Assault on the Four Courts among centenaries to be commemorated this year

Justice minister Helen McEntee has launched the justice sector programme of commemorative events for 2022-2024, which will reflect on many of the formative events in the history of the State.

“The period which we are now considering saw the foundation of the State and the establishment, or, in some cases, the handing over of many of the institutions and administrative pillars which have served us since then,” the minister said.

“Central to this was the justice sector. Indeed, 1922 was a particularly significant year. It saw the foundation of our national police service, An Garda Síochána. It was also, of course, a year which tragically saw the advent of the Civil War and this was reflected in the occupation of the Four Courts, and with it the destruction of the Public Records Office.

“Both 1922 and the years that followed saw many developments and transitions, including the end to the revolutionary Dáil Courts regime and the establishment of the Courts system of the new State. These were tumultuous years as the new State came into being. Both the Department of Justice, its forerunner, the Department of Home Affairs, and the various other parts of the justice sector were central to that time and that work.”

An Garda Síochána and the Courts Service are leading comprehensive programmes of events over the course of this year to mark the key events of the establishment of An Garda Síochána, the occupation of the Four Courts and the impact which this had on the operation of the courts at the time, and the development and enactment of the Constitution of the Irish Free State.

A justice sector symposium, titled Justice in Ireland 1822-2022, will take place in the Printworks of Dublin Castle in partnership with an academic institution on 22 November. Falling on the 200th anniversary of the establishment of the County Constabulary and the 100th anniversary of the establishment of An Garda Síochána, the symposium will provide an opportunity for a consideration by academics and practitioners of the development of both policing and justice institutions more broadly over that time, including the evolution of the prison and probation services.

The Department of Justice said it intends to commence a number of projects to provide access to records from the early decades of the State. This will include the cataloguing of early 20th century departmental files for release to the National Archives and the commissioning of a written history of the first 50 years of the Department.

The programme of events and initiatives will continue to develop with additions to be announced by the Department or other justice agencies later.