Minutes of Proceedings. 91 



to send in now that catalogue to the Committee, and also to furnish 

 the certificate of Dr. Sullivan and ]Mr. Gilbert as to the amount 

 payable for it; and that a copy of this Resolution (together with a copy 

 of the Minute above referred to, and the Eesolution thereon) be com- 

 municated to Professor O'Looney, with a request that he will be good 

 enough to let the Committee have his answer before or at its Meeting 

 on the 22nd February." 



To this request of the Committee Professor O'Looney refused to 

 accede, in a letter of 22nd February, in which he alleged as follows : — 



" Having prepared the present work to accompany the Academy's 

 edition of the Book of Leinster, I submitted it to the Irish MSS. Com- 

 mittee, and it was approved by the Committee at its Meeting on the 

 14th December, 1872, as appears from the ^Minutes and Resolutions of 

 the Committee. I now only await the requisite order to put it to 

 press as on the former occasions. 



""With reference to the certificates for payment which your Com- 

 mittee asks me to send in, there will be no difficulty when the work is 

 in print." 



The Committee, finding no such acceptance of an introduction in 

 their Minutes, and recognising the impropriety of incurring expenses 

 in printing a document that had never been submitted to the inspec- 

 tion of the responsible editor, and of the natiu-e, extent, and execution 

 of which he had consequently no means of judging, informed Pro- 

 fessor O'Looney that if the catalogue, as prepared by him, were not 

 fui-nished by a given day, Dr. Atkinson would be requested to proceed 

 with the work with such materials as are at his command. 



The time fi:sed having expired, and the catalogue not having been 

 brought in by Professor O'Looney, Dr. Atkinson, in pursuance of the 

 direction of the Committee, began his preparation of the introduction 

 without the assistance of Professor O'Looney's catalogue. In order to 

 facilitate the performance of this lengthy task, Dr. Atkinson gave 

 certain directions to the Academy's scribe, Mr. O'Longan, whereupon 

 Ml'. Gilbert personally interposed, and told Mr. O'Longan that, in his 

 opinion, Dr. Atkinson had no right to interfere. On this interposition 

 being reported to the Council, Mr. Gilbert made a statement at the 

 Council table that he was himself now engaged in printing an intro- 

 duction to the publication. If this preface be either the document 

 prepared by Professor O'Looney or founded upon it, as Professor 

 O'Looney, in his letter of 22nd February, explicitly asked leave from 



K. I. A. MINUTES, SESSION 1878-79. fQ] 



