
distinguish court decisions in any
great detail.
It is clear that both Mr. Pierse and
the publishers see the book as
primarily a reference work. Indeed
the author declares " I t is hoped
that the busy lawyer, administrator
or Garda searching for a reference
may be helped by this one". It is
unfortunate then that in this area
the undoubted hard work of the
author is let down by the quality of
the referencing. It is perhaps not
surprising in an extensive work that
mi s t akes shou ld arise. It is
nevertheless frustrating for the
busy practitioner to discover that
references are not dependable.
Several mistakes were found by
this reviewer within the index.
Discussion w i th colleagues has
revealed that some of the case
r e f e r ences have also
been
incorrect. No doubt a second
edition will allow the author and
publishers the time necessary
to check and eliminate these
errors.
In keeping w i th the author's
object to produce a practical and
consolidated guide, a most useful
20 page g l ossa ry of wo r ds
and phrases, which have been
defined either legislatively or
judicially, is provided at the end of
the text.
There is no doubt t hat a
practitioner will find in this book a
most useful digest of source
material even while we await a
more thoroughly proofed second
edition.
DAIRE MURPHY
BREHONS SERJEANTS &
ATTORNIES
- D Hogan & W N
Osborough Editors - the Irish
Legal
H i s t o ry
Soc i e t y / I r i sh
Academic Press 1990.
This first major publication of the
Irish Legal History Society is a
fascinating compendium of articles
on a wide range of topics ranging
from "Lawyers in Early Ireland"
through "Conversions among the
Legal Profession in Ireland in the
18th Century" and "Vacancies for
their Friends Judicial Appointments
in Ireland 1866/1867" to " The
Lawyers of the Irish Novels of
Anthony Trollope". Truly there is
something in this book for every-
one. It is eminently suited to
"dipping in". Even though the level
of all of the articles is of high
academic standing fortunately this
does not mean that they are
unreadable. The Irish Legal History
Society is to be commended on
publishing this work.
Membership of the Society is
available at subscription rates of
£30 for individual members and
£15 for student members. Mem-
bers are entitled to copies of each
of the Society's publications as
part of t he ir
subs c r i p t i on.
Subscriptions may be made to the
Secretary of the Irish Legal History
Society, School of Law, Trinity
College, Dublin 2.
•
JOHN BUCKLEY
THE INCORPORATED LAW
SOCIETY OF IRELAND
EDUCATION DEPT.
has
installed a
FAX Machine
The number is
710064
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