The old Wexford Courthouse stood on Wexford Town’s Commercial Quay, directly across from the entrance on the town side of Wexford Bridge. Built in 1806, it replaced the earlier courthouse at The Bullring. Irish architect Sir Richard Morrison (1767-1849) designed the building. He also designed Knockdrin Castle in Westmeath and St Mary’s Pro-Cathedral in Dublin, as well as courthouses in Clonmel, County Tipperary, and County Roscommon.
Throughout its existence, the structure suffered from flooding, vandalism, fires, and roof leaks. Minutes from local authority meetings describe a building constantly falling into disrepair.
Wexford County Council used the courthouse between 1899 and 1920, holding its meetings in the Grand Jury room.
During the Irish War of Independence (1919-1921), the Wexford branch of the IRA targeted the courthouse. In the early hours of Saturday, 18 June 1921, nine IRA members arrived at the building with cans of petrol and paraffin torches. After entering through a window, the commanding officer Francis Carty and another member of the 4th Battalion Wexford Brigade spread petrol throughout the building. They then set the petrol alight by tossing them into it.
Witnesses at the time recalled hearing a series of explosions, leading many to believe the courthouse had been blown up.
The Wexford Fire Service quickly reached the scene and brought the fire under control before it spread to nearby buildings. However, the courthouse was gutted, except for the Petty Sessions court, which remained intact. According to a local newspaper report from the time, almost all records of the Clerk of Crown and Peace were saved from the fire with the assistance of officers from the Royal Irish Constabulary.
During the mid-1920s, the local authority decided to build a modern courthouse inside the grounds of Wexford Gaol, an old gaol site that had been in use as a home for female inebriates.
Meanwhile, throughout the 1920s and 1930s, the old courthouse building on Wexford Quay fell into such a dilapidated state that the local authority decided it was no longer feasible to invest in repairing it.
Until 1962, the remaining portion of the courthouse was used as a scout hall by the Second Wexford Troop.
After the building was condemned and demolished, the site became home to a petrol station. The petrol station has long since disappeared, and the site is now used as a car park.
References:
Wexford County Archive.
Byrne, P. (2015) Wexford Courthouse.
Rossiter, N. (2013) The Little Book Of Wexford. The History Press Ireland.
Sir Richard Morrison (2015) in Wikipedia. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sir_Richard_Morrison (Accessed: 30 March 2016).