Jury trials may be transferred to Westport.
30 October 1996
By DEIRDRE KELLY
Castlebar Circuit Court has been condemned by the health and safety authorities.This means that criminal trials can no longer be held at the building, which dates back to the 1800s -- as the jury box is unsafe.
Plans are now on the drawing board to revamp the courthouse which has not undergone a serious facelift in the last one-hundred-and-fifty years.
Newly appointed County Registrar, Mr. Fintan Murphy, said because of the age of the building, the health and safety authorities were not happy to allow jury trials take place. They were also concerned that the jury room was not up to standard.
Staff at the courthouse called in the authorities as they did not want to take a risk on safety.
They are now investigating other venues in the county for holding criminal jury trials.
Mr Murphy said: "I am hopeful that by Christmas we might be able to have an alternative venue to allow jury trials to take place, at least until such time as Castlebar Courthouse is back on stream.
"It has not been decided yet but Westport may be a possible venue."
He said there was a deep commitment' from Mayo County Council and from the Department of Justice to address the issue very quickly.
"I am hopeful, though this has not been finalised, that the entirety of the Courthouse facilities, district and circuit, will be completely refurbished and that plan is on the drawing board."
Mr Murphy said there was a commitment from the Minister for Justice to provide the money for the county town to have a proper county court.
He added there were no plans to knock the building. "The wonderful facade of the building will be retained," he said, but there will be extensive refurbishment within the confines of the building."
In recent times one of the most notable non-jury trials at
Castlebar was the Kelly Fitzgerald case where her parents were
jailed for ill-treating her.
Connaught Telegraph - News - October 1996
Connaught Telegraph - Sport - October 1996
