From the wonderful ‘Anecdotes of the Connaught Circuit’ by Oliver Joseph Burke, this interesting reference to the ‘Catholic conveyancers’ of the 18th and early 19th century.
Excluded from the Bar by reason of their religion, many 18th century Catholics in both Ireland and England chose to study at the Inns of Court in order to obtain certificates of competency to act as conveyancers giving opinions and drafting deeds on property matters – although because they were not eligible to be called to the Bar, they could not appear as counsel in litigation matters.
The established tradition of Catholic conveyancers meant that, when Catholics finally became eligible to be called to the Irish Bar in the 1790s, many of them ended up practising in the area of property law.
Read Burke’s book in full here.
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