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Law Society honour for ‘beacon’ Attracta O’Regan

A ceremony was held at the Law Society last night (6 November) to mark the dedication of the Attracta O’Regan Lecture Theatre.

Law Society President Barry MacCarthy formally unveiled the dedication plaque and photograph at an event attended by family, friends, and former colleagues of the late Attracta O’Regan.

Attracta, who died last year, was a solicitor and Head of Law Society Professional Training (LSPT) and Law Society Skillnet, serving in the role for 18 years.

Research scholarship

“She was passionate about learning, human rights, the rule of law, and helping others,” her widower Ultan Bannon (small picture) told the event, adding that the dedication of a lecture theatre “tied in with her core beliefs”.

He also announced that a research scholarship targeting the early detection of ovarian cancer, which was set up in Attracta O’Regan’s memory, had now raised €120,000.

The scholarship has been awarded to Marika Kanjuga, who will carry out the research in the Trinity St James’s Cancer Institute in the laboratory of Dr Sharon O’Toole.

‘Bittersweet occasion’

Richard Hammond (chair of the Law Society’s Education Committee), who was a friend of Attracta’s for more than 20 years, described the occasion as “bittersweet”.

He said that he was “tremendously proud” that the Law Society now had a space to dedicate to someone he described as “this fearless, iridescent, effervescent light that has been taken from us way too soon”.

“She was a beacon; she was an absolute light in our staff and in our profession,” he told the gathering.

TP Kennedy (Law Society Director of Education) told the event that the lecture theatre being dedicated to Attracta was particularly appropriate, as it was her favourite teaching space in the Law Society.

He added that this was the first time that the Law Society had dedicated a space in honour of an employee, rather than a volunteer.

She is the second woman to be honoured in this way, after late past-president Moya Quinlan.