[1][2] The Executive Council has taken on many of the functions formerly exercised by the Benchers of the Inn of Court of Northern Ireland,[3] which was established at a meeting of the Bench and Bar held on 11 January 1926.

[4][5][6] The King's Inns initially hoped partition would not end its all-island remit, and it set up a "Committee of Fifteen" Northern Ireland benchers in 1922.

This meant that Irish barristers could now train within Ireland, albeit with an obligation to keep terms in one of the Inns of Court in London.

The Benchers of the Honorable Society of King’s Inns was the profession's de facto governing body.

Originally, the Benchers consisted of the Lord Chancellor, the judges of the superior courts, some senior officers of the superior courts and all the senior members of the Bar, including the Attorney-General, the Solicitor General and the three Serjeants.

The redevelopment of the Bar Library, officially opened by Her Excellency Professor Mary McAleese, The President of Ireland, on 29 April 2005, to provide not only enhanced library facilities but also suitable rooms for Continuing Professional Development, meetings, dining and receptions, has afforded the Inn the means of providing the Northern Irish Bar with the reality of association it had hitherto been lacking.

Following on from these close historical links to the English Bar, for much of the nineteenth century it appeared that a system of barristers' chambers would develop in Ireland.

[35] This has been controversial for some Northern Irish barristers who object to swearing an oath of allegiance to, or declaring that they will serve, the British monarch.