Law Week: TYs visit the Criminal Courts of Justice and 2-day Law Workshop

At the start of TY one of the activities I was looking forward to most was Law Week because I feel it is generally a topic that is left untouched when it comes to secondary school education. In this blog I will discuss the activities which took place during Law Week.

On Monday the 20th February James Fahey, a Galway barrister, came to Stratford to carry out a workshop about Law. This workshop took place over both Monday and Tuesday, with the Monday having a greater emphasis on civil matters. We looked at the types of courts in Ireland and as well the role of barristers and solicitors in Ireland. We learnt that like Britain, Ireland has two types of lawyers, a system generally only used in countries which were formally in the British Empire.

As we neared the end of the day we began a mock set of negotiations between two companies who both needed a plant to develop their product. Four of us were picked as representatives of the companies and we had to try and get the best possible deal for our company. On the second day the primary focus was on crime. We learnt about the courts used in criminal affairs and the types of sentences one can receive. The day then concluded with a mock trial with everybody having a different role to carry out.

On Wednesday, 22nd February we were brought to the Criminal Courts of Justice where we had the opportunity to sit in on various in session courts. I was surprised to discover that many cases were postponed due to key personnel being absent. However we did also get to sit in ona case dealing with an assault in a bar. After this we got to participate in another mock trial with this one being in a vacant court room.

Overall it was a great experience to obtain important information about law in Ireland which otherwise we may not have learnt about.

Tim Murphy (TY)