“Why can’t Irishmen be lawyers?”/“They can never get past the bar.”

A popular Irish joke is:
 
Q: Why can’t Irishmen be lawyers?
A: They can never get past the bar.
 
The joke has been cited in print since at least 1999.
 
“An Irishman walks out of a bar” is a similar joke.
 
 
Google Groups: alt.support.dystonia
Humor
Gene V
11/23/99
(...)
Why can’t Irishmen ever be attorneys?
They can never make it past the bar!
 
Twitter
Varrun Ramani
‏@varrunr
Why do Irishmen never make it as Attorneys? Ans: Because they can never make it past the “bar”
9:20 AM - 16 May 2010
 
Google Books
Ultimate Book of Jokes:
The Essential Collection of More Than 1,500 Jokes
By Scott McNeely
San Francisco, CA: Chronicle Books
2011
Pg. 169:
Q: Why can’t Irishmen ever be lawyers?
A: They can never make it past the bar.
 
Twitter
Jokes247
‏@Jokes247
Why can’t Irishmen ever be attorneys?
They can never make it past the bar!
6:53 AM - 5 Feb 2011
 
Google Groups: talk.politics.misc
Re: Jump in and Haul Ass
Louie Brandass
7/25/12
(...)
Why can’t Irishmen ever be attorneys?
They can never make it past the bar!
 
reddit
Why can’t Irishmen be lawyers? (self.Jokes)
submitted July 17, 2015 by electricalmoose
They can never get past the bar.