The Principal Solicitor for Ireland was one of the Irish Law Officers in the sixteenth century. The office originated in a rather unusual way, from a dispute between two rivals for the Office of Solicitor General for Ireland, Patrick Barnewall and Walter Cowley, but it survived for some decades, as it took some of the burden of work from the senior Law Officers. Since both the Solicitor General and the Principal Solicitor were colloquially referred to as the Solicitor, there is some confusion as to who held which office at which time.