Skip to content

Stories of the Four Courts

Sharing the history of the Four Courts, Dublin, Ireland, and other Irish courts, one story at a time.

  • Welcome to Stories of the Four Courts
  • Historical Views of the Four Courts – East Side
  • Historical Views of the Four Courts – West Side
  • People of the Four Courts
  • The Neighbourhood
Stories of the Four Courts
Previous image
Next image

cropped-cropped-circle-cropped-1-2.png

Posted on 29 Dec 2020 Full size 1980 × 958

Post navigation

Published incropped-cropped-circle-cropped-1-2.png
A site set up to share the history of the Four Courts, Dublin, Ireland, home of the Irish legal system since 1796, and other Irish courts.

Post Types

  • Post (308)
  • Page (9)
  • blog (2)

Categories

  • Barristers (83)
  • Exciting Events (44)
  • The Neighbourhood of the Four Courts (32)
  • Solicitors (29)
  • Intriguing Cases (26)

Tags

  • Legal Eccentrics (7)

Year

  • 2023 (10)
  • 2022 (41)
  • 2021 (117)
  • 2020 (151)
  • Barristers
  • Barristers' Dress
  • Court Etiquette
  • Court Practice
  • Courts Staff
  • Dublin Divorces
  • Exciting Events
  • Intriguing Cases
  • Judges
  • Solicitors
  • The First and Second Law Libraries
  • The Four Courts Building
  • The Home Front
  • The Neighbourhood of the Four Courts
  • Uncategorized

Top Posts & Pages

  • Kidnapped Fermoy Solicitor Negotiates his own Ransom, Subsequently Sues for its Recovery, 1922-26
    Kidnapped Fermoy Solicitor Negotiates his own Ransom, Subsequently Sues for its Recovery, 1922-26
  • The Pill Lane Fishwives, 1835
    The Pill Lane Fishwives, 1835
  • Leonard McNally, Barrister Lyricist, 1787-9
    Leonard McNally, Barrister Lyricist, 1787-9
  • The Barrister and the 'Charley,' c.1780
    The Barrister and the 'Charley,' c.1780
  • Hats On, Hats Off: Non-Horsehair Headgear in Court, 1785-1971
    Hats On, Hats Off: Non-Horsehair Headgear in Court, 1785-1971
  • Barrister Goes on Fire in Ballina Circuit Court, 1934
    Barrister Goes on Fire in Ballina Circuit Court, 1934
  • Irish Barrister Beheaded on Banks of Bosphorus, c.1825
    Irish Barrister Beheaded on Banks of Bosphorus, c.1825
  • The Registrar who Knew Joyce, 1937
    The Registrar who Knew Joyce, 1937
  • Called to the Bar, June 1914
    Called to the Bar, June 1914
  • The Barrister Who Fell in Love With his Witness, 1908-1915
    The Barrister Who Fell in Love With his Witness, 1908-1915

All Posts

  • The Bells of St Bartholomew’s and Serjeant William Bennett Campion, 1882-1907
  • Discoveries at the Four Courts Bookstalls, 1796-1886
  • The Barrister and the ‘Charley,’ c.1780
  • A Objectionable Dress, 1909
  • The Tall Hat as Mandatory Off-Duty Legal Wear, 1800-1934
  • There and Gone: Pill Lane, The Vanished Street Behind the Four Courts (Part 1)
  • A Curious Career, 1901
  • A Poet and Inventor’s Last Will, 1906
  • Attorney’s Apprentice Eschews Physical Combat in favour of Private Prosecution, 1821
  • The Lion, the Unicorn, the Harp and the Little Knobule, 1931-2023
  • The Tragic Tale of Charlotte Lodge
  • The Story of Mary Ha’penny
  • Two Tragic Barrister Trip and Falls at Wilton Place, 1882-1911
  • An Order of Habeas Corpus
  • A Bull Lane Girl’s Day Out, 1876
  • The ‘Hard-Swearers’ of Henrietta Street, 1844 
  • The Dangers of Wedding an Improvident Bride, 1832-1849
  • Gurgles from the Grave as Judicial Rivalry Continues into the Afterlife, 1882-1979
  • The Arran Quay Ghost, 1837
  • Wife Sued for Libel by Estranged Husband After Circulating Hand-Bills Seeking Name of her Predecessor, 1862
  • ‘Briefless Junior’ Secures Life-Changing Career Success by Standing in for Senior Detained on Field of Honour, 1815
  • Witchcraft in Waterford, 1886
  • The Great Dublin Lodging House Theft, 1847
  • From the Four Courts to Buenos Aires, 1790-1830
  • Eight Days in a Lifeboat for Author of Indispensable Irish Criminal Law Text Torpedoed off Africa, 1941
  • Kidnapped Fermoy Solicitor Negotiates his own Ransom, Subsequently Sues for its Recovery, 1922-26
  • The Judge’s Son Who Shelled the Four Courts, 1922
  • A Wizard in Court, 1856-1870
  • Revolving Doors Require No Hands, 1954
  • The Time They Tried to Move the Four Courts to London, 1850
  • Note of Thanks Left Behind as Sweet-Toothed Rebels Vacate Requisitioned Solicitor’s Office, 1916
  • Portico Problems, 1786-1925
  • Sandymount Lady Sues English Lieutenant for Breach of Promise, 1920
  • A Robbery at the White Cross Inn, 1814
  • The Barrister Who Fell in Love With his Witness, 1908-1915
  • Snowballing in Peace and War, 1867-1945
  • Howth Tea-Smuggler Escapes as Revenue Routed by Pill Lane ‘Mob,’ 1764
  • Woman-on-Woman* Fight Behind the Four Courts Reduces Combatants’ Clothes to Ribbons, 1879
  • Hats On, Hats Off: Non-Horsehair Headgear in Court, 1785-1971
  • Shouldering Guns Like Gentlemen: Irish Lawyers to the Front, 1914-18
  • A Barrister’s Mysterious Death, 1844
  • Midlands Circuit Judge Throws Himself Between Combatants to End Free Fight in Boyle Court, 1907
  • British Soldiers Routed by Dublin Amazons, 1871
  • More on the Milltown Outrage, 1861
  • Fawn-Smuggling on Inns Quay, 1838
  • Newspaper-Reading in Court, 1867-1998
  • Lord Chancellor’s Emissary Saves Lady from Singed Cat, Incurs Husband’s Wrath, 1838
  • Scouts say ‘Great Scott’ as Irish Barrister Repeatedly Risks Life in Breathtaking Powerscourt Waterfall Rescues, 1942-44
  • Flags and the Four Courts, 1885-1922
  • The Milltown Outrage, 1861
  • Irish Barrister Beheaded on Banks of Bosphorus, c.1825
  • Not Putting a Ring on it, 1937
  • A She-Judge, 1830
  • A Barrister’s Account of the Easter Rising, 1916
  • The Misfortunes of Judge Linehan’s Criers, 1913-29
  • Relocating the Encumbered Estates Court, 1850-60
  • Irish Barrister Escapes Prison, Elopes to France in a Barrel, 1820
  • Served up on a Staffordshire Platter: The Four Courts, c.1820
  • As It Was: Images of the Inns Quay/Arran Quay Junction, 1753-present
  • A Bear in the Dock, 1875
  • Future Judge Brings Legal Proceedings to Recover Dognapped Pet, 1830
  • Called to the Bar, June 1914
  • The Mysterious Folding Doors of the Supreme Court, 1937-73
  • Aristocratic Insolence in the Dublin Police Court, 1830
  • As It Was: Images of 145-151 Church Street, 1860 to date
  • Dublin Solicitor Helps Couple Elope, Sends Them Bill of Costs, 1905
  • Solicitor Tarred in South William Street Wine Cellar, 1875
  • Inns Quay Before Áras Uí Dhálaigh: Images of the Four Courts Hotel
  • The Marital Misadventures of a Master of the Rotunda, 1890
  • Former British Intelligence Officer and Would-Be Barrister Drowns at North Wall, 1921
  • Barrister’s Vacation Ends in Litigation, 1885
  • The Square Hall Scandal, 1947
  • The Rush to the Bar, 1840-1841
  • A Place of Trees: Dublin 7, 1066-1750
  • Half a Century After Renouncing Monastic Vows, Septuagenarian Barrister Magistrate Marries his Nurse, 1908
  • The War of the Motions: Silk Precedence in the Court of Exchequer, 1834-39
  • Mother of Bride Dies of Apoplexy as Officer Groom Exposed as Fraudster, 1857
  • Lord Chancellor’s Mace-Bearer Fined for Assaulting Dublin United Tramways Conductor, 1902
  • Laughter at Under-the-Table Police Chase in Rolls Court, 1857
  • Dublin Solicitor Dies in Lover’s House of Ill-Fame, 1879
  • Inquest in 158 Church Street After Unexpected Courtship Tragedy, 1858
  • Irish Barristers and the Dáil Courts, 1920
  • Mayo Courtship Ends in Substantial Award of Damages, 1925
  • ‘Our Judges:’ Critiquing 24 Sitting Irish Judges, 1889-90
  • A Visit to the 1890 Law Library
  • A Day in the Four Courts, 1890
  • Lord Leitrim’s Hearse Attacked by Mob in Church Street, 1878
  • Judge Gets the Boot on his First Day in Court, 1890
  • Taken by the Fairies, 1840-1924
  • Much Guarding, Little Action, Scrambling Breakfasts: the Irish Lawyers’ Corps and the Rebellion of 1798
  • Singing for its Supper: The Choir of Christ Church Pays Homage to the Court of Exchequer, 1851
  • The Four Courts as a Sightseeing Destination, 1816-1919
  • Derry Recorder Tests Lady’s Raincoat for Water Ingress, 1929
  • A Barrister’s Privilege Against Physical Retribution for Hurt Feelings, 1821
  • Leonard McNally, Barrister Lyricist, 1787-9
  • Take Off That Ugly Mask: The Problem of Barristers’ Hirsute Appendages, 1866-1896
  • The Mythical Miss Staveley and the Bamboozled Bar Benevolent Fund, 1927
  • Bride Arrested for Shoplifting on Eve of Wedding, 1826
  • The Dome(s) of the Four Courts, 1785-2020
  • QC v JC: Junior Bar Privilege, 1836-1912
  • Barrister’s Son Returns from the Dead, 1896
  • In the Footsteps of Kings: Chancery Place, 1224-1916
  • Marry a Former Chief Justice of Tobago in Haste, Repent at Leisure, 1840-55
  • The Irish Bar and Bench at Home, 1784-1890
  • A Pleading Two-Step, Part 2: The Proper Business of the Junior Bar, 1856-64
  • A Rare Bird at the Four Courts, 1888
  • A Pleading Two-Step, Part 1: The Dangers of Dispensing With Counsel, 1866
  • The Brats of Mountrath Street, 1867-1890
  • The Man of Many Wives, 1884-1895
  • The Bar Cricket Club in Season, 1889-1890
  • Boys’ Night In Ends in Three Months’ Hard Labour for Elderly Barrister, 1892
  • The ‘Cleansing’ of Bull Lane, 1878
  • Future Supreme Court Judge Unsuccessfully Sued for Negligent Driving, 1924
  • An Aggrieved Apprentice, 1874
  • A Barrister’s Right to Walk Unobstructed, 1893
  • Ormond Quay Prison Break, 1784
  • A Princess Arrested in the Four Courts, 1864
  • The Man Who Married His Mother-in-Law, 1904
  • Carlow Solicitor Takes Down Two IRA Men in Career-Ending Gun Battle, 1923
  • Fun on Circuit, 1909
  • His Only Brief, 1896
  • The Goat of Morgan Place, 1881
  • Legal Monkeys Hire Organ-Grinders to Disrupt Judge’s Party, 1846-66
  • No Catholic Testament in the Four Courts, 1919
  • Enough to make Curls Stand on End: Fee Recovery and the Junior Bar, 1862-present
  • The Fighting Herb Doctors of Church Street and Parnell Street, 1852
  • Sligo Jury Turns Water into Whisky, 1860
  • State Trial Implodes as Attorney General Challenges Opposing Counsel to Duel, 1844
  • To Catch a Thief, 1892
  • Mad Cow Escapade in Chancery Street, 1856
  • The Cruel Master, 1778
  • Malpractices of the Senior Bar, 1862
  • Swallowing the Evidence, 1839
  • Irish Free State Prosecuting Barrister Kidnapped, Tarred and Tied to Railings Outside Arbour Hill Prison, 1934
  • Visiting English Barrister Mistakes Free State Detectives for Gunmen, 1923
  • Something Wicker This Way Comes: Laughter in Court at Child Noise Nuisance Case, 1853
  • Mr Godley BL in Trouble Again, 1948
  • The Marrying Kind, or, Mr Godley BL and the Two Wives, December 1903
  • Mr Godley BL and the Bounced Cheque, October 1903
  • Wife of John Godley BL Catches Fire at Leeson Street Party, 1888
  • Mr Dunn BL Back in Town, 1839-40
  • Mr Dunn BL in Prison for Love, October 1838
  • Mr Dunn BL in Love Again, 1838
  • Judicial Coach Hijacked by Helpful Ennis Local, 1902
  • The Law and the ‘Flu, 1918-22
  • Mr Dunn BL in Love, 1836
  • Beneath the East Wing: The Inns Quay Infirmary, 1728-89
  • Teenager Hoaxes Thirteen Belfast Solicitors, 1925
  • Irish Barrister’s Wife Linked to International Man of Mystery, 1926
  • Early Irish Bar Strike, c.1790
  • Let off for Lunch: Pioneering Women Jurors, 1921
  • Judge Calls Women’s Fashion the Ruin of the Country, 1895
  • The (Would-be) Serial Killer of Church Street, 1861
  • Irish Barristers and their Fees, 1866
  • Tragic Tipstaff Death in Phoenix Park, 1905
  • The Registrar who Knew Joyce, 1937
  • Round Hall Wrestle After Perceived Insult to Barrister’s Mother, 1893
  • A Noise Sensitive Judge at the Cork Assizes, 1864
  • Barrister Sentenced to Six Months’ Hard Labour for Stealing Books from Trinity College Library, 1840
  • No False Telegram, 1928
  • Law Library Staff Member Leaves Bride at Altar, 1842
  • Solicitor Delays Discovery to Protect Morals of Lady Typists, 1906
  • Judicial Assassination Attempt at Corner of Leinster Street and Kildare Street Foiled by Observant Pensioner, 1882
  • Apprentice Solicitor Swordfight on Eve of Qualification, 1717
  • Bomb Outrages in the Four Courts, 1893
  • A Stolen Judicial Lunch Goes Viral, 1912
  • Ballymoney Barrister Treats Servants as Guests, 1913
  • From ‘Back Hair’ to Go-Go Boots: Fashion and the Female Barrister, 1921-1967
  • Irish Solicitor Efficiently Rescued After Falling Off Dublin-Holyhead Ferry mid-Channel, 1932
  • Hot, and More Often Not: Calibrating the Four Courts, 1796-1922
  • Judges Accompanied to Assizes by Armed Convoys, 1920-21
  • Breach of Promise Proceedings by Smitten Solicitor’s Clerk, 1892
  • Slanging it Out: The Vernacular in the Courtroom, 1872-1942
  • Popular Killarney Solicitor Disappears after Derby Win, Turns Up Decades Later in South Africa, 1886-1906
  • The Sentinel with the Sonorous Voice: Bramley of the Law Library, 1869-1904
  • The Wimple Life, 1908
  • Barrister Overboard, 1873
  • Bullet-Piercings, Bombs, Whiskey and Cigars: The Four Courts after the Rising, May-June 1916
  • Derry Girl’s Application to Become Barrister Rejected by Benchers of King’s Inns, 1901
  • The Todd Brothers, 1917-18
  • The Great Golfing Days of the Irish Bar, 1904-14
  • Dry Rot, Destitute Juniors and the Law of Cause and Effect: Improving the Second Law Library, 1897-1909
  • A Mysterious Assault on a Four Courts Registrar, 1916
  • The Female Barrister – Fair, Feared and ‘Finished at Forty,’ 1896
  • If Cats Could Talk: The Fatal Fall of a Donegal Solicitor, 1916
  • Manager of Four Courts Coffee Room Prosecuted for Adulterating Spirits, 1921
  • The Musket and the Brief, 1798
  • Law Library ‘Boy’ Sues for Damaged Bicycle, 1910
  • Schoolgirls Ordered Out of Court, 1915
  • Barristers Play the Market, 1900
  • Barrister’s Daughter Elopes in Mother’s Dress, 1878
  • Like Strokes of a Stick on a Carpet, 1891
  • Old Barristers Swoop In to Claim Seats in New Law Library, 1897
  • Bloodhound Sent Out After Father of the Irish Bar Disappears in Scottish Highlands, 1889
  • Compliments from a Four Courts’ Prisoner, 1916
  • Irish Woman Barrister Secures Acquittal for Client on Murder Charge, 1931
  • Son of Court 2 Housekeeper Kills Son of Court 3 Housekeeper in 22 Rounds at Bully’s Acre, 1816
  • Barrister Rescues Sheep, Sued by its Owner, 1907
  • The Prime of Miss Averil Deverell BL, 1937
  • Plumber’s Assistant Dies in Bankruptcy Court Explosion, 1888
  • Barrister Goes on Fire in Ballina Circuit Court, 1934
  • A Four Courts Hold-Up, 1920
  • Along for the Ride, Pre-Railway
  • Lady Law Clerks Strike Out, 1920
  • Dressed to Kilt, 1930
  • The Elephant in the Yard, 1906
  • The Disappearance of an Official Assignee, 1885
  • The New Law Library, 1895
  • Barrister Shoots Himself While Practising for Lawyers’ Corps, 1803
  • A Redundant Crier, 1900
  • Law Student Shoots Solicitor, Barrister Touts for Defence Brief, 1926
  • A Strange Bequest, 1913
  • A Barrister’s Johnnie, 1924
  • Barristers Successfully Challenge Exclusion from Side Passages of Court, 1848
  • Doing ‘Circuit’ in a Motor, 1907
  • Three Legal Men and a Baby, 1832
  • Solicitor Restrained from Breaking Through Judicial Procession Sues for Assault, 1898
  • Barrister Railway Fatalities, 1862-1921
  • Barristers’ Term-Time Immunity from Arrest for Debt, 1860
  • House Party with Legal Associations Ends in Accusations of Theft, 1844
  • Tardy Judge Fines Solicitors Who Fail to Wait, 1899
  • ADR Irish Style, Pre-1850
  • Young Bar Protest Against Judicial Unpunctuality, 1919
  • A Railway Mystery, 1905
  • Solicitor Caned in Four Courts Yard Over Missed Deed, 1846
  • No Palles: Health Crisis in Court 3, 1877
  • Barrister Convicted of Knocker-Wrenching, 1870
  • The Lord Chief Justice-v-Anna Liffey, 1870-1875
  • Cab Driver Convicted of Overcharging a Barrister, 1895
  • Mr Bushe BL Elopes, 1885
  • Four Courts Bag-Carriers and the Great Robing-Room Heist, 1882
  • Junior Barrister Piqued by Omission of his Name from News Report, 1871
  • Acid Attack on Solicitor Charged with Indecent Assault, 1884
  • Sailing Fatalities among the Irish Bar, 1872-1907
  • Fighting over Girls in the Yard, 1836
  • First Law Library Ended by Typhoid and Solicitors, 1894
  • Sumptuous Connaught Bar Dinner, 1831
  • Letting off Steam: Heating Problems in Court 2, 1860
  • Down by the (neglected) Four Courts Gardens, 1904
  • The Irish Barrister’s Dead Sweetheart’s Belongings, 1900
  • The Four Courts on Fire, 1805-1922
  • Led to be Bled: The Painful Duty of Junior Counsel, 1899
  • The Terrifying Tale of the Tipstaff’s Niece, 1835
  • Briefless Barristers as Marriage Prospects, 1870
  • Gallant Liffey Rescue by Solicitor, 1872
  • A Most Offensive Stench: Court 3, 1831-54
  • Tipstaff Bōjutsu, 1837
  • Lord Norbury’s Playground: Court 2, 1800-1827
  • Life-Threatening Law Library Lavatories, 1874
  • A Successful Haunted House Defence, 1885
  • Two Nights with Rose Lovely, 1823
  • The Affair of the White Waistcoat, 1899
  • The Devil’s Own, or, the Bar and the Boers, 1900
  • Lawyer Relieved of Silk Handkerchief by Female Cutpurses, 1818
  • Attorney-General Arranges Bare-Knuckle Boxing Bout, 1824
  • By Dublin Central Station We Nearly Sat, 1863
  • Whacksation of Costs, 1848
  • The Problem of Paging Barristers, 1846
  • Cockfighting in Arran Square, 1844
  • Juror Arrested, Blames Seagull-Shooting Lodger, 1866
  • Lord Chief Justice Declared Too Good to Live, 1822
  • A Shortened Period of Apprenticeship, 1836
  • Round Hall Ablutions Averted, 1808
  • Solicitors Meet to Discuss the General Impossibility of Barristers, 1843
  • Court Documents Stolen for Possible Sale as Toilet Paper, 1860
  • Mr Finn’s Four Courts Coffee-Room, 1839
  • The Bigamist Barrister, 1846
  • Bookstalls, Showmen and Dancing Dogs, 1821-1840
  • Armed Footpad Overpowered in Church Street, c. 1800
  • Case Citations and Personal Law Libraries, pre-1836
  • The Pill Lane Fishwives, 1835
  • The Litigant who became a Barrister, 1853
  • Long Hours for Law Clerks, 1865
  • The Lord Chief Justice’s Phantom Coach, 1803-
  • Gatecrashing a Bar Meeting, 1830
  • Barrister’s Spouse Violated by Briefing Solicitor, 1842
  • The Hammond Lane Explosion, 1878
  • The Perils of Personal Service, 1834
  • Do Not Covet a Barrister’s Wife, 1862
  • The Wandering Law Library Ventilator, 1879
  • Human Remains Beside the West Wing, 1834
  • Unacceptable Sanitary and Timekeeping Arrangements, 1874
  • A Judicial Levee in a Haunted House, 1901
  • Young Bar Fracas, 1829
  • Mob Attack, Inns Quay, 1830
  • The Law Librarian’s Office Burgled, 1857
  • Health and Safety Issues in the Round Hall, 1853
  • The Unwitting Dining Companions, 1784
  • Mr Hooks, 1862
  • A Pressing Communication, 1881
  • The Wigmaker of Arran Quay, 1862
  • The Bridge That Never Was, 1802
  • The Corridor between the Four Courts and Rear Yard Extension, 1857
  • The First Barristers’ Robing Rooms, 1851
  • The First Law Library, 1850
  • The Gambling Devil, 1836
  • Female Lay Litigant Insists on Being Described as a Lady, 1836
  • A ‘Seduction’ and its Consequences, 1830
  • Boy Racers on Arran Quay, 1834
  • Barrister Kills Solicitor, Becomes Attorney-General, 1814

Posts Archive

  • January 2023
  • December 2022
  • November 2022
  • October 2022
  • September 2022
  • August 2022
  • July 2022
  • June 2022
  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020

  • Welcome to Stories of the Four Courts
  • Historical Views of the Four Courts – East Side
  • Historical Views of the Four Courts – West Side
  • People of the Four Courts
  • The Neighbourhood
Stories of the Four Courts

Contact Us

This site shares the history of the Four Courts, Dublin, centre of Ireland's legal system since 1796. Click here to find out more!