The ribbon was cut on Kilkenny’s new courthouse on Friday last when the Minister for Justice Dermot Ahern visited Kilkenny to carry out the official ceremony.
He was greeted by a Garda Siochana guard of honour on the plaza in front of the original courthouse building and he walked through the old building into the new construction where courthouse 3 is located.
There the official speeches took place and the works were appreciated by more than 100 court services users including solicitors, barristers and local representatives.
The event was also presided over by the chief justice John Murray, mayor Martin Brett and chairman of Kilkenny County Council Catherine Connery.
In his speech the chief justice commented, “today sees the official opening of an, at once ultra modern and sensitively restored, historically important civic heart to the cityscape of Kilkenny.”
He added, “the building project, the fruits of which we see around us today, posed particular challenges to the court services ... to marry a courthouse, whose origins go back to the late 18th century, although parts of its fabric can be traced back to Grace’s Castle which occupied the site in the 13th century, with the demands and needs of Kilkenny in the 21st century.”
He also praised the project team for preserving the fine attributes of the existing courthouse while at the same time sympathetically extending and adapting it to the needs of modern society...
The restoration, overseen by the Courts Service and the Office of Public Works, cost in the region of €17 million to complete. The court services were relocated during the works and the refurbishment lasted about three years.
Also speaking at the opening Minister Ahern said, “the Courts Service, which celebrated its first decade last year, must be congratulated for the ambitious programme of new courthouse development and refurbishment projects which it has rolled out throughout the country over that period.
“This programme has physically transformed the courts infrastructure throughout the country. These new and refurbished courthouses are a lasting testament to the commitment of the Courts Service Board and the Courts Service staff to the delivery of improved standards and services to all its stakeholders.”
The works provide new and improved accommodation for all court users and include two new courtrooms, judges’ chambers, consultation rooms for legal practitioners to meet their clients privately, victim support room, improved jury facilities, office accommodation for Circuit and District Court offices and a holding cell area for prisoners.
The Minister added, “the new courthouse here in Kilkenny is a great credit to the Office of Public Works and their architects who have once again done a magnificent job. I would also like to single out the conservation architects team from Bluett O'Donoghue who helped preserve the integrity of the past whilst sympathetically marrying the modernity of the new extension and atrium. The main contractor on the project was Michael McNamara & Co who brought all the planning and design to fruition. While the traditions of the past have been respected and enhanced, I think you will agree the building is thoroughly 21st century.”
The building is open to the public and while the old building will be open to court users when court is in session, the side entrance on Bateman Quay is open leading to the main atrium on a daily basis.
