Barristers
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Woman Barrister Wins Case ‘On her Merits,’ 1923
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
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Irish Barristers Migrate to England, 1923
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
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Post-Famine Litigation Lull Leads to Suggestion that Barristers Exchange Wigs for Spades, 1852
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
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Lord Chief Justice of Northern Ireland Describes Term ‘BL’ as a Dublin Vulgarism, 1930
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
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New Precedent Set as Minister for Justice Called to the Bar, 1925
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