Court sits in pub despite two-year effort by Courts Service

A sitting of Killaloe District Court took place in the Brian Boru bar yesterday, with taps visible at the bar from behind a glass screen and “disco lights” reportedly located above the head of the sitting judge.

Brendan McDonald, regional manager at the Courts Service, has said the arrangement is “not suitable in the long term”.

Gardaí and local solicitors have previously come out in strong opposition to the possible closure of the court, which would leave Co Clare with only Ennis District Court and Kilrush District Court.

One solicitor, James Nash, said it was “very important that you have a Garda station and a court as close to the people they are serving as possible”, and that he found the court venue “quite comfortable”.

Mr McDonald said: “This venue for court sittings has been reviewed and a business case has been prepared but not yet finalised.

“I met with An Garda Síochána late in 2015 and have postponed a finalisation of the business case so that they may seek possible alternative accommodation.

“The Courts Service in association with gardaí have conducted such a search for alternative accommodation, not alone in Killaloe but across east Clare, but to no avail. While the current arrangement worked well as a temporary arrangement it is not suitable in the long term.”

He added: “No decision has been made regarding court sittings in Killaloe.”