
In an era in which the courts, and not parliament, served as the primary venue for Irish political theatre, one significant side benefit of being a barrister was the opportunity of a ringside seat!
The Kilkenny Journal, 24 May 1848, contains a report of an interesting minor skirmish which occurred in the course of the trial for sedition of the Young Irelander Thomas Francis Meagher, transported to Van Diemen’s Land for life later that year:
“Mr French, High Sheriff… ordered