Four Courts

Lonely Planet review

Impossible to miss if you're up this end of town, James Gandon's (1743-1823) masterpiece is a mammoth complex stretching 130m along Inns Quay. Construction on the Four Courts began in 1786, soon engulfing the Public Offices (built a short time previously at the western end of the same site), and continued until 1802. By then it included a Corinthian-columned central block connected to flanking wings with enclosed quadrangles.

The ensemble is topped by a diverse collection of statuary. The original four courts - Exchequer, Common Pleas, King's Bench and Chancery - branch off the central rotunda.

The Four Courts played a brief role in the 1916 Easter Rising without suffering damage, but it wasn't so lucky during the Civil War. When anti-Treaty forces seized the building and refused to leave, Free State forces led by Michael Collins shelled it from across the river. As the occupiers retreated, the building was set on fire and many irreplaceable early records were burned. These were the opening salvos in the Irish Civil War. The building wasn't restored until 1932.

Visitors are allowed to wander through, but not to enter the courts or other restricted areas. In the lobby of the central rotunda you'll see bewigged barristers conferring and police officers handcuffed to their charges waiting to enter court.