The solicitors’ profession of 1916 is almost unrecognisable from that of today. For a start, it was entirely male, and scarcely more than a tenth of its current size.

The profession comprised Catholics and Protestants in roughly equal number and, without doubt, was loyal to the British Empire, even if most Catholic solicitors wanted home rule within the Union. There were even two Irish Parliamentary Party MPs on the Council of the Law Society.

The Law Society put its full weight behind recruitment to the British forces in 1914. It maintained a Roll of Honour for those who died in the war and kept a record of all the military awards that the various Allied countries presented to Irish solicitors. The annual reports show that 155 solicitors and 83 apprentices joined the British armed forces in the war. These are astounding numbers for such a small profession. Remember – these were all volunteers.

In the second of two articles, Ciaran O’Mara (a partner in O’Mara Geraghty McCourt) illuminates the lives and sacrifices of three solicitors from across the island who gave their lives at the Somme. You can read his full article in the October Gazette.

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