INTRODUCTION

The Honorable Society of King’s Inns (King’s Inns) is Ireland’s oldest School of Law and one of Ireland’s significant historical environments. It is located between Henrietta Street and Constitution Hill in Dublin 1.  King’s Inns is a ‘not–for–profit’ educational institution and is registered with the Charities Regulator of Ireland.

King’s Inns is a centre for professional legal education and training across all areas of the law. In addition to our key role in educating future and qualified barristers, the School of Law extends its reach to a wider community of people from non-legal backgrounds offering a range of accessible part-time and online courses in specialist areas of the law. The School of Law is also a centre of excellence in promoting the use of the Irish language in the law. All of our courses are taught by expert law practitioners.

 

Establishment of King’s Inns

King’s Inns was formally established in 1541. It derives its name from King Henry VIII who was instrumental in ensuring that a lease of the lands at Inns Quay (where the Four Courts are now located) was transferred to the Benchers of the King’s Inns. In the Middle Ages, the need for apprentice lawyers to study the common law led to the founding of hostels where they could live and study. The Inns of Court were places where law students were provided with accommodation, meals and tuition.   From this foundation Inns of Court developed more significant functions of administration, regulation and education of members of the legal profession.  The Honorable Society of King’s Inns is an institution to which all members of the Irish Bar and senior judiciary belong, and its roots go back to the 16th Century.  Although the Inns is now exclusively associated with the Bar and the judiciary it had a wider ambit in former years.  Until 1866 all Irish solicitors and attorneys were obliged to be members of King’s Inns. 

Until 1800, the buildings at Inns Quay provided what was needed to support life and practice at the bar. There were chambers where barristers lived and worked, a hall for eating and drinking, books for research, a chapel for prayer and gardens for recreation. When, at the end of the 18th century, the government of the day decided that it needed a building in which to house permanent courts, the noted architect, James Gandon, having just completed the Four Courts building, was commissioned by King’s Inns in 1800 to design the present buildings on Constitution Hill.

Between 1819 and 1822, the Benchers considered the running of their library and noted that the books were difficult to maintain and catalogue due to they being stored on the floor.  The present Library Building was built between 1826 and 1830 to a design by Frederick Darley.  In 1892 an annexe was added to the north- west wing. 

The Copyright Act 1710 required that printers give a copy of each book published to various university libraries. King’s Inns and Trinity College Dublin were added to that list in 1801. 

  

Purpose of the Society

The primary purposes of King’s Inns are the education and admission of persons to the profession of Barrister, and the provision of services and support to members of the Society.

Under the General Rules of the Society, the main objects of the Society are:

1)      the promotion and advancement of learning in the law,

2)      the education and training of members of the Society in the law,

3)      the protection and furtherance of the reputation and standing of the degree of Barrister-at-Law,

4)      the preservation of the heritage that is comprised in the King’s Inns, its buildings, library, furnishings and environs,

5)      to ensure the fitness of persons to practise as or to hold themselves out as barristers prior to and, subject to Part 6 of the Legal Services Regulation Act 2015, after their call to the Bar.

 

Our values

In all our activities, we value

  • excellence

  • independence 

  • ethos

  • effectiveness

  • relevance 

  • change.

 

Our mission

The mission of King’s Inns is to excel in the provision of both professional and academic legal education and training, and to develop and nurture lifelong relationships with our entire membership.

 

Our vision

Our vision, as set out in the Strategic Plan 2019 – 2025, is to further develop King’s Inns as a modern twenty–first century institution, which is a centre of excellence in the provision of legal education and training, and to have a value and significance for its membership who promote the importance of the rule of law in a modern democracy.

 

Strategic Aims

Education

To further develop and enhance our School of Law as the premier professional legal education centre in Ireland. In developing our education offering, the degree of Barrister-at-Law and the Diploma in Legal Studies will continue to be core.

Membership Relations

King’s Inns is a professional body. This is recognised in the Legal Services Regulation Act 2015. We have a role as a professional body for practising barristers that are not members of the Law Library. We will develop our offerings to members and alumni to ensure the ongoing relevance of King’s Inns for all.

Enabling Activities

  • financial health

  • facilities and information communication technology

  • good governance

  • continuous improvement, and,

  • excellent human resources.

 

Register of Members

The members of the Society are persons entered upon a register of members of the Society maintained by the Council in the following categories and who have not, in the case of barristers, been disbarred:

 1)      benchers (including honorary benchers),

2)      practising barristers who are members of the Law Library,

3)      practising barristers who are not members of the Law Library,

4)      Circuit Court and District Court judges who have been admitted to the degree of Barrister-at-Law,

5)      qualified barristers (who do not come within any of the first four categories),

6)      degree students who have paid tuition fees, who will be deemed to be student members of the Society.

  

King’s Inns School of Law

The School of Law offers the following programmes in legal education, the degree of Bachelor-at-Law, the Diploma in Legal Studies, and a range of special purpose Advanced Diplomas.

 

Barrister-at-Law Degree

The Barrister-at-Law degree course is a professional course providing skills-based, vocational training to candidates seeking to qualify as barristers. This pre-qualification training of barristers is a core educational activity of King’s Inns, and a significant amount of staff time and Inns resources are afforded each year to running the Barrister-at-Law programme. This professional training phase follows on from the academic training phase already completed by students, either an approved Level 8 (NFQ) legal qualification from an Irish university or the King’s Inns Diploma in Legal Studies. The Barrister-at-Law course is offered as a one-year full-time course or a two-year modular course.

  

Diploma in Legal Studies

The Diploma in Legal Studies is a two-year programme in substantive law. Its primary objective is to enable students, who do not already have a third level legal qualification to acquire the knowledge and understanding of substantive law and of legal research skills that will enable them to participate fully in the professional course alongside university graduates in law. The course is now in its fourth decade and continues to provide an access route to qualification as a barrister to a wide cross-section of Irish society who might not otherwise be able to complete the academic phase of legal training. As such, the course provides an important pathway to diversification of the Bar.

The student body comprises graduates in disciplines other than law and a large group of mature entrants with no third level qualification. The part-time nature of the course allows students to remain in full-time employment while pursuing their education.  They are also assisted by the timetabling of classes in the evenings and on a number of Saturdays during the academic year, and by the fact that all lectures on the course are now recorded and may be played back through Moodle, the King’s Inns virtual learning environment.

 

Advanced Diplomas

King’s Inns runs a range of advanced diploma programmes. Advanced diploma programmes are open to everyone. They are designed and delivered by practising experts in the relevant field. These courses are part of King’s Inns core activities for members and non-members, and they represent an important income stream for King’s Inns.

The most popular courses are Employment Law, Data Protection Law, and Planning and Environmental Law.