Quidnunc has long been an admirer of the valiant efforts made by the denizens of the Law Library to service the various tribunals. Our best and brightest counsel are often seen straining every sinew scurrying from Flood to Moriarty, located at opposite ends of Dublin Castle.
The award for tribunal bi-location though must surely go to senior counsel Martin Hayden. Hayden has had the unenviable task of representing Ray Burke's builder chums Brennan and McGowan at the Flood tribunal for the past 18 months. But he is also one of two SCs engaged by the Irish Haemophilia Society at the Lindsay tribunal. Rushing from Flood to Blood would test the best but the legal eagle gets through the city traffic by trusty motorcycle.
Now even Hayden seems to be reaching the limits of his bi-location abilities. Last month, he asked Judge Alison Lindsay for an extra five weeks on behalf of the Society to deliver its final submission. Work aside, the legal team was occupied during the summer with "holiday commitments", he explained. This week he was singing the same tune at the Flood tribunal. In lawyer-speak, he had "a difficulty" with Mr Justice Feargus Flood's deadline for final submissions. The chairman obliged by putting the deadline back a month, to the end of December.
All of which goes to show that lawyers, although richer, are only human after all.
E-mail: rholohan@irish-times.ie