End of an era at Killorglin Courthouse?
FINAL SITTING HEARS OF CASES ALLEGING DRUGS ACTIVITY, ILLEGAL WASTE, BURGLARY, FIREARMS AND A LOOSE BOAT
IT has been hearing cases for almost 150 years but, last Thursday, Killorglin Courthouse may have heard its last sitting.
It is quietly accepted that Killorglin Courthouse the former private chapel of Lord Ventry, in District Number 17, and one of just seven remaining court houses in Kerry, will not re-open and addresses in the local courthouse to mark the occasion gave tacit acknowledgement to that.
Unable to hold video conferencing, or provide consultation facilities, and in need of a complete overhaul, speculation has surrounded the future of the listed building in Killorglin with some time. It closed finally following a health and safety inspection.
At Thursday’s sitting during opening addresses to mark the historic occasion, the town’s longest practising solicitor Liam Crowley told how ‘petty sessions’ were held in the building from 1869 to 1912 – and Killorglin was one of 13 towns at the time to include courthouses.
Killorglin has had only four judges in the history of the State; the first judge was District Justice Johnston and his 1,000 guineas a year, a generous salary for the time, included a “danger element” in a countryside where there was “little or no law or order” in the aftermath of both the War of Independence and the Civil War, Mr Crowley said.
Mr Justice Johnston afterwards became President of the High Court. Noting that the District Court was established by a Temporary Provisions Act of 1923, the closure of Killorglin was down as temporary too, Mr Crowley wryly remarked.
“I note the reference to temporary. None of us knows what’s going to pan out,” Mr Crowley said.
There is now major concern among legal practitioners that the court may not return at all to Killorglin which is the headquarters of Fexco and a number of other industries.
Around 10 years ago, a plan to have the court in Killorglin housed in a new area services building built by the county council in a public-private capacity did not materialise, although there had been negotiations between the council and the court service on the matter. The court service says a court cannot continue in the old chapel there after inspections carried out in recent weeks, and the building needs “significant investment”.
The court on Thursday dealt with 51 matters, along with family law and set dates for the Killorglin list for two months.
It heard or made reference to cases of drugs activity by Lithuanians ‘parachuted’ into Tralee for a day or two by a crime boss; illegal waste near Milltown, a boat coming loose on the road near Glenbeigh, social welfare fraud, burglary, a firearms charge and other matters.
Tales were told before and after court on Friday of outstanding characters to sit on the solicitors’ benches – or stand against the wall – each had his own position and the late Michael Ahern got special mention. Tales were also told about judges and the days of the open fire in the courthouse when the turf barrel went on fire near the late judge Humphrey Kelleher.
The Killorglin court is now to be held in conjunction with the Cahersiveen sitting on the second Thursday of the month. It will be known as “Killorglin sitting in Cahersiveen,” Judge James O’Connor said. Judge O’Connor said he had mostly happy memories of the courthouse – where he had also practised as a solicitor – and it had served the area well.
On behalf of the gardaí, Inspector Niall Crowley noted the historical nature of having a court in the same building for almost 150 years.