Architecture of the Four Courts, Dublin

Published in the Irish Builder, July 15, 1922, after the total destruction of the building in an event that ultimately led to the Irish Civil War. On 14 April 1922, 200 Anti-Treaty IRA, with Rory O’Connor as their spokesman, occupied the Four Courts and several other buildings in central Dublin, resulting in a tense stand-off. After the pro-treaty forces were ordered to attack the Four Courts by the newly-created provisional Irish government, the building was destroyed.

The Four Courts contained the courts of law and an immense number of offices attached to them: it consisted of a central building at each side of which were quadrangles – one to the east, the other to the west – surrounded by buildings containing various law offices, these squares being separated from the street by arcade screens of rusticated masonry, surmounted by a handsome stone balustrade, and the entrance to each courtyard was through a large archway. Over the eastern gate was placed the harp of Ireland on a shield, encompassed by emblems of “Justice“, “Security“, and “Law“, the shield resting on volumes of law books, bound together by a serpent entwined around them; and over the western gate the Royal shield, encircled by oak leaves, was encompassed by different emblems appropriate to the offices which occupied that wing. Edward Smyth, of Dublin, who was also the talented and famed sculptor of the Custom House and the King’s Inns, was the artist. Around the eastern court were the offices of the Chancery, the former Exchequer Court, and Rolls Court; in the western square were those of the King’s Bench, etc., and the old repository of the Rolls of Chancery.

The centre building contained the Courts of Chancery, Kings’s Bench, the former Courts of Common Pleas, and Exchequer. The Courts of Common Pleas and Exchequer were about thirty years ago converted into King’s Bench, or as it then, was Queen’s Bench No 2 and Nisi Prius No 2. The central building formed a square of 140 feet, within which was described a circle of 64 feet in diameter, from whose circumference the Four Courts radiated to the angles of the square and the intervals between the courts were occupied by various rooms and retiring chambers for the judges, etc. One of them was also employed as a Rolls Court, Strange to relate, on examination after the fire and explosions, the private room of the Lord Chief Justice and that of his secretary adjoining, were found perfectly intact and uninjured. The Chief Justice’s room had been used as his office by the Commandant General of the Irregulars, Rory O Connor during the occupation of the courts as headquarters, while he used the secretary’s room as his sleeping apartment. He was, by the way, an assist ant engineer of the City Engineer’s Department.

The front of the central pile consisted of a handsome portico of six Corinthian columns, with pilasters supporting a magnificent and well-proportioned pediment, having on its apex a statue of Moses, on one side of which was a figure of Justice and on the other one of Mercy. As mentioned elsewhere, it was Gandon’s intention to extend this portico over the footpath, but in a vain desire to conciliate ignorant and unreasonable opposition and foolish criticism he was induced to curtail the portico, to the grave injury of his design. If the Four Courts be restored, as we make no doubt it will be, effect might well be given to Gandon’s original intention. At each extremity of the front, and over the coupled pilasters, were statues in a sitting posture, one of “Wisdom“, the other of “Authority“. Above the central building rose a circular lantern of the same diameter as the hall, 64 feet, ornamented by 24 pillars, and lighted by twelve windows. An entablature was carried round the summit of the lantern, and on this appeared to rest the magnificent dome. Beneath the portico of the south, or principal front, was a semi-circular recess, in the centre of which was the doorway leading to the hall of the courts, which was beneath the dome and which in term time exhibited an extraordinary air of bustle and confusion. At the extremities of the dia meters, passing through the four cardinal points, were the entrance to the hall, the Rolls Court, and the chambers appropriated to the judges and juries etc., and between these were the entrances to the different courts, each en trance being between Corinthian columns two deep, 25 feet high, fluted the upper two thirds of the shaft and resting on a sub plinth, in which the steps leading to the court were inserted.

By this disposition there were formed eight intervals or recesses, all ornamented in the same style, and the piers between them were decorated with niches and sunk panels. The columns supported an entablature which was continued the entire way round; above the entablature was an attic pedestal ornamented by eight sunk panels, which were exactly above the eight intervals between the columns; and on the panels over the entrances to the courts the following historical events were represented in bas relief: “William the Conqueror instituting Courts of Justice Feudal and Norman Laws Doomsday Book Curfew“; “King John signing Magna Charta, in presence of the barons”; “Henry II giving an audience to the Irish chiefs and granting the first charter to the citizens of Dublin”; “James I abolishing the Brehon Laws, Tanistry, Gavelkind, Gossipred, and publishing the Act of Oblivion”. These were also the work of Edward Smyth. From the attic pedestal rose the hemispherical dome, with a rich mosaic ceiling; in the dome, above the panels of the attic, were eight windows of considerable size, which admitted abundance of light into the hall beneath, the lighting being very ingenious. The vortex of the hemispherical ceiling was perforated by a circular opening which permitted a view into the void between the two domes, as in St Paul’s in London. The void, which contained a large apartment, the diameter of the hall, illumined by 12 windows, and formerly used as a record room, was originally intended for a library, but was obviously ill suited for such purpose.

In the piers between the windows of the interior dome were eight colossal statues, in alto relievo, resting upon consoles or brackets, representing “Punishment“, “Eloquence“, “Mercy“, “Prudence“, “ Law“, “Wisdom“, “Justice“, “and “Liberty“. Over those statues an entablature with a highly enriched frieze was continued round the dome, and immediately above each window, on the frieze, medallions of the following eight ancient legislators, “Moses”, ”Lycurgus”, ” Numa”, ”Confucius”, ”Alfred”, ”Manco Capac”, and ”Ollamh Fodhla”.

The original four courts, which were all of exactly the same dimensions, 98 feet by 98 feet square, were similarly constructed, and were separated from the great hall by a partition, the upper part of which was glazed. On each side of every court were galleries for the jury, and at the end opposite the entrance the judges bench was placed, in an elevated position, beneath a semi elliptical sounding-board. Each court was lighted by six windows, three on either side. Other courts were subsequently provided the most modern and commodious being the Nisi Prius Court No 1. In the hall were placed in more modern times a number of very fine statues of great Irish lawyers, including the great lawyer and silver tongued orator, James Whiteside, Plunkett, Joy, Sir Colman O’Loghlen etc.