An Evening with John Simpson

President of the Law Society Kevin O’Higgins welcomed Mr. John Simpson to Blackhall Place on Thursday 22nd January to speak at an event in the Presidents’ Hall in aid of the charity Irish Rule of Law International (IRLI). IRLI is a joint initiative of the Law Society of Ireland and the Bar Council of Ireland which aims to promote rule of law in the developing world.

Attended by over 200 people, the evening was a wonderful opportunity to hear about John Simpson’s extensive career as a journalist for the BBC. The audience heard about John’s experience in 2001 where, while disguised wearing a burka, he reported from Taliban-held Afghanistan. John also spoke about the circumstances in Iraq in 2003 when the convoy he was travelling in came under friendly fire from US special forces resulting in the deaths of 18 people and leaving him profoundly deaf in one ear and with shrapnel which is still embedded in his side. Currently the World Affairs Editor at the BBC, John Simpson has reported from more than 125 countries, including 41 active war zones, and has interviewed some of the world’s most famous and controversial leaders, such as Osama Bin Laden, Saddam Hussein and Colonel Gaddafi.

These experiences, and many more, were explored under the equally experienced hand of RTE and Primetime reporter Richard Downes who interviewed John for the event. Richard joined RTÉ in 1999 after a decade of working as a foreign correspondent for the BBC in war zones and developing countries. During his time at RTÉ, Richard spent time presenting Morning Ireland on RTE Radio 1 and working as a correspondent in the Middle East, Africa and Washington.

Michael Collins SC is the current Chairman of IRLI and David Barniville SC, Chairman of the Bar Council, is a director. David Nolan SC has recently stepped down as a Director. The offices for IRLI are based in the Law Library Distillery Building and Emma Dwyer, the co-ordinator, can be contacted there at edwyer@irishruleoflaw.ie