Dorothea Heron
{{Short description|First woman solicitor to practice in Ireland}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Use Hiberno-English|date=October 2022}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Dorothea Heron
| image = Dorothea Heron graduating in 1921.jpg
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| birth_name = Mary Dorothea Heron
| birth_date = {{birth date|1896|08|19|df=y}}
| birth_place = Dublin, Ireland
| death_date = {{death date and age|1960|10|09|1896|08|19|df=y}}
| death_place = County Londonderry, Northern Ireland
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| known_for = first woman to be admitted to the Roll of Solicitors in Ireland
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| occupation = solicitor
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(Mary) Dorothea Heron (19 August 1896 {{ndash}} 9 October 1960), was the first woman to be admitted to the Roll of Solicitors in Ireland.{{cite web |title=A Trinity of Women: The First Women Solicitors in Ireland |work= First 100 Years |url=https://first100years.org.uk/a-trinity-of-women-the-first-women-solicitors-in-ireland/}}
Biography
Mary Dorothea Heron was born in County Dublin on 19 August 1896.{{Cite web |title=Heron, (Mary) Dorothea {{!}} Dictionary of Irish Biography |url=https://www.dib.ie/biography/heron-mary-dorothea-a10253 |access-date=2022-10-13 |website=www.dib.ie}} Her father, James Heron, was the county surveyor and her mother was a university graduate.{{cite web |title=National Archives: Census of Ireland 1911 |url=http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1901/Down/Bryansford/Main_Street/1233762/ |website=www.census.nationalarchives.ie}}{{cite web |title=National Archives: Census of Ireland 1901 |url=http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1911/Down/Ardglass/Dillon/238439/ |website=www.census.nationalarchives.ie}} Heron attended Victoria College and graduated from Queen's University Belfast with a bachelor of Arts in classics followed by law (B.A., LLB). She became indentured to her uncle Thomas Heron of Belfast, on 7 February 1920. Because of the partition of Ireland which took place on 1 October 1921 Heron practiced in the North although she was one of the last to qualify to practice on both sides of the Irish border. In January 1923 Heron came second in her Final Examination and joined the roll of solicitors on the 17 April 1923. Though she worked in her uncle's office until 1946, Heron never took out a practicing certificate, which is why Helena Early is counted as the first woman to practice as a solicitor. It was common for non court attending solicitors not to have the certificate.{{cite web |title=The first triumvirate |url=https://www.lawsociety.ie/gazette/in-depth/the-first-triumvirate/ |website=www.lawsociety.ie}}{{cite web |title=The final frontier |url=https://www.lawsociety.ie/gazette/in-depth/the-final-frontier/ |website=www.lawsociety.ie}} Heron died on 9 October 1960.
References
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Category:British women lawyers