Sharing the History of the Four Courts, Dublin, Ireland

Ruth Cannon

  • The Litigant who became a Barrister, 1853

    From Saunders’ Newsletter, 3 July 1853: “The spectator in the Hall of the Four Courts may, if it pleases, sometimes see, in his costume, a tall, portly looking young man whose history is about as romantic as that of any… Continue reading

  • Long Hours for Law Clerks, 1865

    From the Freeman’s Journal, 13 May 1865: “The general half-year meeting of the Attorneys and Solicitors’ Society was held yesterday in the Solicitors Hall, Four Courts [now the Law Library]… to consider the propriety of giving a half-holiday each Saturday… Continue reading

  • The Lord Chief Justice’s Phantom Coach, 1803-

    The position of Lord Chief Justice, accorded to the most senior judge of the Queen’s Bench, did not bring good luck to the first such office-holder to sit in Court 1. Lord Kilwarden, by all accounts a decent and humane… Continue reading

  • Gatecrashing a Bar Meeting, 1830

    As you can see from the illustrations above, Courts 1-4 as originally furnished included a handsome box (complete with coat-hooks and inkwells) specifically for the Press. Pre-Law Library, the Courts were often used for Bar meetings and the Freeman’s Journal… Continue reading

  • Barrister’s Spouse Violated by Briefing Solicitor, 1842

    From the Galway Vindicator and Connaught Advertiser, 20 April 1842: “Mr Robert Caldwell, a respectable attorney, was… charged with having… attempted by force to violate Anne Corbet, the wife of Mr Edward Lestrange Corbet, barrister. Mrs Corbet… deposed that she… Continue reading