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The Honorable Society of King's Inns () is the "Inn of Court" for 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 ...
. Established in 1541, King's Inns is Ireland's oldest school of law and one of Ireland's significant historical environments. The
Bencher A bencher or Master of the Bench is a senior member of an Inn of Court in England and Wales or the Inns of Court in Northern Ireland, or the Honorable Society of King's Inns in Ireland. Benchers hold office for life once elected. A bencher c ...
s of King's Inns award the degree of
barrister-at-law A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include arguing cases in courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, researching the law and giv ...
necessary to qualify as a barrister and be
called to the bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...
in Ireland. As well as training future and qualified barristers, the school extends its reach to a diverse community of people from legal and non-legal backgrounds offering a range of accessible part-time courses in specialist areas of the law.


History

The King's Inns society was granted a royal charter by King Henry VIII in 1541, 51 years before
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 Unive ...
was founded, making it one of the oldest professional and educational institutions in the
English-speaking world The English-speaking world comprises the 88 countries and territories in which English language, English is an official, administrative, or cultural language. In the early 2000s, between one and two billion people spoke English, making it the ...
. The founders named their society in honour of King
Henry VIII of England Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is known for his Wives of Henry VIII, six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. ...
and his newly established
Kingdom of Ireland The Kingdom of Ireland (; , ) was a dependent territory of Kingdom of England, England and then of Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain from 1542 to the end of 1800. It was ruled by the monarchs of England and then List of British monarchs ...
. Initially, the society was housed in a disused Dominican friary in Dublin and secured a lease of lands, originally called "Blackfriars", at Inns Quay on the north bank of the
River Liffey The River Liffey (Irish language, Irish: ''An Life'', historically ''An Ruirthe(a)ch'') is a river in eastern Ireland that ultimately flows through the centre of Dublin to its mouth within Dublin Bay. Its major Tributary, tributaries include t ...
in Dublin. The society was reconstituted in 1607 after a period of inactivity and lost possession of its original premises twice, once at the end of the 16th century and again in the mid-18th century. A period of recovery in the 1780s led to the acquisition of the present Constitution Hill site. In 1790, the Inns Quays site was acquired for the purposes of the
Four Courts The Four Courts () is Ireland's most prominent courts building, located on Inns Quay in Dublin. The Four Courts is the principal seat of the Supreme Court, the Court of Appeal, the High Court and the Dublin Circuit Court. Until 2010 the build ...
; the foundation stone at the present building at the top of Henrietta Street was laid on 1 August 1800, with
James Gandon James Gandon (20 February 1743 – 24 December 1823) was an English architect best known for his work in Ireland during the late 18th century and early 19th century. His better known works include The Custom House and the surrounding Beresfor ...
being commissioned as the architect. The building was completed by his pupil Henry Aaron Baker. Turn Again Lane, adjacent to the grounds, was renamed King's Inns Street. For much of its history, the society functioned more as a club than an educational institution. Irishmen who wished to practise as barristers were primarily educated at the English Inns of Court in London until the late 19th century. It was only from the mid-18th century onwards that courses of legal education were provided at King's Inns. Some academics have cited the early history of the King's Inns as an instrument by the colonial power for controlling Irish lawyers due to its practice of excluding Catholics from legal practice until the late 18th century until the overturning of
Penal laws Penal law refers to criminal law. It may also refer to: * Penal law (British), laws to uphold the establishment of the Church of England against Catholicism * Penal laws (Ireland) In Ireland, the penal laws () were a series of Disabilities (C ...
. King's Inns initially hoped the 1920–1922
partition of Ireland The Partition of Ireland () was the process by which the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (UK) divided Ireland into two self-governing polities: Northern Ireland and Southern Ireland (the area today known as the R ...
would not end its all-island remit, and it set up a "Committee of Fifteen" Northern Ireland benchers in 1922. These sought more independence, and separatism was fuelled by King's Inns admitting in 1925 as a barrister
Kevin O'Higgins Kevin Christopher O'Higgins (; 7 June 1892 – 10 July 1927) was an Irish politician who served as Vice-President of the Executive Council and Minister for Justice from 1922 to 1927, Minister for External Affairs from June 1927 to July 1927 a ...
, who had not sat the exams but was
Minister for Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice, is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...
in the
Irish Free State The Irish Free State (6 December 192229 December 1937), also known by its Irish-language, Irish name ( , ), was a State (polity), state established in December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty of December 1921. The treaty ended the three-ye ...
. In 1926, a separate inn of court in Northern Ireland catered for the
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 ...
. In 1929, Hugh Kennedy succeeded in making knowledge of Irish compulsory for admission to King's Inns.


Profile

The society had generally kept a low profile in current affairs in Ireland, though it did come to prominence in 1972 when financial difficulties led to it 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 it also adopted its motto 'Nolumus mutari'), and was based in part on that of Christopher Robinson, senior
puisne judge Puisne judge and puisne justice () are terms for an ordinary judge or a judge of lesser rank of a particular court. The term comes from a combination of the two French words, (since, later) and (born) which have been combined as or ; meaning ...
of the
Court of King's Bench (Ireland) The Court of King's Bench (of Queen's Bench when the sovereign was female, and formerly of Chief Place or Chief Pleas) was one of the senior courts of common law in Ireland. It was a mirror of the Court of King's Bench in England. The King's Ben ...
, who died in 1787. Books were sold at auction at
Sotheby's Sotheby's ( ) is a British-founded multinational corporation with headquarters in New York City. It is one of the world's largest brokers of fine art, fine and decorative art, jewellery, and collectibles. It has 80 locations in 40 countries, an ...
, London, and a considerable stock of them was 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.Colum Kenny, ''King's Inns and the Battle of the Books, 1972: Cultural Controversy at a Dublin Library'' (Four Courts Press & Irish Legal History Society, 2002), passim In addition, its 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
Irish Times National Debating Championship The Irish Times National Debating Championship is a debating competition for students in higher education in Ireland. It has been run since 1960, sponsored by ''The Irish Times''. While most participants represent institutions in the Republic o ...
, and in 2010 won the European Universities Debating Championships. In 2006 the Inns'
hurling Hurling (, ') is an outdoor Team sport, team game of ancient Gaelic culture, Gaelic Irish origin, played by men and women. One of Ireland's native Gaelic games, it shares a number of features with Gaelic football, such as the field and goa ...
team competed in and won the
Fergal Maher Cup The Fergal Maher Cup is a hurling cup competition for Third-level Colleges. The Cup is awarded to the winners of the Tier 3 Championship (the Fitzgibbon Cup and Ryan Cup are the Tier 1 and Tier 2 Higher Education Hurling Championships). The Ferga ...
(3rd Level Division 3) in their inaugural year and subsequently reached the final and semi-final. The
Hungry Tree The Hungry Tree is a tree in the grounds of the King's Inns in Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. An otherwise unremarkable specimen of the Platanus × hispanica, London plane, it has become known for having partially consumed a nearby park ...
, a London Plane that encapsulates a park bench, lies in the grounds of the King's Inns, near the south gate.


Architecture and facilities

The King's Inns complex, situated near Henrietta Street in Dublin, is considered a significant example of neo-classical architecture. It is often cited as an integral part of Dublin's architectural heritage.


Initial design and construction

The complex was initially designed by architect
James Gandon James Gandon (20 February 1743 – 24 December 1823) was an English architect best known for his work in Ireland during the late 18th century and early 19th century. His better known works include The Custom House and the surrounding Beresfor ...
, who was well known for his work on the Custom House and Four Courts. Construction began in 1800, with the first stone laid by Lord Chancellor John FitzGibbon, Earl of Clare on 1 August of that year. Gandon's original design featured two parallel buildings connected by a narrow bridge-like structure at the west front. This structure had three openings and was crowned by a cupola—a domed structure supported by columns. Due to various delays and funding issues, Gandon resigned from the project in 1808. His assistant, Henry A. Baker, took over and completed the project by 1816.


Extensions and modifications

The complex underwent extensions in the mid-19th century. Architect Frederick Darley added three bays to the north end in 1846, while
Jacob Owen Jacob Owen (28 July 1778 – 29 October 1870) was a United Kingdom, British Architecture, architect and Civil engineering, civil engineer of the nineteenth century. His architectural work is most closely associated with Dublin, Ireland. He al ...
extended the south end by three bays in 1849. These extensions were designed to include fireproof strong rooms for storing records, toilets, a carpenters' shop, and a bookbinder.


Architectural features

The King's Inns complex is notable for its use of Portland stone caryatids, which symbolise themes like Plenty, Bacchante, Security, and Law. The building also features a copper dome, a design element that Gandon popularised in Dublin.


Reception, renovations, and conservation

The architecture of King's Inns has been the subject of various opinions. Some consider its gable end to be in the style of Louis Sullivan, a renowned architect known for his work in Chicago. In 1998, a major refurbishment project was carried out in the Registry of Deeds. This renovation included updates to the entrance lobby and conservation work on the staircase, windows, and roof.


Notable alumni and academics

See also: :Irish barristers


See also

* Northern Ireland Inn of Court *
Inns Of Court The Inns of Court in London are the professional associations for barristers in England and Wales. There are four Inns of Court: Gray's Inn, Lincoln's Inn, Inner Temple, and Middle Temple. All barristers must belong to one of them. They have s ...


References


Notes


Citations


External links


Official site – King's Inns
{{Authority control Legal organisations based in Ireland Inns of Court 1541 establishments in Ireland Tourist attractions in Dublin (city) Bar of Ireland