KILDARE JUDGE HONOURED

Leinster Leader 14 June 1947

KILDARE JUDGE HONOURED

Celbridge Celebration

 The newly appointed Judge Art O’Connor was made a presentation recently by the members of the Celbridge Parish Council at a dinner held in Celbridge. The presentation was made by Major E. M. Connolly, who stated that it had been a great pleasure and honour to him to be asked to make the presentation and especially from the Parish Council because Judge O’Connor had been the moving spirit of that body.

Continuing Major Connolly said – “A wonderful honour has been bestowed on him. I do not think it may ever occur again that we will see one of our members get such an honour. No one in Ireland deserves it more than Judge O’Connor. I have to thank the Parish Council here for getting to know my friends. If the Council did nothing more than gain for me the friendship of Judge O’Connor, then in my estimation, it did well. I have always known Judge O’Connor to be a hard worker and a very straight and upright man. You could not have a man better qualified to be a Judge than he.

“We have had quite a number of distinguished Irishmen in this district. I can go back to the Geraldines. There was, too, Lord Edward Fitzgerald, whose wife was Louise Connolly, and before that there was my ancestor – Peter Connolly – who was not only the most prominent man of his day, but was known as a most liberal and generous neighbour. Then there was Sir Peter O’Brien. I mention him because he was in the legal profession. In presenting this small gift I wish to say that it carries with it an appreciation of all you have done for us, and may you live long and die happily.”

Friendship with Judge

Very Rev. Canon Hickey said – “I have left this place for some years now, but I have still kept up my friendship with Judge O’Connor. I am very thankful to the members of the Parish Council to have invited me here to join with them in their patronage to Judge O’Connor. We soldiered together in the athletic field, going to Thurles year after year. The Judge was always kind enough to provide a car and drive it himself on these occasions. I am very pleased to he here this evening, and I think that if the Archbishop had given me a night in which to make a choice at the time when he called me to Drumcondra, my choice would have been that I should be allowed remain here in Celbridge. I do not wish to say that I am in any way discontented now, but it gives me great pleasure to come here this evening and meet all the old friends. I see around me the faces I remember so well, and most of them have not got a bit thinner. It is a great thing to see here men of different creeds and politics. I like to see unity of all people, and on this occasion we are together to give honour to a man who is worthy of our honour, and in speaking at this presentation to the Judge I wish to join in what Major Connolly has said. Major Connolly, of course, has always shown much kindness to the priests of Celbridge. Indeed we owe much to him, and also to some of our neighbours from Straffan – I must not forget the Straffan people – for many kindnesses and acts of generosity to us. Here I would like to mention that I have a great liking for the Straffan people, and had I been allowed to remain in Celbridge for the remainder of my life, I would have asked the request to be buried in Straffan. Again I would like to say how thankful I am to the Committee for bringing me here, and to Judge O’Connor I wish, in the words of the Major, long life and happiness.”

Work for Parish Council

Rev. Mr. Elliot said – “I suppose I represent the younger generation and I am acquainted with Judge O’Connor for a shorter time than anyone else present, but for that short period I can underline what Major Connolly and Canon Hickey have already said of him. Certainly, our work here with the Parish Council did not always go easily, but Judge O’Connor never seemed to get ruffled or tussled. No matter what obstacle cropped up he faced it with a smile. It is a very good thing to be “in” with a Judge, but, unfortunately, we will now have to go to Cork before we can make use of it. Perhaps, even when we are faced with problems in the future we may still call on Judge O’Connor for advice. The honour which has been conferred on Judge O’Connor is an honour not only to himself and his family, but to Celbridge as a whole. It is an honour which we all fully realise. I will join again with what has already been said and wish Judge O’Connor many years of higher office ahead.”

Judge’s Thanks

Judge O’Connor replying said – “I am supposed by reason of my trade and occupation, to find speaking easy, but I must confess that this is an occasion which rather stumbles me. There is an old saying regarded as so true that it is seldom taken exception to. That is that no man is a prophet in his own country, but it would seem from this gathering here to-night, and from what has been said of me, that I am a prophet in Celbridge – believing the old adage.”

High Office

“I need hardly say how thankful I am for what you have all done for me, and also for the over generous things that have been said about me by members of the Council. I realise that I have been called to a very high and important office, and I realise that it is not a mere personal honour, but an honour to my friends here in Celbridge, because, after all, I am of Celbridge; was bred, born and reared in Celbridge; lived in it all my life, residing in Elm Hall; I have always had a desire for side lines, and I think it is a good thing for everybody not to be altogether immersed in the mere job of living; to have other little interests to which one can turn when he feels tired of his job. Formerly, I earned my living as an engineer – a poor one perhaps. It did not seem likely to me that I could continue in this living and so I turned to the law – perhaps not wanting to – perhaps not liking it. I remember once, when in a friend’s house, opening a book on law. I looked through it and after reading a few pages I thought: “I wonder how the Barristers could ever to through this.” With that I closed the book. Inside two years I had begun to read that self-same book and to study it, I had actually handed in my name as a student of King’s Inn and I began a study of language. At first I thought I would never be able to understand the things I was studying. Down through the years I have been working in the closest relationship with my fellow members of the bar, and, despite what the world says of Barristers, I must say that you find many hearts of gold amongst them. It is unknown the kindnesses they do for the public as well as for one another. I know that they are looked upon as mere adventurers, but they are nothing of the kind. However, I will say no more about them, because I think they would prefer that their good deeds be left unknown. I still retain my wonderful love for maps and houses and plans. At home I have set squares, T-squares, planometers and all drawing instruments. Whenever I get fed up with law I will draw, and draw, and draw – not for profit but for amusement. One thing I used [to] love to do was select the land for tillage. I would be able to tell to the fraction of a perch the amount of land planted with turnips, mangolds, etc. This then would enable me to give information of the very highest character to the members of the Gardai who called around on census duty. I have another interest, and that is in games – particularly our own games and it was with the greatest of pleasure that my friend, Canon Hickey, and myself set off on our journeys to Thurles.”

The Language

“Another interest I have preserved is my interest in language. I have held this interest done through all the years. In the new position in which I am now placed, I am afraid I will be very much away from Celbridge. It is a long distance from Celbridge to Cork. It is said that people who come to Dublin from Cork do not like to leave it. I think the reverse is taking place with me. I am getting fond of Cork. And, of course, I hope to evangelise the Cork people. Even as they hope to get us in on their accents when they come to our district, it is my intention to get them to adopt the flat Kildare accent.

“I am afraid that in the future, for the most part, I will be will-nilly kept away from the Parish Council. I do not know how much I will be able to take part in public affairs. I know that in politics and other such public matters I am debarred from taking part, but it may be that there may not be any obstacle to my remaining a member of the Parish Council. Indeed, I hope there will be no such obstacle. My reason for saying this is that it has always been a dream of mine that a lot could be done for this town of ours, and one of my dreams is that a social centre be available for every member of the parish – rich and poor – where people could foregather at very little expense to themselves, because I feel that if poor people could have the advantage of seeing plays, concerts etc., and have their problems discussed by people more knowledgeable than themselves, it would be a benefit to the whole parish. It is my dream that we may be able to get a suitable site, and having got that, to build, not perhaps all at once but according to plan; and in that plan to provide a suitable hall in which concerts and theatrical plays could be held from time to time, with committee rooms where different organisations could meet together to discuss their problems without hindrance; also with reading rooms etc., and that the whole thing could be organised in such a way that it would not be necessary to say to anybody: “You can not enter here except you pay your sixpence.” This is my dream, and I think it can be made more than a dream, not that the emergency is over. It has been done in other places – poorer than here, and all that is necessary in my opinion is the will to achieve. One of the things I learn about the Parish Council here to-night is that I get all the credit, and I do not deserve it. I have always noticed in the members of this Council the refusal to acknowledge defeat. We have experienced difficulties and failures – abstract failures. We have found errors, which would have caused us very serious upsets, but we decided to rise superior to these failures and we decided to keep carrying on. We were not able to do so much, but, at least, all the time we were preventing the people from being overcharged. I now have to go to Cork and I know I will like it there. Whether it will like me I do not know. I have never curried favour, but I have always tried to please everybody and always will. I think it is best for a man to have an outlook of his own. I do not think that knowledge of the law is very much required to be a judge. If a man has an outlook of his own and good common sense he would probably suit to be a judge. The number of cases in which knowledge of the law arises are very few. If a man has the patience to sit down quietly listen to both sides, and think things out for himself he will be able to give a proper decision.”

Expressions of Goodwill

“I am greatly heartened in the difficult and new position in which I now find myself by all the expressions of goodwill I have received from every quarter, but I am more than heartened by the goodwill that is expressed by my own neighbours. I am afraid I have spoken longer than I had expected, and I cannot say how deeply grateful I am to the Parish Council for the great honour they have done me by inviting me to be their guest this evening. I have this beautiful presentation they have made me, and it will always be a recollection to me of friends I have made here in the Parish Council. Normally, in court, the judge will not have to use a pen, but he does use one when he goes to make the various orders in connection with the court and to pay cheques, he will need to use the pen. Every time that I use this one, I will be thinking of what a great thing in a way the emergency was because it brought me into contact with you all. If it were not for the emergency I might never have had this opportunity. Every time I take up this pen to use it I will think of Celbridge that is 150 miles away and I will always think well of my own home and friends.”