Ruth Cannon

Interesting!

The conviction of the head of Dublin Castle's intelligence department in the Dublin Scandals of 1884 shocked Dublin. Find out about Inspector James Ellis French, self-described as 'Smiler,' and the depositions lodged against him, here:
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The Dublin Scandals of 1884 both shocked and riveted Dublin. Follow their timeline and meet the dramatis personae here. Second in a series.
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Victim or villain? Read the story of James Pillar, 56 Rathmines Road, Dublin, sentenced to 20 years' hard labour by the Dublin Commission Court in 1884, here. First in a series on the Dublin Scandals of 1884.
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The Four Courts site and surrounding area in medieval times, as depicted in a map prepared by the Friends of Medieval Dublin and printed by the Ordnance Survey. A full zoomable version of the map is available here.
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An 18th century map of a strip of land at the southern end of Church Street, Dublin, Ireland owned by Bridget St John, nee Hadsor and let by her to various tenants. More on its history here: ruthcannon.com/2026/01/27/2...
Image from Digital Repository of Ireland, via Europeana.

A very lovely view by Samuel Brocas depicting the Four Courts, Dublin, Ireland c.1820, which originally appeared in his Topography of Ireland of that year.

Image via Virtual Treasury – zoom in here
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A remarkable case from the Dublin Police Court of 1841, involving an American girl, 'of great beauty, and most elegantly attired,' who gave her name as Ellen Rosalind Holmes.' More here: www.ruthcannon.com/2026/01/23/tales-from-the-dublin-police-court-the-story-of-ellen-rosalind-holmes-1841/

A charming double portrait by Horace Hone of Hector and Daniel, the twin sons of the notorious John Toler, 1st Earl of Norbury, Chief Justice of the Common Pleas for Ireland (1800-1827). More about them here:
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Early 18th century Smithfield, Dublin, was a very fashionable area, occupied by the elite of the city, which is why the murder of there in 1710 of the 'young, beautiful and accomplished' Anne Eustace by her husband Francis, created such a scandal. Read about it here:
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In 1877, a Catholic solicitor, William Gallagher, sued a Protestant colleague, George Cochrane, for assault in the bar-room of Armagh Courthouse (below, via Wikipedia), with damages of 100 pounds subsequently awarded against Mr Cochrane. Read about the case here:
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Stamps used to be, quite literally, stamped onto documents. The beautiful #embossing was an elegant way to show that the right money was paid to the right people. In the King's Inns archive we find #stamps from the last few centuries.

Probably the earliest photograph of Ireland's oldest law school, the Honorable Society of King's Inns, Dublin, taken by Henry Fox Talbot c.1845. At the time of the photograph, Gandon's original building had yet to be extended by bays on either side.

Image via www.talbot.bodleian.ox.ac.uk

There were stairs inside that took you to the top.

Yes, you could!

From the days when judges had time for extra-curricular pursuits, a photograph of Richard Cherry, Lord Justice of Appeal in Ireland (1909-1914) and later Lord Chief Justice of Ireland (1914-16) ringing the bells at St Patrick’s Cathedral, Dublin, which appeared in the Sketch of 19 December 1909.

From the Echo (London), 27 January 1888, this tale of John McCarthy, journalist, who narrowly escaped conviction in the Police Court behind the Four Courts, Dublin, Ireland, after having concealed himself for the night in the monument known as ‘Nelson’s Pillar,’ Sackville Street, Dublin. Ireland.

In 1759, M Claude Jaunice, a French officer on parole, visited the Old Four Courts at Christchurch, Dublin, Ireland (image by George Grattan below, via V & A Museum). His account of his visit highlights issues still relevant 300 years later. Read his views here:
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Never out of the Dublin Police Court reports, the forgotten street of Bull Lane (later the site of the Motor Tax Office) played host to multiple homicides in the 19c, when it was home to over 200 prostitutes and their pimps. More here:
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I’m pretty sure judges gossip about lawyers all the time but this is a whole new level...

Beautiful Ross House, Cavan, Ireland (image below) was once the home of James Somerville, his beloved Mary Anne, and their many children. But, when James died intestate, a dispute arose as to those children's legitimacy. Read about it all here:
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One of the many classic stories from the Dublin Police Court behind the Four Courts, Dublin, Ireland, as reported in the Aberdeen Express, 17 February 1886. Liverpool Road was the original name of what is now Portobello Road, Dublin. It was changed due to 'unsavoury associations.'

This Modern Plan of the City of Dublin (1798) may have been the first to show Ireland's newly opened Four Courts. Much has changed in the configuration of the Four Courts and surrounding streets since then. Read about it here:
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The image below is of Michael Fitzpatrick, Chief Tipstaff in the Four Courts, Ireland, aged 98 at the date of his death in 1915. Read his account of his times, and pick up some bonus longevity tips, here:
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Merriment in Wexford, Ireland, in 1857, as a ballad singer, incarcerated for singing a rebel song, secures his release on Christmas Eve thanks to the generosity of anonymous Irishmen abroad. Read about it here:
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As illustrated by this print of John Philpot Curran, later Master of the Rolls, an 18c Irish circuit barrister and his horse enjoyed a special relationship. A moving tribute by a contemporary of Curran to his recently deceased horse 'Pleader' may be read here:
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Perfection as an orator was the goal for any self-respecting barrister in the newly opened Four Courts of 1796. Tyros who wanted advice on how to achieve this could start by acquiring Knox's 'Hints on Public Speaking' from Fitzpatrick's bookshop on nearby Ormond Quay for just over one shilling...

The seagulls at the Four Courts, Dublin, Ireland have always had a tendency to swoop on its inhabitants (see below). However, fighting there during the Civil War of 1922 provoked them to screaming, window-thumping heights akin to Hitchcock’s ‘The Birds'. More here:
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The Honourable Society of the King's Inns, Dublin, by night, when it is easy to imagine it as it once was. Behind it is Henrietta Street, once the Anchorite's Park. Read about the early history of Henrietta Street, and the adjacent King's Inns site, here:
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The first telephone in the Four Courts, Dublin, Ireland, was installed by the Incorporated Law Society of Ireland in the 1880s in what is now the Law Library, and guarded zealously by solicitors. Read about one such incident of guarding here:
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