In Plain Sight, a collaboration between King’s Inns and the Bar of Ireland, seeks to celebrate the achievements and enhance the visibility of historical and contemporary women that have demonstrated significant leadership, influence and contribution to the practice and education of law.

It aims to achieve this through the commissioning of additional portraiture that will hang in the Law Library or King’s Inns, as appropriate, in plain sight to the barristers of today and tomorrow

The In Plain Sight initiative was created in response to a notable under–representation of female subjects displayed in the collections of The Bar of Ireland and King’s Inns - despite the existence of numerous influential women in law.

Among them, Averil Deverell and Frances Kyle who were the first women to be called to the Irish Bar in 1921 following the enactment of the Sex Disqualification (Removal) Act 1919. It is vital that such pioneering women are acknowledged, celebrated and are represented.

This joint initiative aims to commission additional portraiture of female subjects from the profession and judiciary, to hang principally along with the existing collection at King’s Inns. 

The 2023 Commission: Portrait of Frances Moran SC, the first woman to be appointed Senior Counsel

The 2023 Commission was of Frances Moran SC. who  was called to the Irish Bar in 1924, becoming the fourth woman to be called in Ireland. She became a member of the Law Library, a membership she retained until 1973, but her most notable role was in legal education. She was appointed to Trinity College Dublin in 1924, was appointed Reid Professor in 1925, Professor of Equity in King’s Inns in 1932, Professor of Laws in TCD in 1934 and subsequently Regius Professor until her retirement in 1963.

She was also the first woman to be called to the Inner Bar and take silk, becoming a Senior Counsel in 1941, again years before any woman took silk in Britain. She became the first woman Honorary Bencher of King’s Inns in 1969 and the first Honorary Fellow of TCD.

Artist and sculptor Vera Klute was awarded the 2023 commission and her oil on canvas depiction of Frances Moran was un veiled at King’s Inns on Thursday, October 19, 2023.

Learn more about Vera Klute here > 

 Learn more about the portrait here >

The 2022 Inaugural Commission

Artist Emma Stroude was announced as the 2022 In Plain Sight recipient. Emma completed a commission of Frances (Fay) Kyle BL and Averil Deverell BL, who were the first women to be called to the Irish Bar on the 1st November 1921 following the enactment of the Sex Disqualification (Removal) Act, 1919.

Emma was chosen following a selection process and in consultation with the Director of the Royal Hibernian Academy (RHA).

Amongst her various exhibitions both here and abroad, Emma was the 2021 Winner of the Irish Arts Review Ireland–U.S. Council Portraiture Award (pictured). Her work can be viewed at emmastroude.com.

Portraits of women currently hang in the Honorable Society of King’s Inns:

Portrait of Ms. Justice Mary Laffoy, former Supreme Court Judge

Pencil and Acrylic, 2020 by Hetty Lawlor

Educated at University College Dublin and later at King’s Inns, Mary Laffoy was called to the Bar on in 1971 and took silk in 1987. She was appointed as a High Court judge in 1995 and remained in that position until 2013 when she was appointed as a judge to the Supreme Court. She retired from that position in 2017.

She is most well known for presiding over the Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse 1999–2003, a position she resigned from in 2003. She served as Chair of the Citizens’ Assembly in 2016–2018 and was president of the Law Reform Commission from 2018 to 2022.

Portrait of Frances Kyle BL and Averil Deverell BL, first women called to the Irish Bar

On Tuesday, July 26, 2022, the first portrait commissioned as part of the In Plain Sight initiative was unveiled. It is a double portrait of Frances Kyle BL and Averil Deverell BL in oil, based on documentary material and research undertaken by the artist Emma Stroude in close conjunction with historian Liz Goldthorpe, librarian Renate Ní Uigin and CEO & Under Treasurer of King;s Inns Mary Griffin. 

ARTIST EMMA STROUDE IS PICTURED ABOVE WITH MAURA MCNALLY SC, CHAIR OF COUNCIL OF THE BAR OF IRELAND, AND HUGH I MOHAN SC, CHAIR OF COUNCIL OF THE HONORABLE SOCIETY OF KING’S INNS

At the unveiling of the portrait, Hugh I Mohan SC, Chair of Council, The Honorable Society of King’s Inns, said;

“This initiative continues The Honorable Society of King’s Inns’ investment and commitment to the visual arts, as mode to communicate the heritage of the institution and profession, as well as its contemporary understanding.

That we are only now commissioning a portrait of the first female barristers underscores the work that needs to be done in terms of a more representative portrayal of the profession. I look forward to seeing a continuation of this fantastic initiative in the years to come.”

Portrait of former Chief Justice Susan Denham, first female Chief Justice of Ireland

Oil on Linen, 2017 by William Nathans

Susan Denham was called to the bar in 1971 and became a Senior Counsel in 1987. As a barrister, she was involved in a number of high profile cases particularly in the area of judicial review. She became a High Court judge in 1991 and in 1992 was the first woman appointed to the Supreme Court. On her first day in the Supreme Court conference room in 1992 she said:

“I felt . . . that I was on the shoulders of the pioneering women of previous generations.”

She is credited with many needed administrative reforms in the court system and with facilitating a more collegiate and mutually supportive culture in the judiciary. From 1995 to 1998, she chaired the Working Group on a Courts Commission. This led to the establishment of the Courts Service. She served on the Board of the Court Service from its inception, and chaired it from 2001–04. From 2006, she chaired the Working Group which recommended the establishment of a Court of Appeal. This was ultimately established in 2014.

She was part of the Irish delegation which, with the Netherlands and Belgium, established the European Network of Councils for the Judiciary (ENCJ). From 1st January 2015 to 31st December 2016, she was President of the Network of the Presidents of the Supreme Judicial Courts of the European Union which is an association of Supreme Court Presidents and Chief Justices of EU Member States. On 25 July 2011, she was appointed by the president as Chief Justice on the nomination of the government. She retired from the position in July 2017. 

Portrait of Ms Justice Mella Carroll, first woman to serve as a judge in the High Court of Ireland

Oil on Canvas by Maeve McCarthy

After studying Law at King’s Inns, Mella Carroll was called to the Bar in 1957. In 1976 she was called to the Bar in Northern Ireland and in 1977 became the first practising female senior counsel and for a period was the only female SC practising in the Irish state. A popular and well–respected barrister, Mella was unanimously elected chairwoman of the Bar Council in 1979 and a year later she became the first woman appointed to the High Court, representing a milestone in Irish legal history. She was one of the longest serving High Court judges, having sat on the bench for 24 years.

As well as serving on the High Court, she chaired the Commission on Nursing and the second Commission on the Status of Women. In addition, she served on the administrative tribunal of the International Labour Organisation in Geneva until 2002, becoming its vice president and also president of the International Association of Women Judges.

She died in January 2006, shortly after her retirement from the High Court. When she died, she was serving as chancellor of Dublin City University and as chairwoman of the UCD Irish Centre for Commercial Law Studies. She was an inspiration to many, especially women, who wished to pursue a legal career.  

In Plain Sight is intended to be a multi–annual initiative. Donations are welcome through the below link from students, members and alumni of King’s Inns as well as the wider public.

To learn more about the In Plain Sight initiative and to make a donation, please visit lawlibrary.ie/inplainsight.