Before independence, the Lord Chief Justice of Ireland attended the annual meetings of the board as an ex officio trustee of the Library.

At the annual meeting in 1924, the Library Keeper was 'directed to report to the Chief Justice of the Irish Free State that he had not been summoned to the meeting of the Governors as not being the Lord Chief Justice of Ireland'.

The letter was drafted and eventually sent by the Keeper on 6 November 1924, as recorded in the minutes book.

Mr Justice Kennedy's reply offered to resolve any ambiguity about the governance of the library with the aid of legislation. The library’s answer was brief and bordered on the discourteous.

The relationship was not mended for almost 50 years, when the library approached the then Chief Justice, Mr Cearbhall Ó Dálaigh, to join the board of trustees.

Citation:
The Chief Justice,
Marsh's Library Exhibits: ‘Changed Utterly?’ curated by Elaine Doyle and Jason McElligott,
accessed May 31, 2023,
https://www.marshlibrary.ie/digi/exhibits/show/irishrevolution/item/641