Another story to add to the annals of the Irish Bar and the 1798 Rebellion. From the Irish Weekly and Ulster Examiner, 3 April 1920, a ballad-worthy account of an Irish barrister who, during the dark days following the 1798 Rebellion, puts family… Continue reading

From the Dublin Morning Register, 4 December 1833, originally published in the Liverpool Journal, this interesting disquisition on the cross-examination skills of Irish barrister and politician Daniel O’Connell: “Of late years Mr O’Connell has been so exclusively before the public… Continue reading

From the Daily News (London) 28 September 1905, this story about the famous Irish advocate John Philpot Curran (above) who resided at 4 Ely Place, Dublin (below). “Mr George Moore, the novelist, was presented to our readers on Monday in… Continue reading

Politics and the law coalesced in more than one way in ‘Mr Redmond’s Furious Drive,’ a mildly scandalous story featuring the leader of the Irish Parliamentary Party and his double-jobbing barrister chauffeur, which featured in a number of Irish newspapers… Continue reading

On July 28, 1902, the Dublin Leader published the entirety of a one-act play by Edward Martyn, ‘The Place-Hunters,’ set in the Law Library of the time and satirising Irish barristers’ struggle between principle on the one hand and personal benefit… Continue reading

A 1780 advert in the Dublin Evening Post from Mr English, wig-seller, referencing his dressing room at the rear door of the old Four Courts in Christchurch, where Irish barristers of the period could get their wigs powdered daily. Although… Continue reading

A tale, from the days when Irish barristers were still addressed as ‘Counsellor’, of a barrister from Dorset Street, a popular street for legal residences of the time, summoned for failure to provide a good character for a cook who… Continue reading

An interesting article from the Derbyshire Advertiser and Journal of 1 March 1866 describing the cross-examination technique of 19th century Irish barrister and politician Isaac Butt QC, MP, who favoured bombarding a witness under cross-examination with extremely rapid, quickfire questions.… Continue reading

From the Dublin Daily Express, Tuesday 19 June 1906, an account by Mrs. Power O’Donoghue of a medico-legal elopement effected by barge along the Grand Canal, County Kildare, c. 1830 or so. “The marriage of Lord Ninian Crichton Stuart and… Continue reading

As the below report from the Westminster Gazette of 5 December 1895 shows, the temptation to address the court at length can be irresistible even to the very experienced practitioner: Much has changed since 1895 but not, it seems, the… Continue reading

One feature of the Irish Bar which merits highlighting is the extent to which its composition has changed radically over the past two centuries, not just in terms of the gender of its members, but as regards their religion. Catholics… Continue reading

The 1822 Bottle Riot at the Theatre Royal, Dublin, which involved the throwing of a bottle at the Lord Lieutenant, was notable for the fact that the bottle in question did not break, but fell into the Viceregal box and… Continue reading

Shoes for a Future Barrister – an advertisement for boys’ footwear from the Belfast Telegraph of 3 January 1945, depicting a toddler making impassioned closing submissions to an audience of soft toys. The ad did not appear in the Republic… Continue reading

A poem from the London Review of 1866, ‘A Barrister’s Christmas-Tide Temptation’ about a reluctant return to work after the Christmas vacation. Continue reading

Some sage advice on opinion-writing from the legendary Francis McDonough (or McDonagh) QC to the young Matthias O’Donnell Bodkin (later QC himself, and County Court judge). As true now as then! More on the legendary Frank, his white gloves and… Continue reading

Did you know that the Irish Bar once held a Golf Sweepstake on the first day of the Christmas vacation, in which members of the judiciary participated? The Social Review of 6 January 1894 contains details of an Irish Bar… Continue reading

One of the unique characteristics of the Irish Bar is the absence of any figure equivalent to the English barrister’s clerk, whose task is to get in work for the barrister and negotiate and receive fees. When Sir Edward Carson… Continue reading

When even the opposing counsel concedes you are in the right, what, surely, can go wrong? The temptation to display one’s prowess unopposed can be irresistible. Sadly, as the below account from the Belfast News-Letter of September 2, 1814 shows,… Continue reading

From the Taunton Courier and Western Advertiser, 30 May 1866, this account of a reference in the Dublin Court of Exchequer to the biblical character Joseph, who successfully resisted seduction by Potiphar’s wife, only to be falsely accused of rape… Continue reading

From the Free Press (Wexford) of 3 February 1923, this is the first newspaper report of a woman barrister moving a matter in a court of the Irish Free State. The woman was, of course, Averil Deverell BL, one of… Continue reading

The Irish Bar of 1923 was very different from what it had been before the First World War. Not only had it lost its home – the Four Courts , and its magnificent library in the East Wing – but… Continue reading

Turning wigs and gowns into spades and pickaxes : in the post-Famine litigation lull, business at the 1852 Wexford Sessions was so bad that a New Ross solicitor with farming expertise published a letter to the legal profession – possibly… Continue reading

Although it is standard practice in the Republic of Ireland to refer to barristers as ‘BL’ , an abbreviation for ‘Barrister-at-Law’, a very different approach was taken in the six counties, due to the strongly held view of an early… Continue reading

From the Belfast Telegraph, 20 January 1925: “UNIQUE DISTINCTION MR K O’HIGGINS BARRISTER ALL FORMALITIES DISPENSED WITH An unusual amount of interest centred in the Court of Appeal, Dublin, on Monday when three gentlemen were called to the Southern Bar… Continue reading

A beautifully coloured image of the 19th century Four Courts, via Ebay, showing the cab rank immediately in front of the portico. Irish barristers loved puns, but the cab drivers could outrival them for wit: the failure of Stephen Dane… Continue reading

From the Globe, Monday, January 2, 1893, this account of the differences between the English and Irish Bar and Bench of the time: “The close and intimate connection between the Bench and Bar of England and Ireland will render of… Continue reading

The above story from Saunders’s News-Letter, 9 February 1837, recounts a successful theft of a wagon-load of hay in Dublin, with the thief trading on the name of well-known Irish barrister John Hatchell. Dublin tricksters were known for their ingenuity,… Continue reading

From ‘Anecdotes and Reminiscences’ of the Connaught Bar,’ an article by Mr George Orme O’Malley QC, published in the Western People of 11 November 1897: “It is incredible what a passion the Irish bar, though in general excellent temperate fellows,… Continue reading

The above advert for Mechi’s Modern Strop – indispensable for barristers, and others – appeared in the Dublin Daily Express of 1894. A strop was a band used to straighten and polish the blade of a straight razor. Although some… Continue reading

From the Dublin Daily Express, Tuesday 11 December 1917: “£2000 for Breach of Promise: Dublin action settled at Nisi Prius Yesterday before the Lord Chief Justice the case of Nita Martin and Daniel Kirk MacFarren was mentioned for the purpose… Continue reading

An unnamed barrister fearing assassination applies at Henry Street Police Office, Dublin, in August 1831, to have ‘a young gentleman’ bound over to keep the peace. The barrister was acting against the defendant’s father in a family dispute, and the… Continue reading

From the Liberator (Tralee), 8 June 1926, the above heartwarming story of a counsel without wig and gown being allowed by a kind-hearted judge to address the court nonetheless. Not all judges were or are so tolerant! Wig-wearing is no… Continue reading

From the Pilot, 26 June 1829, this story of the exciting day-to-day life of Irish politician and barrister Daniel O’Connell, and the patience of Dublin magistrates with those who sought to gain notoriety by threatening him: “Mr O’Connell – DARING… Continue reading

A description of the the Irish legal profession and its haunts up to and including 1898, from ‘Picturesque Dublin Old and New‘ by Frances Gerard, with illustrations by Rose Barton: “From the Custom House the shining waters of the Liffey… Continue reading

From the Irish News and Belfast Morning News, 6 December 1902, this account of first briefs of famous barristers, including Irish barrister Daniel O’Connell: “The famous Lord Brougham received his first brief under rather extraordinary circumstances. He was travelling by… Continue reading

From the Dundee Courier, 23 September 1932: “IRISH BARRISTER IN TROUBLE CELEBRATED SCOTT CENTENARY IN DUNDEE DISTURBANCE WITH TAXI DRIVER AND AT HOTEL An Irish barrister, who was said to have celebrated the centenary of Sir Walter Scott too heartily,… Continue reading

From the Waterford Standard, 1 November 1905: “CARMAN’S ACTION AGAINST A BARRISTER Before Mr Justice Kenny on Monday the case of Ladley v Ryland, which as an appeal from the decision of the Recorder of Dublin, was heard.  The plaintiff… Continue reading

From the Freeman’s Journal, 2 September 1898, this interesting account of the professional career of Irish patriot Theobald Wolfe Tone, best known for his unsuccessful attempt a century earlier to land in Ireland with French troops and supplies, followed by… Continue reading

From the Newry Examiner and Louth Advertiser, 7 June 1848: “AUDACIOUS PROCEEDING A proceeding has taken place, which for monstrous violation of the rights of the subjects of this realm has never been exceeded – we know not, indeed, if… Continue reading

Mr Justice Gibson (left) and TM Healy KC (right). Images via British Newspaper Archives and Wikipedia. ‘Refreshers’ are fees paid to barristers in respect of each additional day (other than the first) which a case takes, and are in addition… Continue reading

From the Silurian, 25 April 1840: “DEVICE OF GRATTAN TO WAKE HIMSELF Grattan, the celebrated Irish barrister, was indefatigably industrious.  He was so anxious not to lose a moment in sleep, which in his opinion ought to be devoted to… Continue reading

From the Irish Times, 1 March 1878: “ACCIDENT TO MR MACDONOGH, QC Yesterday afternoon, as Mr Frank Macdonogh, QC was returning in a brougham from court, a serious accident occurred to him at Ormond-quay, by which, we regret to say,… Continue reading

From the Derry Journal, 2 January 1931 (previously published in the Cork Examiner): “HUMOUR AT THE IRISH BAR By DF HANNIGAN BL Since the jolly old days when a briefless but witty barrister, at a dinner in Dublin, thus addressed… Continue reading

From the Yorkshire Gazette, 21 October 1843: “ARREST OF DANIEL O’CONNELL AND HIS CONFEDERATES Mr O’Connell, and his son, Mr John O’Connell, have been placed in the hands of justice, under the following warrant: ‘Whereas Daniel O’Connell, of Merrion Square,… Continue reading

From the Leinster Reporter, 25 May 1918: “DRILLING AT ROSCREA Before a special court, Mr. J O’Sullivan RM, presiding, with Major Dease RM, on Wednesday at Templemore courthouse, Mr. JA Burke BL, was charged with drilling on the 24th of March… Continue reading

From the Belfast Commercial Chronicle, 29 July 1840: “DUBLIN POLICE Henry Street – A Barrister in Disguise – Counsellor Richard Tucker was brought on Thursday before Mr Duffy, just as the morning sittings concluded, and charged by police sergeant Moore… Continue reading

The below advice for those contemplating a call to the Irish Bar was published on 17 February 1883 as part of Flags of Ireland’s ‘Peeps at the Profession.’ Times have changed, but quite a few of its observations remain relevant… Continue reading

From the Sligo Champion, 3 July 1937, this remarkable story of Irish barrister Charles Philips, or Phillips, who won a famous case for his client – but left her so angry that he bore the scars of her displeasure for his… Continue reading

From the Dublin Weekly Nation, 5 February 1870: “THREATENING AN IRISH BARRISTER In the Dublin Court of Queen’s Bench on the 31st ult. Dr Battersby QC, who was counsel in an action of ejectment, read the following letter which he had… Continue reading

There are few reports of members of the Irish bar witnessing a ghost, but the story of Edmund Lenthal Swifte, called to the Irish Bar in the early years of the 19th century, is the exception that proves the rule.… Continue reading

From the Irish News and Belfast Morning News, 3 December 1908: “A CORK LAWSUIT Marked by a Sensational Incident ALLEGED OUTSIDE INTERFERENCE Stranger Stated to Have Accosted Juryman in the Central Hall: Legal Gentleman Involved Also In the Nisi Prius… Continue reading

There are two kinds of barristers, those who tend to rise early to work and those who tend to stay up late to work. It appears that legendary Irish politician and barrister Daniel O’Connell was one of the former. From the Evening… Continue reading

From the Freeman’s Journal, 28 July 1874, this impassioned complaint about distraction of students of the Honourable Society of King’s Inns by children and other noisy instruments associated with military accommodation: “At first sight there appears ugly contrariety between militia barracks… Continue reading

From the Belfast Morning News of 27 August 1880, an interesting note on Irish barrister Serjeant Richard Armstrong, ‘for many years the leader of the Common Law Bar of this country, and the ablest cross-examining counsel of the period,’ recounting how… Continue reading

The Irish Criminal Bar strike of today, is not the first time the Irish Bar has gone on strike, though it is the first time members of a sector of the Irish Bar have gone on strike countrywide. There have been at… Continue reading

From the Freeman’s Journal, 4 April 1921: “BARRISTER TRIED RE-ARRESTED AFTER ACQUITTAL BY COURTMARTIAL Richard and Edward Humphreys, 36 Aylesbury Road, Ballsbridge, Dublin, pleaded not guilty before a Field General Courtmartial in the North Dublin Union on Saturday last to… Continue reading

From the Evening Irish Times, 2 August 1910: “LAWYERS ON LONG VACATION HOLIDAY IDEALS OF BENCH AND BAR Trinity Term came to a close on Saturday.  At the Four Courts the only judge doing any business that day was Mr… Continue reading

The start of the legal Long Vacation in August marked – and continues to mark – the annual abandonment of the Four Courts and the flight of its inhabitants further afield. But, try as holidaying lawyers might to escape from… Continue reading

Later to become one of the most famous cross-examiners of all time thanks to his performance in the Oscar Wilde libel action, Sir Edward Carson cut his legal teeth in local courts in Waterford, Ireland. A considerable number of his clients were women… Continue reading

From the Irish Independent, 11 August 1908: “The news which flashed over the wires on Thursday night telling us that death had cut short the many activities of Caesar Litton Falkiner, brought to every student of Irish history and biography… Continue reading

Previous posts on the long-running saga of Irish barrister Richard Dunn: (1) Mr Dunn BL in Love, 1836 (2) Mr Dunn BL in Love Again, 1838 (3) Mr Dunn BL in Prison for Love, 1838 (4) Mr Dunn BL Back in Town, 1839-40. Early readers of this… Continue reading

From the Irish Independent, 18 May, 1965:  ‘Pearse’s only Court Brief – The Name on a Dray’ by Frank Byrne ‘One man can free a people as One Man redeemed the world’ (The Singer: PH Pearse) Did any one man… Continue reading

From Saunders’s News-Letter, 19 January 1837: “The Dowager Lady Ventry died at her lodgings last evening. The demise of this unfortunate lady will, we hope, enable a respectable citizen and a barrister of great standing and practice, to resume his… Continue reading

From the Freeman’s Journal, 12 July 1922:- “Artistic Dublin is more than anxious to learn the full fate of the superb seated statue of Sir Michael O’Loghlen, Master of the Rolls, which the Bar of Ireland erected in the Round… Continue reading

From the Irish Examiner, 3 November 1941: “After eight days in a lifeboat, following the torpedoing off the West African coast of a Dutch ship in which he was travelling, Mr Robert Lindsay Sandes, a Dublin barrister who has been… Continue reading

The character of Professor Moriarty in Arthur Conan Doyle’s ‘Sherlock Holmes’ stories may have been inspired by Doyle’s Stonyhurst classmate John Francis Moriarty, who subsequently went on to become an Irish barrister and judge of the Court of Appeal in… Continue reading

From the Dublin Evening Telegraph, 1 May 1915: “DEPARTURE FROM DUBLIN Enthusiastic Send off The departure of the 7th Batt. Royal Dublin Fusiliers, known as the ‘Pals’ Battalion, was responsible for remarkable scenes of enthusiasm in Dublin. Crowds lined the… Continue reading

From the Tipperary Vindicator, October 1844: ” J WALSH ESQ., BARRISTER-AT-LAW It is with feelings of intense sorrow we announce the death of this gentleman. His loss is a public one. It is one which, we fear, it will be… Continue reading

From the Irish Independent, 4 August 1942: “Hundreds of picnickers watched, in tense excitement, while a Dublin holiday-maker balanced himself for three hours on a ledge 200 feet up the rocky side of the famous Powerscourt waterfall yesterday until he… Continue reading

From the Northern Whig, 10 May 1916: “Mr Fred H Mullan, solicitor, Trevor Hill, Newry, has just received a very interesting account from Mr John Cusack, BL, of the Easter Rising in Dublin. Mr Cusack states:- About 12.30 p.m. on… Continue reading

From the Weekly Irish Times, 26 April 1902: “In the early years of the last century, a youthful barrister named Hodgins, just called to the bar, fell in love with a pretty girl he had noticed coming out of a… Continue reading

From the Irish Independent, 11 June 1914: A grainier version of the above photo appears in the Freeman’s Journal of the same day, where the new barristers above are identified as Frederick Jerome Dempsey, Edward James Smyth, Samuel Spedding John,… Continue reading

From the Belfast Telegraph, 11 August 1921: “BELFAST OFFICER’S DEATH. STRANGE AFFAIR IN DUBLIN. BELIEVED HE WAS A MARKED MAN. We regret to announce the death of Mr Frederick W Morrison, a native of Belfast, which took place under sad circumstances… Continue reading

Adapted from the Irish Times, 25 and 26 March 1885: “The Reverend Henry Peter Higginson brought a motion for final judgment to recover £27 10s from Thomas Hewson BL, who is a member of the Irish Bar, claiming that he… Continue reading

From the Warder and Dublin Weekly Mail, 21 November 1840: “The French war, and the other more prominent national mischiefs having been disposed of, and set, we hope, for the term of our natural life, to rest, we naturally turn… Continue reading

From the Dublin Evening Telegraph, 28 April 1908: “INTERESTING ROMANCE At St Patrick’s Church, Monkstown, at half-past nine o’clock yesterday morning, Mr Thomas J Wall, K.C., 26 Longford Terrace, Monkstown, was married to Miss Gertrude Garland, of Dublin. The ceremony… Continue reading

From The Weekly Freeman’s Journal, 24 July 1920: “HELPLESS BARRISTERS LEFT STRANDED IN THE FOUR COURTS On Thursday last week, the action of D Coffey, Derrymilleen, Co. Cork, farmer, v Denis P O’Regan, Farransbesbary, Enniskeen, Co. Cork, farmer, was listed… Continue reading

Despite many parades, and much drilling, the question of what that notable barrister militia company, the Lawyers’ Corps, actually did during the Irish Rebellion of 1798 went unanswered for many years. Indeed, it might never have been resolved at all… Continue reading

From Saunders’s News-Letter, 27 November 1821: “COURT OF COMMON PLEAS On Saturday a conditional order was obtained by Counsellor Blackburne, the plaintiff, against Mr Hines, an attorney, for sending a Gentleman to him in the Hall of the Four Courts,… Continue reading

Irish barristers often have many unexpected talents – and Leonard McNally BL was no exception. Not only did ‘McNally the Incorruptible’ purport to act as defence counsel for Irish barrister revolutionaries Robert Emmet (above) and the Sheares Brothers while simultaneously… Continue reading

From the Yorkshire Post and Leeds Intelligencer, 17 March 1927: “A remarkable story of the perpetration of frauds on many prominent people both in this country and in Ireland was told at Highgate yesterday, when John LM Reddington, alias Edward… Continue reading

From the Warder and Dublin Weekly Mail, 18 April 1840: “CONVICTION OF A BARRISTER FOR FELONY. Robert Harman, a barrister, was indicted for stealing a number of books from Trinity College Library, the property of the University. The prisoner, when… Continue reading

From the Jarrow Express, 21 July 1913: “A remarkable defence was made in a case in which Mr Robert Cramsie, barrister-at-law, of Ballymoney, Co Antrim, was prosecuted before the local magistrates by the Irish Insurance Commissioners for failing to pay… Continue reading

From the Ballyshannon Herald, 21 June 1873: “FATAL ACCIDENT TO A DUBLIN BARRISTER Yesterday afternoon, after the steamship Sarmatian reached her wharf at South Quebec, a most melancholy accident occurred to Mr JS Barrett, barrister, of Dublin, a cabin passenger… Continue reading

From the Irish News and Belfast Morning News, 26 October 1901 “The usual monotony of the meeting of the Benchers to-day was varied by an incident which should serve as a reminder to them and to all men that the… Continue reading

From the Western Morning News of 21 April 1911: “The representative match between the members of the Bar Golfing Society and the Irish Bar has now become a very well-established annual fixture.  At one time there was the possibility of… Continue reading

Yesterday’s relaxation of traditional requirements regarding barristers’ court dress brings to mind an earlier decision of the Benchers in Trinity Term 1798 permitting barrister members of the Lawyers’ Corps to appear in court armed and in uniform. Sheil’s ‘Sketches of… Continue reading

From the Freeman’s Journal, 1 February 1900, this story set during the Anglo- Boer War of 1899-1902: “There is nothing more interesting in the Four Courts Law Library at present than the telegrams which are sent there daily to a… Continue reading

From the Freeman’s Journal, 28 February 1878: “(SPECIAL TELEGRAM FROM OUR CORRESPONDENT) An extraordinary case of elopement has just come to light.  This morning there arrived in Belfast by the Royal Mail steamer from Glasgow a somewhat prepossessing young lady,… Continue reading

From the Glasgow Evening Post, 4 October 1889: “DISAPPEARANCE OF A DUBLIN BARRISTER Mr Andrews, a QC of Dublin, aged 87 years, who has been residing at Tighnabruaich, Kyles of Bute, for some time, has been missing since Wednesday.  On… Continue reading

From the Waterford Standard, 14 March 1931: “LADY BARRISTER WINS HER FIRST MURDER CASE When she defended Mary Ellen Farrelly, Goiley, Fordstown, Kells, at the Central Criminal Court, Dublin, this week, Miss K Phelan BL won the first murder case… Continue reading

From the Northern Whig, 29 October 1907 “It is not the first time that trop de zele has brought trouble upon honest people.  The eagerness of Mr Robert Doyle, a member of the Irish Bar, in the cause of prevention… Continue reading

All members of the Irish Bar know of Averil Deverell, whose enigmatic representation in oils smiles down, Brodie-like, from the wall of the Four Courts Law Library. Miss Deverell holds the distinction of being not only the first practising woman… Continue reading

From the Meath Chronicle, 24 November 1934: “BARRISTER ON FIRE IN COURT Mr Connolly, a barrister, was addressing Judge Wyse-Power in Ballina (Co Mayo) Circuit Court, when his gown came in contact with an electric fire and blazed up. A… Continue reading

From the Dublin Journal, 22 March 1803: “Died on Friday last, at Montpelier Place, near the Black Rock, James Sweetman Esq, Barrister at Law. His death was occasioned by an unhappy accident; he was in the Lawyers Corps, and though… Continue reading

From the Aberdeen Daily Journal, 23 September 1913: “Mr William Green, of Gardiner’s Place, Dublin, barrister, for some time editor of the Authorised Law Reports, left personal estate in the United Kingdom valued at £1059. The testator bequeathed £100, his… Continue reading

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,… Continue reading

From the Freeman’s Journal, 2 July 1907: “The march of science received a new illustration at the Four Courts yesterday, when some half-dozen members of the Leinster Circuit started in a motor car from the Four Courts for Nenagh, at… Continue reading

From the Dublin Evening Telegraph, 11 January 1921: “The sad news of the tragic death of Mr Henry Kennedy, a member of the Irish Bar, in Switzerland on Saturday night reached the Four Courts today.  It appears that while getting… Continue reading

From the Irish Times, 1 February 1860: “[In] Rubenstein v O’Hara… an application was made for the purposes of discharging the defendant, a practising barrister, from arrest [for debt]. The plaintiff… left home to attend the hall of the Four… Continue reading