Roscommon Courthouse is a judicial facility located on Abbey Street,

Roscommon Roscommon (; ; ) is the county town and the largest town in County Roscommon in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is roughly in the centre of Ireland, near the meeting of the N60 road (Ireland), N60, N61 road (Ireland), N61 and N63 road (Irelan ...

County Roscommon County Roscommon () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is part of the province of Connacht and the Northern and Western Region. It is the List of Irish counties by area, 11th largest Irish county by area and Li ...

, Ireland.

History

The courthouse, which was designed by

Sir Richard Morrison Sir Richard Morrison (1767 – 31 October 1849 / 1844Philip Smith (writer), ''An Introduction to the Architectural Heritage of County Wicklow'' (Dublin: Wordwell Press / Government of Ireland, Department of the Environment, Heritage, and Local Go ...

in the

neoclassical style Neoclassicism, also spelled Neo-classicism, emerged as a Western cultural movement in the decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that drew inspiration from the art and culture of classical antiquity. Neoclassici ...

and built in

ashlar Ashlar () is a cut and dressed rock (geology), stone, worked using a chisel to achieve a specific form, typically rectangular in shape. The term can also refer to a structure built from such stones. Ashlar is the finest stone masonry unit, a ...

stone, was completed in 1832. It was built beside the new gaol (now the site of Roscommon garda station) to replace the previous courthouse, which is now known as Harrison Hall and which currently houses a branch of the Bank of Ireland. The courthouse was gutted by a major fire on the evening of Wednesday 14 June 1882. The fire was started accidentally when a gas leak was ignited in the courthouse. A half-gale was blowing that evening, and within half an hour the building was in flames. When the roof collapsed in the conflagration, the sparks were carried by the strong winds to the roofs of nearby thatched houses, and the fire continued to spread. All of the thatched houses in the vicinity were quickly destroyed. The courthouse was restored under the architectural guidance of Christopher Mulvany in 1883. The building was originally used as a facility for dispensing justice but, following the implementation of the

Local Government (Ireland) Act 1898 The Local Government (Ireland) Act 1898 ( 61 & 62 Vict. c. 37) was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland that established a system of local government in Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots diale ...

, which established county councils in every county, it also became the meeting place for

Roscommon County Council Roscommon County Council () is the local authority of County Roscommon, Ireland. As a county council, it is governed by the Local Government Act 2001. The council is responsible for housing and community, roads and transportation, urban plannin ...

. The county council moved to Áras an Chontae in December 2015, leaving the courthouse for the sole use of Roscommon Circuit and District Courts. In December 2022, due to the dilapidated condition of the courthouse, the sittings of Roscommon Circuit and District Courts were moved to a temporary facility in the former Fairyland dance hall on the Racecourse Road. The Courts Service has indicated its intention to refurbish the courthouse when funding becomes available. As of March 2025, refurbishment works have still not commenced.

Architecture

The design involves a symmetrical main frontage with five bays facing Abbey Street; the central section of three bays, which slightly projects forward, features a short flight of steps leading up to a

hexastyle A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls. This idea was widely used in ancient Greece and has influenced many cultu ...

portico A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls. This idea was widely used in ancient Greece and has influenced many cu ...

with

Doric order The Doric order is one of the three orders of ancient Greek and later Roman architecture; the other two canonical orders were the Ionic and the Corinthian. The Doric is most easily recognized by the simple circular capitals at the top of t ...

columns supporting an

entablature An entablature (; nativization of Italian , from "in" and "table") is the superstructure of moldings and bands which lies horizontally above columns, resting on their capitals. Entablatures are major elements of classical architecture, and ...

and a

frieze In classical architecture, the frieze is the wide central section of an entablature and may be plain in the Ionic order, Ionic or Corinthian order, Corinthian orders, or decorated with bas-reliefs. Patera (architecture), Paterae are also ...

. There are three

sash window A sash window or hung sash window is made of one or more movable panels, or "sashes". The individual sashes are traditionally paned windows, but can now contain an individual sheet (or sheets, in the case of double glazing) of glass. History ...

s on the first floor and a

cornice In architecture, a cornice (from the Italian ''cornice'' meaning "ledge") is generally any horizontal decorative Moulding (decorative), moulding that crowns a building or furniture element—for example, the cornice over a door or window, ar ...

and a

cupola In architecture, a cupola () is a relatively small, usually dome-like structure on top of a building often crowning a larger roof or dome. Cupolas often serve as a roof lantern to admit light and air or as a lookout. The word derives, via Ital ...

at roof level. There is a mosaic of the Roscommon crest on the floor of the entrance lobby, which is a reminder of Roscommon's former mosaic industry. There is a large portrait of

Douglas Hyde Douglas Ross Hyde (; 17 January 1860 – 12 July 1949), known as (), was an Irish academic, linguist, scholar of the Irish language, politician, and diplomat who served as the first president of Ireland from June 1938 to June 1945. He was a l ...

, the first president of Ireland, hanging over the main staircase. The courthouse was originally built with a tunnel leading to the adjacent gaol, for the easy transfer of prisoners. The gaol has long since closed, been demolished and replaced with Roscommon Garda station. However, the courthouse end of the tunnel remains in place.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Roscommon Courthouse Buildings and structures in County Roscommon Courthouses in the Republic of Ireland