| Honorable Society of King's Inns | |
|---|---|
| Óstaí an Rí | |
| Motto | Nolumus Mutari (we shall not be changed) |
| Established | 1541 by Henry VIII |
| Under Treasurer | Camilla McAleese |
| Location | Dublin, Ireland |
| Website | http://www.kingsinns.ie |
The Honorable Society of King's Inns (HSKI), is the institution which controls the entry of barristers-at-law into the justice system of Ireland. The full title retains the historical spelling variant "honorable" in preference to the contemporary Irish/British "honourable" (see article 'spelling differences').
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The society was created in 1541, this being 51 years before Trinity College, Dublin, was founded, making it one of Ireland's oldest professional and educational institutions. The founders named their society in honour of King Henry VIII and his newly-established Kingdom of Ireland, and secured a lease of lands at Inns Quay on the north bank of the Liffey. The society was reconstituted in 1607, having been inactive for some time. In 1790 the Inns Quays site was acquired for the purposes of the Four Courts; the foundation stone at the present building at the top of Henrietta Street was laid on 1 August 1800, with James Gandon being commissioned as the architect. The building was completed by his pupil Henry Aaron Baker.[1]
| List of Treasurers from 1804-1979[2][3] |
|---|
| 1804-1805 Viscount Avonmore |
| 1805-1806 William Downes |
| 1806-1807 Lord Norbury |
| 1807-1808 S. O'Grady |
| 1808-1809 No name |
| 1809-1810 Mr. Justice Day |
| 1810-1811 No name |
| 1811-1812 Mr. Justice Fox |
| 1812-1813 No name |
| 1813-1814 W.C. Smith |
| 1814-1815 Charles Osbourne |
| 1815-1816 Baron McCleland |
| 1816-1817 Judge Mayne |
| 1817-1818 Judge Fletcher |
| 1818-1819 Judge Moore |
| 1819-1820 Judge Johnson |
| 1820-1821 Judge Jebb |
| 1821-1822 No name |
| 1822-1823 Mr. Justice Burton |
| 1823-1824 Baron Pennefather |
| 1824-1825 Charles Kendal Bushe, LCJ |
| 1825-1826 Mr. Justice Vandeleur |
| 1826-1827 Mr. Justice Torrens |
| 1827-1828 William MacMahon, MR |
| 1828-1829 Lord Plunket |
| 1829-1830 No name |
| 1830-1831 S. O'Grady |
| 1831-1832 Sir William Smith. BT |
| 1832-1833 Baron Foster |
| 1833-1834 John Doherty |
| 1834-1835 Henry Joy |
| 1835-1836 Mr. Justice Burton |
| 1836-1837 No name |
| 1837-1838 Mr. Justice Torrens |
| 1838-1839 Baron Foster |
| 1839-1840 Judge Crampton |
| 1840-1841 Judge Perrin |
| 1841-1842 No name |
| 1842-1843 Baron Richards |
| 1843-1844 Nicholas Ball |
| 1844-1845 No name |
| 1845-1846 Thomas Lefroy |
| 1846-1847 Edward Pennefather, LCJ |
| 1847-1848 Francis Blackburn, LCJ |
| 1848-1849 T. B. C. Smith, MR |
| 1849-1850 David R. Pigot |
| 1850-1851 Judge Moore |
| 1851-1852 James Henry Monahan, LCJ of the Common Pleas Court |
| 1852-1853 The Lord Chancellor |
| 1853-1854 Baron Greene |
| 1854-1855 No name |
| 1855-1856 Thomas Lefroy |
| 1856-1857 T. B. C. Smith, MR |
| 1857-1858 No name |
| 1858-1859 James Henry Monahan, LCJ of the Common Pleas Court |
| 1859-1860 Mr. Justice Christian |
| 1860-1961 Mr. Justice O'Brien |
| 1861-1862 Mr. Justice Hayes |
| 1862-1863 Baron Fitzgerald |
| 1863-1864 No name |
| 1864-1865 John David Fitzgerald |
| 1865-1866 Baron Deasy |
| 1866-1867 Mr. Justice O'Hagan |
| 1867-1868 James Whiteside, LCJ |
| 1868-1869 The Lord Chancellor |
| 1869-1870 No name |
| 1870-1871 Mr. Justice Lawson |
| 1871-1872 George Battersby, QC |
| 1872-1873 Gerald FitzGibbon |
| 1873-1874 Baron Dowse |
| 1874-1875 Mr. Justice Morris |
| 1875-1876 The Judge of the Court of Probate |
| 1876-1877 Hewitt Poole Jellet |
| 1877-1878 Mr. Justice Barry |
| 1878-1879 James Murphy |
| 1879-1880 George Augustus Chichester May |
| 1880-1881 Edward Pennefather, QC |
| 1881-1882 Mr. Justice Harrison |
| 1882-1883 Mr. Serjeant David Sherlock (First Serjeant at Law) |
| 1883-1884 Judge Townsend |
| 1884-1885 Thomas De Moleyns, QC |
| 1885-1886 Andrew M. Porter, MR |
| 1886-1887 Piers F. White, QC |
| 1887-1888 The Lord Chief Baron of the Exchequer |
| 1888-1889 Arthur Stanley Jackson, QC |
| 1889-1890 Lord Justice Fitzgibbon |
| 1890-1891 John Richardson, QC |
| 1891-1892 Mr. Justice Holmes |
| 1892-1893 Samuel Walker |
| 1893-1894 Judge Miller |
| 1894-1895 Charles Hare Hemphill, QC, Solicitor General |
| 1895-1896 Mr. Justice Johnson |
| 1896-1897 William Bennett Campion, QC |
| 1897-1898 Mr. Justice O'Brien |
| 1898-1899 No name |
| 1899-1900 Mr. Justice Andrews |
| 1900-1901 John H. Twigg, QC |
| 1902-1903 Stephen Ronan |
| 1903-1904 Mr. Justice Boyd |
| 1904-1905 Mr. Serjeant William Houston Dodd (Third Serjeant at Law) |
| 1905-1906 Mr. Justice Madden |
| 1906-1907 James H. M. Campbell, KC, MP |
| 1907-1908 Mr. Justice Kenny |
| 1908-1909 Charles L. Matheson, KC |
| 1909-1910 Mr. Justice White |
| 1910-1911 Charles Andrew O'Connor, KC, Solicitor General |
| 1911-1912 Mr. Justice Barton |
| 1912-1913 John Gordon, KC |
| 1913-1914 Mr. Justice Wylie |
| 1914-1915 Denis Henry, KC |
| 1915-1916 Gerald Fitzgerald |
| 1916-1917 Arthur W. Samuels, KC |
| 1917-1918 Thomas Lopdell O'Shaughnessy (Last Recorder of Dublin) |
| 1918-1919 Godfrey Fetherstonhaugh, KC |
| 1919-1920 Mr. Justice Moore |
| 1920-1921 Robert F. Harrison |
| 1921-1922 Mr. Justice Powell |
| 1922-1923 William Morgan Jellet, KC, MP |
| 1923-1924 Thomas Francis Molony, LCJ (Last Lord Chief Justice of Ireland) |
| 1924-1925 Samuel L. Brown, KC |
| 1925-1926 Mr. Justice Gerald Fitzgibbon |
| 1926-1927 Alexander F. Blood, KC |
| 1927-1928 Mr. Justice Henry Hanna |
| 1928-1929 Garrett William Walker |
| 1929-1930 Mr. Justice William E. Wylie |
| 1930-1931 Hewitt R. Poole |
| 1931-1932 Mr. Justice Timothy Sullivan (First President of the High Court) |
| 1932-1933 Frederick W. Price |
| 1933-1934 Frederick W. Price |
| 1934-1935 Mr. Justice James Creed Meredith |
| 1935-1936 Ernest J. Phelps, SC |
| 1936-1937 Mr. Justice Johnson |
| 1937-1938 Frederick F. Denning |
| 1938-1939 Mr. Justice James A. Murnaghan |
| 1939-1940 Andrew Kingsbury Overend, KC |
| 1940-1941 Mr. Justice John O'Byrne |
| 1941-1942 Thomas S. McCann |
| 1942-1943 Conor Alexander Maguire (Second President of the High Court) |
| 1943-1944 Patrick Lynch, KC |
| 1944-1945 Mr Justice Geoghegan |
| 1945-1946 J. M. Fitzgerald, SC |
| 1946-1947 Mr. Justice Cahir Davitt |
| 1947-1948 John Aloysius Costello |
| 1948-1949 Mr. Justice George Gavan Duffy (Third President of the High Court) |
| 1949-1950 R. G. L. Leonard, KC |
| 1950-1951 Mr. Justice George William Shannon (First President of the Circuit Court) |
| 1951-1952 Vincent Rice, SC |
| 1952-1953 Mr. Justice Cecil Lavery |
| 1953-1954 Frank Fitzgibbon, QC |
| 1954-1955 Mr. Justice Martin C. Maguire |
| 1955-1956 Mr. Carson |
| 1956-1957 Mr Justice Kevin Haugh |
| 1957-1958 P. McCarthy |
| 1958-1959 Mr. Justice T.C. Kingsmill Moore |
| 1959-1960 Henry J. Molony |
| 1960-1961 Mr. Justice O'Daly |
| 1961-1962 Richard McGonigal, SC |
| 1962-1963 Mr. Justice Frederick O. Budd |
| 1963-1964 Thomas F. Bacon |
| 1964-1965 Mr. Justice George D. Murnaghan |
| 1965-1966 Mr Campbell |
| 1966-1967 Mr. Justice Richard McLoughlin |
| 1967-1968 Denis Pringle |
| 1968-1969 Mr. Justice William Fitzgerald |
| 1969-1970 G. Micks |
| 1970-1971 Mr. Justice Thomas Teevan |
| 1971-1972 T. K. Liston, SC |
| 1972-1973 Mr. Justice Aindrias O'Caoimh (Fifth President of the High Court) |
| 1973-1974 Thomas B. Hannin |
| 1974-1975 Mr. Justice Brian Walsh |
| 1975-1976 Ernest M. Wood |
| 1976-1977 Mr. Justice John Kenny |
| 1977-1978 Oliver D. Gogarty, SC |
| 1978-1979 Mr. Justice Seamus Henchy |
| 1979-1980 Thomas Vincent Davy, SC (The last officeholder to hold the position as Treasurer) |
From almost the moment that King's Inns was founded, London required Irishmen who wished to practice as barristers to attend the inns of court in London, and that requirement stayed in place until the late nineteenth century. Only from the middle of the eighteenth century onwards were courses of legal education provided at King's Inns[4]. Candidates who have an approved law degree may apply for the Degree of Barrister-at-Law (Latin: ad Gradum Advocatum Apud Judices). Alternatively, candidates without an approved law degree may undertake the society's Diploma in Legal Studies before presenting for the society's degree. Those who are presented with the degree are entitled to be called to and practise at the "Bar of Ireland". In 2006, the society had an enrolment of approximately 300 students, whilst there are approximately 2,000 practising barristers.
The society has generally kept a low profile in current affairs in Ireland, though it did come to prominence in 1972, when financial difficulties led to the society selling a considerable stock of non-legal books it had in its library. The library collection dates from the end of the 18th century, (when the society also adopted its motto 'Nolumus mutari'[5]), and was based on part of that of Mr Justice Robinson. Books were sold at auction at Sotheby's, London, and a considerable stock of them were sold to clients outside Ireland. This was seen at the time as a major cultural outflow, as many of the books were of historical and cultural significance.[6] In addition, the society's library had received an annual grant since 1945 for the upkeep of the books from the Irish Exchequer. A King's Inns team or individual has often won the prestigious Irish Times National Debating Championship, and in 2010 won the European Universities Debating Championships. In 2006 the Inns' hurling team competed in and won the Fergal Maher Cup (3rd Level Division 3) in their inaugural year and have subsequently reached the final and semi-final.
After crossing Dorset Street, Henrietta Street runs into King's Inns Street. The latter was renamed due to its proximity to the King's Inns. In 1756, this street appears as "Turn Again Lane" on Rocque's map of Dublin. Henrietta Street is thought to have been named by Luke Gardiner in honour of Henrietta Somerset (1690-1726), who was married to the second duke of Grafton, lord lieutenant of Ireland, 1724-7. Her portrait by Enoch Seeman survives[7].
In 1990, the Irish Government's Fair Trade Commission, which had spent the previous four years examining the legal profession in Ireland, presented its report on the legal professions to the Minister for Industry and Commerce.
The Commission said that it had "been impressed by the substantial volume of criticism of the BL degree course offered by King's Inns, and the unfavourable criticism of the education for barristers compared to that provided for solicitors".[8] It also said that "[t]here seems no educational merit or collegiate benefit from the requirement to attend commons on 20 occasions, since the students are segregated from practising barristers and the judiciary, though alternative arrangements might commend themselves and not require the element of compulsion."[9]
The Commission also found that the supposed disciplinary powers of the King's Inns, which have never been tested before an Irish court, would be unlikely to withstand scrutiny under the Constitution in light of the findings of the Supreme Court in the case of Re Solicitors Act, 1954.[10] It said "[i]t seems to the Commission that, were the exercise of these powers ever to be challenged, it would be consistent with the judgment of the Supreme Court regarding the exercise of powers by the Law Society that it would be contrary to the Constitution for either the Bar Council of Ireland or the Benchers of King's Inns to be entitled to disbar a barrister. The Commission considers that disbarment of a barrister should, therefore, be a matter for the Courts. While this power might be given to the High Court, as with solicitors, it might be necessary for it to be exercised by the Supreme Court, since the barrister is called to the Bar by the Chief Justice of Ireland, while a solicitor is admitted by the President of the High Court. In any case, the Commission recommends that the power to disbar or suspend a barrister should not be exercised by the Bar Council or by the Benchers of King's Inns."[11]
The Commission concluded: "At this stage, it seems appropriate that the Commission should express its surprise at the involvement of the judiciary with the barrister's profession through the institution of King's Inns... There seems no sound reason for any aspect of the profession of barrister to be influenced by the direct participation of the judiciary. Barristers are subject to the authority of judges in their courts, judges can complain to the Bar Council about the behaviour of barristers, and no further involvement would appear to be warranted... If King's Inns were to retain any disciplinary function, however, we consider that the judiciary should play no part in that function, and that a lay presence might be introduced. Furthermore, the Commission considers that the association of the judiciary with the King's Inns might be carefully re-examined in the light of the remaining functions of King's Inns after account has been taken of our recommendations in the field of discipline and other matters."[12]
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