THE HISTORIC courthouse at Kilmainham, beside Kilmainham Gaol, one of Dublin’s major tourist attractions, may be converted into a legal history museum or exhibition space under the guidance of the Office of Public Works.
The 188-year-old courthouse has fallen into a state of disrepair in recent years and the Courts Service this week closed its doors for the final time.
Dublin Labour Party TD Joe Costello said he believes the best way forward would be to hand it over to the trustees of the museum at Kilmainham Gaol and allow it to be incorporated into the complex.
Mr Costello said the trustees had restored the old jail at no cost to the State and they should be given the same opportunity to reinvigorate the old courthouse.
“Considering the courthouse’s association with such historical and political figures as the Invincibles, the Fenians and the 1916 Volunteers, it would be appropriate to have it restored and incorporated into the Kilmainham museum complex for the 1916 centenary commemoration in 2016,” he said.
The caseload from Kilmainham will be transferred to a new courthouse in Blanchardstown and the city centre courts, before the new Parkgate Street courts complex is completed in 2010.
