Maurice F. Healy BL, (1887–1943) was an Irish lawyer and author, who is best remembered for his legal memoir ''The Old Munster Circuit''. He was born in

Cork Cork or CORK may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container ***Wine cork Places Ireland * Cork (city) ** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...

, son of the well-known solicitor Maurice Healy and nephew of Timothy Michael Healy, the first

Governor-General of the Irish Free State The Governor-General of the Irish Free State ( ga, Seanascal Shaorstát Éireann) was the official representative of the sovereign of the Irish Free State from 1922 to 1936. By convention, the office was largely ceremonial. Nonetheless, it wa ...

. His mother was a sister of A.M. Sullivan, who was the last barrister to hold the title Serjeant, and was noted for his unsuccessful defence of Roger Casement. Timothy Sullivan, the second Chief Justice of Ireland, was a cousin of Maurice, as was Kevin O'Higgins, a leading figure in the early Irish Free State Government. Maurice was educated at Clongowes Wood College and University College Dublin. He was called to the Irish Bar in 1910, and to the English Bar in 1914 and saw action in the First World War on the Western Front and at Gallipoli. He received the MC in 1919 after serving in France and also in Germany during the immediate post-war occupation. Maurice at one point stood for Parliament as a candidate for West Waterford. After the

Irish War of Independence The Irish War of Independence () or Anglo-Irish War was a guerrilla war fought in Ireland from 1919 to 1921 between the Irish Republican Army (IRA, the army of the Irish Republic) and British forces: the British Army, along with the quasi-mil ...

, while several of his close relatives became prominent political figures in the Irish Free State, he chose to practice at the English Bar. While he would have been happy enough to see Ireland gain Home Rule by peaceful means, he had a horror of revolutionary violence (although he also denounced the crimes committed by the Black and Tans) and he seems to have found life in the Irish Free State uncongenial. He was made

King's Counsel In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel ( post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of a queen, is a lawyer (usually a barrister or ...

in 1931. He became Recorder of Coventry in 1941; it was suggested this might be the prelude to a High Court judgeship, but any such hope was cut short by his premature death. He wrote celebrated books on wine - ''Claret and the white wines of Bordeaux'' (1934), and ''Stay me with Flagons'' (1940). He also wrote poetry, mostly light and humorous. His most famous work is ''The Old Munster Circuit'' (1939) an affectionate and nostalgic portrait of life at the Irish Bar, especially on the

Munster Munster ( gle, an Mhumhain or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the south of Ireland. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms of Gaelic Ireland ruled by a "king of over-kings" ( ga, rí ruirech). Following the ...

(Southern) Circuit between 1900 and 1920. The book was an instant success; '' the Spectator'' called it "Entirely delightful to read" and it has retained its popularity ever since. With André Simon (who referred to Healy as 'my dearly beloved disciple') and others he founded the Saintsbury Club in 1931, which still meets today, reportedly stating that it should be created `to perpetuate and honour his name' (Professor

George Saintsbury George Edward Bateman Saintsbury, FBA (23 October 1845 – 28 January 1933), was an English critic, literary historian, editor, teacher, and wine connoisseur. He is regarded as a highly influential critic of the late 19th and early 20th centu ...

). A legendary wit and conversationalist, Healy also made a number of celebrated BBC broadcasts during the war years.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Healy, Maurice 1887 births 1943 deaths Irish emigrants to the United Kingdom 20th-century Irish lawyers Irish memoirists Irish Queen's Counsel 20th-century Irish writers 20th-century male writers People educated at Clongowes Wood College Writers from Cork (city) Recipients of the Military Cross Royal Dublin Fusiliers officers 20th-century memoirists