Four Courts
| The Four Courts | |
|
County Dublin | |
|---|---|
 The Four Courts along the River Liffey | |
| Type: | Courthouse |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | O15013422 |
| Location: | 53°20’45"N, 6°16’25"W |
| City: | Dublin |
| History | |
| Address: | Inns Quay |
| Built 1786-1802 | |
| For: | Government of Ireland by Thomas Cooley and James Gandon |
| Material: | Portland stone and granite |
| Courthouse | |
| Neoclassical | |
| Information | |
| Owned by: | The Republic of Ireland |
The Four Courts stand on Inns Quay in the centre of Dublin and house the main courts of the Republic of Ireland. In this building sit the Supreme Court, the Court of Appeal, the High Court and the Dublin Circuit Court. Until 2010 the building also housed the Central Criminal Court; this is now located in the Criminal Courts of Justice.
The name 'Four Courts' does not however refer to the four distinct courts which sit here today, but to old common law courts, the Court of Chancery, the Court of King's Bench, the Court of Exchequer and the Court of Common Pleas, which sat in the building until replaced by a single High Court in 1877.
Much of the building was destroyed in 1922 during the Irish Civil War, and subsequently rebuilt.
Contents
Court structure
Under the Supreme Court of Judicature Act (Ireland) 1877, the four courts of King's Bench, Chancery, Common Pleas and Exchequer were replaced by a single Supreme Court of Judicature, consisting of the High Court of Justice in Ireland and the Court of Appeal. After the creation of the Irish Free State, the Courts of Justice Act 1924 established for a new 'Supreme Court of the Irish Free State' (presided over by the Chief Justice) replacing the Court of Appeal, and a reconstituted High Court of Justice (presided over by the President of the High Court). Despite some minor changes of name and jursidiction, and the insertion of a new Court of Appeal, the structure remains in essence the same today and all these courts sit in the Four Courts.
Gandon's Building
Work based on the design of Thomas Cooley for the Public Records Office of Ireland, began in 1776. After his death in 1784 renowned architect James Gandon was appointed to finish the building, which we recognise today as the Four Courts. It was built between 1786 and 1796, while the finishing touches to the arcades and wings were completed in 1802.[1] The lands were previously used by the King's Inns.
Easter Rising
During the brief Easter Rising in 1916, the Four Courts and surrounding areas were held by the rebels under Edward Daly. Some of the most intense fighting of Easter Week took place in the Church Street/North King Street/North Brunswick Street area. At the end of the week the Four Courts building itself became the headquarters of the IRA's '1st Battalion'.
Destruction in Civil War
The Irish Civil war began in 1922, as Irish Republican Army forces opposed to the Anglo-Irish Treaty rebelled against the government of the Irish Free State. On 14 April 1922 the courts complex was occupied an IRA force led by Rory O'Connor. On 27 June the Free State's new National Army attacked the building to dislodge the rebels, on the orders of the Minister for Defence Richard Mulcahy, authorised by President of Dáil Éireann, Arthur Griffith.[2] This provoked a week of fighting in Dublin. In the process of the bombardment the historic building was destroyed. The west wing of the building was obliterated in a huge explosion, destroying the Irish Public Record Office at the rear of the building. Nearly a thousand years of archives were destroyed by this.
O'Connor's forces were accused of mining the records office; however, those present, who included future Taoiseach Seán Lemass, said that, while they had used the archive as a store of their ammunition, they had not deliberately mined it. They suggest that the explosion was caused by the accidental detonation of their ammunition store during the fighting.[2]
After the IRA had been dislodged, Winston Churchill wrote to Michael Collins that "The archives of the Four Courts may be scattered but the title deeds of Ireland are safe."
Reopening in 1932
For a decade after the destruction of the Civil War, the courts sat in the old viceregal apartments in Dublin Castle. In 1932, a rebuilt and remodelled Four Courts was opened. However, much of the decorative interior of the original building had been lost and, in the absence of documentary archives (some of which had been in the Public Records Office and others of which were among the vast amount of legal records lost also), and also because the new state did not have the funds, the highly decorative interior was not replaced. Two side wings were rebuilt further from the river to undo the problem caused by excessively narrow footpaths outside the building. However, that change, and the removal of chimney-stacks, removed some of the architectural unity and effect planned by Gandon in 1796.
Criminal Courts of Justice
Prior to 2010 both civil and criminal trials were heard in the Four Courts, which was also the location of the Court of Criminal Appeal. When the Criminal Courts of Justice near the Phoenix Park opened in January 2010 all criminal trials were transferred there.[3][4] The Four Courts remain in use for civil matters.[3] The criminal division of the Court of Appeal also sits in the Criminal Courts of Justice.
The are plans to relocate the Supreme Court to a new purpose-built building near the Four Courts, to open in 2020.[5]
Outside links
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("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Four Courts) |
References
- ↑ Craig, Maurice: 'Dublin 1660–1860' page 243
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 'The Republic - the Fight for Irish Independence 1918–1923' Charles Townshend ISBN 978-0-141-03004-3
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 New order in court as €140m legal 'Pantheon' opens doors, Dearbhail McDonald, Irish Independent, 24 November 2009
- ↑ First case set for new criminal courts, Carol Coulter, The Irish Times, 24 November 2009
- ↑ Conor Gallagher (2017-06-12). "Supreme Court to get its own building for the first time". The Irish Times. http://www.irishtimes.com/news/crime-and-law/supreme-court-to-get-its-own-building-for-the-first-time-1.3115868. Retrieved 2017-07-01.
