The Law Society’s Dr Barry Whelan has been interviewed on Newstalk’s Talking History podcast about the life and work of Lithuanian-born Irish solicitor Michael Noyk.

Dr Whelan was interviewed by Dr Patrick Geoghegan for the podcast, after his talk about Noyk’s life in the latest of the Law Society’s series of history lectures last week.

Noyk was legal advisor to Michael Collins, Arthur Griffith, and Constance Markiewicz, and also became one of the principal solicitors acting on behalf of arrested Republican figures during the War of Independence.

Broad interests

After the War of Independence, Noyk would go on to have a prominent career in his legal practice. He had a broad range of interests, from football – he was the solicitor for Shamrock Rovers Football Club – to the restoration of Kilmainham Jail.

When he died in October 1966, the guests at the funeral included President Éamon de Valera and Taoiseach Seán Lemass.

Dr Whelan has previously written about Noyk’s contribution to the cause of Irish freedom in the Gazette.