• MyHeritage Wiki
  • Genealogy research by location
  • Ireland
  • Irish court records
    • Petty Sessions Courthouse Rathfarnham County Dublin.

    The Irish Court Records consist of Petty Sessions District Records and Assizes records. The Petty Sessions records are similar to a local district court where minor legal cases are brought before a judge who is able to rule on them and punishment is given in one sitting. The Assize records are those records which may have initially been brought before a petty sessions district court and are then moved to the Assizes where a judge and jury will hear the case and where the case is normally heard in a larger setting (normally a larger town within the County). The Petty Sessions records are available online in some subscription websites. These records are also held at the National Archives in Dublin where they can be viewed.

    Information that can be obtained from Irish Court recordsInformation that can be obtained from Irish Court records

    What can the Irish Court records tell us? Many of the Petty Sessions records are of a very local nature so that research of them can give a clearer context of the locality in which an ancestor resided, and what events or particular incidents were taking place during that time.

    For example, in 1885, Hannah McNamara brought a complaint against William McNamara for allowing his three pigs to trespass on her meadow in Clondanagh townland on the 26th and 29th of June 1885. There was no appearance and it is likely that the case was dismissed as a result, possibly with the parties coming to a settlement. Other local district court cases heard were public drunkenness, fighting, animals on the road and property damage due to animal trespass (as seen above).

    For more serious cases, the cases were often instituted in the petty sessions with their being transferred to the Assizes. Defendants charged with more serious offences would be brought to the petty sessions where they would be remanded in custody, sent to jail, and then ordered to appear within a week at the County courthouse. The case would be transferred at the courthouse to the Assizes court where they would be formally charged and tried by a judge and jury.

    The Irish Court records can be used to identify at what point in time an ancestor was residing in a particular location . This may assist research as to when they may have left an area or emigrated. In this regard, they are valuable for tracking family members.

    These records can also be used for those with Royal Irish Constabulary ancestry, as the name of the officer who was bringing a defendant to court was always noted in the records book.

    The records began in 1818, but the records surviving are from 1851-1924 with large gaps in many court locations. The National Archives has further information on the records available on its website.[1]

    See alsoSee also

    Research your ancestors on MyHeritage

    Explore more about Irish Court RecordsExplore more about Irish Court Records

    References

    1. ↑ Court records held in the National Archives. National Archives of Ireland/An Chartlann Náisiúnta
    Authors template (click twice to edit)
    Retrieved from ""