Stories of the Four Courts

Sharing the history of the Four Courts, Dublin, Ireland, through old newspaper stories and images.

about this site
site author
the building
the locality
the judges
the lawyers
the court staff
the trials
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The Four Courts, Dublin, Ireland, has been the centre of the Irish legal system for over 225 years. The building takes its name from the old superior courts of Chancery, King’s Bench, Equity and Common Law, which it was originally built to house. Although these four courts were subsequently merged into a single court, the High Court, the name still lives on today.

This site uses old newspaper articles and historical images to bring the reader back in time to the Four Courts of the 19th and early 20th centuries, when it was, for a time, the centre of Dublin life. In it, you can find information about the following:

The Four Courts building, from its initial construction in the 18th century up to its destruction in 1922, and its subsequent reconstruction and re-opening in the 1930s.

The uniquely vibrant locality of Dublin surrounding the Four Courts known as St Michan’s Parish, and the often fraught relationship between the Courts and its inhabitants.

Famous (and infamous) events associated with the Four Courts, including but not confined to notorious trials, horse-whippings, challenges to duels and the Battle of the Four Courts during the Irish Civil War.

The three Law Libraries of the Four Courts and their lively occupants, court advocates known as barristers. whose colourful and eventful lives make fascinating reading.

Latest Posts

  • Boy Racers on Arran Quay, 1834

    The entry of a stray bull into the Round Hall in 1835 proved a one-off event. Livestock, in general, were not attracted to the Four Courts. Carriages, on the other hand, were an entirely different matter, particularly when driven by… Continue reading

  • Barrister Kills Solicitor, Becomes Attorney-General, 1814

    Regrettable personal differences often arise between Irish barristers and solicitors. Fortunately, not all end as tragically as this dispute reported in the London Courier & Evening Gazette of 19 February 1814:- “On Saturday evening… a meeting took place on the… Continue reading

  • Barrister-Barrister Shooting, 1815

    In addition to shooting solicitors they did not agree with, early Irish barristers also occasionally settled by force of arms disputes between themselves. One example is reported in the Dublin Correspondent, 9 May 1815: “In consequence of some warm language… Continue reading

  • Female Lay Litigant Accorded Precedence Over Attorney-General, 1853

    Another ‘lady’ advocate story from the Evening Freeman, 12 January 1853: “The Hon. Justice Crampton entered court shortly after twelve o’clock, and took his seat on the bench, costumed in his full dress peruke and state robes…. Mrs Winter, who… Continue reading

  • Lawyers Exit, Pursued by a Bull, 1835

    From the Dublin Pilot, via the Leeds Times, January 3, 1835: “On Thursday week, about one o’clock, a bull on its way from Smithfield, turned into the entrance of the Four Courts, under the grand portico, and immediately put to… Continue reading

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