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Michael Comyn Old Munster circuit

Michael Comyn (1871–1952), an Irish barrister, Fianna Fáil Senator, and later Circuit Court judge, joined the Munster Circuit in 1900 after being called to the Irish Bar in 1898. The Munster Circuit was a legal circuit in southern Ireland, where barristers traveled to various county courts to represent clients in civil and criminal cases. Comyn began his legal career presenting cases at quarter sessions in his home county of Clare, building a successful practice that led to his appointment as King’s Counsel in 1914.

Comyn was notably active in nationalist politics, and his legal work often reflected this. A significant case was In Re. Clifford and O’Sullivan (1921), where he represented two of 42 men sentenced to death by a military tribunal for possessing arms during the Irish War of Independence. Facing a desperate situation, Comyn creatively applied for Prohibition, an obscure legal remedy, arguing the military court lacked jurisdiction. Though initially dismissed in lower courts, the case reached the House of Lords, and Comyn later claimed King George V intervened to prevent the executions, ensuring none of the 42 men were executed—a testament to his legal ingenuity and influence.

The Old Munster Circuit is also associated with Maurice Healy’s 1939 memoir, The Old Munster Circuit: A Book of Memories and Traditions, which offers a humorous and nostalgic account of the circuit’s legal culture from 1900 to 1920, when Comyn was active. Healy, a Cork-born barrister, describes the circuit’s colorful characters, courtroom anecdotes, and the unique social dynamics of Irish legal practice, providing context for the environment in which Comyn worked. The book, praised as a literary classic, captures the camaraderie and challenges of the Munster Circuit, where barristers like Comyn navigated complex cases amidst Ireland’s turbulent political landscape.

Comyn’s career on the circuit was marked by his advocacy for republican prisoners during the “troubles,” with no prisoner he represented facing execution. His work extended to high-profile appeals, including one for suffragette Georgina Frost before the House of Lords. In 1936, he left the Seanad to become a judge on the Eastern Circuit Court, concluding a distinguished legal career rooted in the Munster Circuit’s traditions.

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