Under the Courts of Justice Act 1924, courts were established for the new Irish Free State with the Supreme Court of Justice, 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, continuing the jurisdiction of the old High Court. The Constitution of Ireland in 1937 provided that courts would be established in a manner provided by the Constitution; this did not in fact occur until the implementation of the Courts (Establishment and Constitution) Act 1961. The Supreme Court and High Court (now dropping "of Justice" from their title) established under this act continued the jurisdiction of the courts established under the 1924 Act.[5]
Prior to the construction of the modern Four Courts, a previous complex existed close to Christ Church Cathedral on what is today St Michael's Hill which was in use from around 1608 to the opening of the present building around 1796. The Four Courts Marshalsea was also located close by at that time between Winetavern Street and Fishamble Street.[7]
Even after a reconstruction by William Robinson in 1695, there were constant complaints about the buildings condition and location.[8][9]
Gandon's building
Part of the original Gandon-designed interior decoration of the dome, lost in the 1922 destruction
Work, based on the design of Thomas Cooley for the Public Records Office of Ireland, began in 1776. After Cooley's death in 1784, renowned architect James Gandon was appointed to finish the buildings. It was built between 1786 and 1796, while the finishing touches to the arcades and wings were completed in 1802,[10] The lands were previously used by the King's Inns.[11] and before that a 13th-century Dominican Friary St. Saviour's was located on the site, confiscated following the dissolution of the monasteries by Henry VIII.[12]
Easter Rising
The Four Courts and surrounding areas were held by Commandant Edward Daly's 1st Battalion during the Easter Rising in 1916. Some of the most intense fighting of Easter Week took place in the Church Street, North King Street and North Brunswick Street area. At the end of the week, the Four Courts building itself became the headquarters of the 1st Battalion.[13]
On 14 April 1922, the courts complex was occupied by IRA forces opposed to the Anglo-Irish Treaty, with Rory O'Connor acting as their spokesman. On 28 June the new National Army attacked the building to dislodge the "rebels", on the orders of the Minister for DefenceRichard Mulcahy, authorised by President of Dáil ÉireannArthur Griffith.[14] This attack 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 explosion, the ensuing fire, and the water poured onto the fire.[15]
The IRA was accused of mining the records office; however, those present, who included future TaoiseachSeán 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.[14]
Reopening in 1932
The Four Courts at Inns Quay
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.[3]
Further development
The Office of Public Works added a modern two-storey extension to the roof of the old Public Records Office in the late 1960s. They also built River House on Chancery Street, which served as Dublin's only motor tax office for a number of years.[16]
Criminal courts
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 building, near the Phoenix Park, opened in January 2010, all criminal trials were transferred there.[17][18] The Four Courts remain in use for civil matters.[17]
Plans for Supreme Court building
There are plans to relocate the Supreme Court to a new purpose-built building near the Four Courts.[19]
^Michal Boleslav Mechura (10 December 2006). "Uimhreacha Na Gaeilge"(PDF) (in Irish). p. 12. Archived from the original(PDF) on 27 June 2011. Retrieved 19 May 2011. Original historic use of the plural form: use of the singular form is a relatively new habit. Even at the beginning of the twentieth century, speakers had the choice of using the plural form also, and many survivals of that usage are seen at the present time, particularly in proper names: na Ceithre Cuirteanna, for example, is said, even though na Ceithre Chúirt would be more correct according to current language rules.
^ ab"Four Courts". Incorporated Council of Law Reporting for Ireland. Archived from the original on 1 November 2020. Retrieved 9 November 2019.
^Colum Kenny, King's Inns and the Kingdom of Ireland: The Irish 'inn of court' 1541–1800 (Irish Academic Press & Irish Legal History Society, 1992), pp. 261–5
