Frances Christian Kyle, LLB (30 October 1893 – 22 June 1958) was a Northern Irish barrister and the first woman, together with Averil Deverell, to be

admitted to the bar An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...

in either Ireland or Great Britain, being called to the

Bar of Ireland The Bar of Ireland () is the professional association of barristers for Ireland, with over 2,000 members. It is based in the Law Library, with premises in Dublin and Cork. It is governed by the General Council of the Bar of Ireland, commonly c ...

on 1 November 1921.First Hundred Years, https://first100years.org.uk/frances-kyle-biography/ It not only made headlines in

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

but also New York City, London, and India. It was almost a year before any woman was called to the English bar ( Ivy Williams, 10 May 1922).

Early life

Kyle was born on 30 October 1893 in

Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...

Ulster Ulster (; or ; or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional or historic provinces of Ireland, Irish provinces. It is made up of nine Counties of Ireland, counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kingdom); t ...

, the northern

province A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

in Ireland. She was the youngest child of Robert Alexander Kyle, the owner of an outfitter/draper, and Kathleen Frances Bates. A governess, Delphine Ladiray, educated Frances and her sister Kathleen, who subsequently attended Ladies' & Preparatory School. She spent a year in 1905 at a boarding school in

Poitiers Poitiers is a city on the river Clain in west-central France. It is a commune in France, commune, the capital of the Vienne (department), Vienne department and the historical center of Poitou, Poitou Province. In 2021, it had a population of 9 ...

in France and then attended a finishing school in

Bern Bern (), or Berne (), ; ; ; . is the ''de facto'' Capital city, capital of Switzerland, referred to as the "federal city".; ; ; . According to the Swiss constitution, the Swiss Confederation intentionally has no "capital", but Bern has gov ...

in Switzerland. She received her BA in French in 1914, and her LLB in 1916 at

Trinity College, Dublin Trinity College Dublin (), officially titled The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, and legally incorporated as Trinity College, the University of Dublin (TCD), is the sole constituent college of the Univ ...

(TCD).

Career

In January 1920, Frances Kyle and Averil Deverell were admitted as the first female students of law at the

King's Inns The Honorable Society of King's Inns () is the "Inn of Court" for the Bar of Ireland. Established in 1541, King's Inns is Ireland's oldest school of law and one of Ireland's significant historical environments. The Benchers of King's Inns aw ...

in Dublin. Kyle came first in the Bar Entrance Examinations and, in October 1921, she became the first woman to win the John Brooke Scholarship. At the time, ''

The Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It was launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is Ireland's leading n ...

'' described her being awarded the Scholarship as representing "a women's invasion of the law." On 1 November 1921, she was called to the Irish bar by Sir Thomas Molony. A week later, she was called to the newly established

Bar of Northern Ireland The Bar of Northern Ireland is the professional association of barristers for Northern Ireland, with over 600 members. It is based in the Bar Library, beside the Royal Courts of Justice, Belfast, Royal Courts of Justice in Belfast, together with ...

at the Crumlin Road Courthouse. She practiced as a probationer and received her first brief on 23 November 1922. On 14 November 1922, Kyle was elected a member of the Circuit of

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

at a meeting in Belfast, becoming the first female member of a circuit. Kyle is reported in the ''Dublin Evening Telegraph'' in 1922 as having received eight briefs. Kyle may have struggled to find work as her last listing in ''Thom's Law Directory'' is in 1931. In 1937, she appeared in court to defend herself on a parking summons. By 1952, Kyle was living in London with her sister Kathleen, who was married to a medical inspector, Dr. John McCloy. In 1930, Kathleen was described by the '' Belfast Newsletter'' as "very well known in Belfast" and "a delightful speaker". Kyle died of cancer at The London Clinic in

Marylebone Marylebone (usually , also ) is an area in London, England, and is located in the City of Westminster. It is in Central London and part of the West End. Oxford Street forms its southern boundary. An ancient parish and latterly a metropo ...

on 22 June 1958, aged 64.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kyle, Frances 1893 births 1958 deaths 20th-century Irish lawyers 20th-century Irish women lawyers Alumni of Trinity College Dublin Irish emigrants to the United Kingdom Irish barristers Lawyers from Belfast Deaths from cancer in England