Anne Hughes retires

Colleagues, guests and lawyers gathered recently to say farewell to ESB’s Anne Hughes and to pay tribute to her contribution to the Company. The presentation was made by Group Finance Director, Bernard Byrne. He said he was particularly honoured to make the presentation to Anne who has been a tremendous colleague and an invaluable asset to ESB during her time.

A Tipperary woman by birth, Anne was reared in the shadow of Sliabh na mBan.

From 1927, when ESB was founded, it contained a legal division and in those days its professional staff were all barristers and all male. In 1980 the mould was broken by Anne Hughes when she was appointed as the first solicitor to the legal division of the ESB. Up to that point all the ESB’s solicitors’ work was carried out by an external firm. Over the years Anne took over the duties of this company, firstly in the field of conveyancing and then into litigation, contract and general law.

When ESB advertised for a solicitor in 1980 the skills required included "tact, diplomacy and persuasiveness – ability to hold his/her own in the practical as well as the legal side of the negotiations. The job holder must have patience, energy and enthusiasm to read through and keep under review a vast amount of legislation and case law, must be conscientious, dedicated and self disciplined."

This could not get any better as a description of Anne’s competencies. In due course she took on litigation, dealing with claims both against the Board and by the Board. In this area too Anne again earned universal praise for her skill at negotiating settlements and where this failed, producing precise and perfect briefs for legal Counsel where cases ended up in the Courts. Anne has made an enormous contribution particularly in the area of Claims Management.

The nature of Anne’s work in ESB was such that unless you are directly involved with it you don’t see the results, that in itself is a good result of legal and for ESB. A number of High Court Judges have commented from the Bench on Anne’s professionalism. How Anne ever found the time to pursue a Masters in European Law and several qualifications in Arbitration is remarkable.

There is no doubt that Anne is definitely a lawyer with a social conscience Anne served on the ElectricAid committee with distinction for the last ten years. Her role was that of one of the two ESB-nominated trustees. Anne was ever-present on the ElectricAid committee during this time. She contributed regularly and incisively to the many issues which were debated.

Anne has also been actively involved in the anti-apartheid movement for many years and has spent a lot of time in South Africa. She has represented ESB at Eurelectric Meetings over the years and last year organised a meeting of delegates from all over Europe in Dublin.

On a personal note Anne has a love of fast cars. She is hooked on Formula 1 Racing and admitted in an interview with EM that she was intrigued by Eddie Jordan’s biography and fascinated by the wheeling and dealing in Formula 1's 'Piranha Club'.

The virtue most admired about Anne has been her total integrity with regard to her work and more particularly her staff. She has travelled extensively in Cambodia and Vietnam and New Zealand, where her daughter Rosheen and grandson Shea Patrick are currently living. In 2008 Anne’s thirst for knowledge is taking her back to University to pursue a degree in the area of equality.

We wish Anne and her husband many happy years ahead.