Jules Winterton, the Conference Organiser had told me at BIALL in Bristol that IALL Conferences were small and friendly. Well it certainly was friendly but definitely not small. Attendance broke all records in Dublin with 150 delegates from 24 countries (it's staggering how far people will travel for free Guinness!) Amongst the throng it was good to see two familiar faces from London – Roger Cook and Chris Sherlock. Chris is actually half-Irish and was able to direct us afterwards to Bewley's Oriental Coffee House in Grafton Street for a drink and chat. Bewley's opens until late at night, even on Sundays (Starbucks take note).

The lecture programme kicked off on the Monday with an introduction to the Irish Legal System by Professor William Binchy of Trinity College (and yes, he is Maeve's brother). Afterwards, there was a lively session with presentations from the Director of the British Institute of International and Comparative Law, Mads Andenas and Professor Conor Gearty of King's College on the theme of harmonisation of laws within Europe. It became clear that the Irish are much more enthusiastic Europeans than the English – just look at your EU law stock and you'll see how many texts are by Irish authors.

As with most conferences, one of the best parts is the informal discussion one has with other delegates, speakers and exhibitors. I was fortunate in the evening to avoid watching English football in the pub (boring or what!) and instead to get myself invited (thanks again Jules) to a civilised restaurant meal with delegates from Australia, Sweden, the US and Ireland. One of the Australians was none other than Professor Graham Greenleaf, Co-director of AustLII. Towards the end of the conference he unveiled ambitious plans for WorldLII, a global version of the successful AustLII project.

The following day continued with presentations on the freedom of information and codification in Ireland, European sources and an update on the SOSIG Internet law gateway by Steve Whittle of the IALS. The latter was very useful and gave me information on new services.

In the evening we suddenly moved Tardis-like from the hi-tech world to the era of ancient manual methods with a visit to the Long Room Library at Trinity College and a private view of the Book of Kells. Afterwards I arranged to attend a performance of short Beckett plays at the campus theatre with Karin Rollins of the University of Victoria, Canada. You may remember her presentation to the BIALL Conference in Bristol.

Wednesday was a free day, which was spent at the Dublin Writers' Museum in the morning and at the beautiful Powerscourt House and Gardens in the Wicklow countryside. I particularly appreciated the opportunity to visit the Writers Museum as I have been doing a course in creative writing. Dinner and entertainment at the Old Jamieson Distillery followed. Yes, a whiskey tasting, Irish dancing - well what did you expect!!! Lots of valuable networking of course!

The final day included a session from BIALL Chair John Furlong on legal information sources in Ireland. The subtitle "Needles and haystacks" will give you an idea of some of the difficulties involved! This was followed by John Mee, Dean of the Law Faculty addressing the topic of Electronic Access to Legal Information in Ireland. He is heavily involved in the BAILII project. It was embarrassing to learn that the English are the least proactive in getting their material online! The Conference concluded with the Association's Annual Dinner in the magnificent Dining Hall of King's Inns.

I benefited from the Conference both professionally and personally, and am very grateful to CLIG for financing my attendance. I now have a range of contacts around the globe to e-mail with those tricky international queries. I also have a better appreciation of other jurisdictions particularly Irish law (!), and a greater awareness of the difficulties of finding legal materials in a small jurisdiction. I now understand the nature and role of the IALL. I must say I was extremely impressed by the way the organisation is run. It cannot be easy coordinating activities, when so many members in so many parts of the world are involved. At the AGM, which I attended, a plan was announced to invite a delegate each year from an under-represented region, which I think is an excellent idea.

Thanks are due to Jules Winterton and Jennefer Aston for organising the Conference, and to our own Susan Mansfield for arranging the Exhibition.

And lastly, a couple of words about "Dirty Old Dublin", as it used to be known. Well, these days people from all over the world are flocking to Dynamic or Digital Dublin, and I can see why. The city has real character and its own special buzz. Why not check it out yourself by taking a cheap flight from London City Airport??? Oh, and I'd recommend Trinity College as a great, centrally located place to stay.