The joke about Irish lawyers being ‘fat cats’ is beginning to wear a little thin, especially if you happen to be one of them and you are not in the top 2% of the profession that gave birth to the label.

The shock and awe factor – shock at the level of fees commanded by Ireland’s top senior counsel and awe at how they can get away with charging up to e2,500 (£1,718) a day in fees – has infuriated the Irish public and provided endless newspaper copy for an adversarial Irish media.