The Court of Common Pleas was one of the principal courts of common law in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...

. It was a mirror image of the equivalent court in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

. Common Pleas was one of the four courts of justice which gave the Four Courts in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 ...

, which is still in use as a courthouse, its name. fourcourtsquays

History

According to Elrington Ball the Irish Court of Common Pleas, which was known in its early years as ''the Common Bench'' or simply ''the Bench'', was fully operational by 1276. It was headed by its Chief Justice (the

Chief Justice of the Irish Common Pleas The chief justice of the Common Pleas for Ireland was the presiding judge of the Court of Common Pleas in Ireland, which was known in its early years as the Court of Common Bench, or simply as "the Bench", or "the Dublin bench". It was one of the ...

, as distinct from the Lord Chief Justice of Ireland, who was the head of the Irish Court of King's Bench). He had two (occasionally three) justices to assist him. The first Chief Justice was Sir Robert Bagod, former

High Sheriff of County Limerick The High Sheriff of Limerick was the British Crown's judicial representative in County Limerick, Ireland from the 13th century until 1922, when the office was abolished in the new Free State and replaced by the office of Limerick County Sheriff. ...

, a member of an old

family which gave its name to Baggot Street. In the early centuries, he was often referred to as "Chief Justice of the Bench", or "the Dublin Bench". Traditionally its workload was less heavy than that of the Court of King's Bench, although in the 1390s it was apparently heavy enough for a

King's Serjeant A Serjeant-at-Law (SL), commonly known simply as a Serjeant, was a member of an order of barristers at the English and Irish Bar. The position of Serjeant-at-Law (''servientes ad legem''), or Sergeant-Counter, was centuries old; there are wr ...

, John Haire, to be appointed to the Common Pleas alone.Hart, A.R. ''A History of the King's Serjeants-at-law in Ireland'' Dublin Four Courts Press 2000 pp.20-1 Its judges had the reputation, which was probably unjustified, for being less learned than those of the other courts of common law, King's Bench and Exchequer. They were also more likely than their colleagues to be Irish-born, and to be fluent in Irish, although a number of early justices, like John de Ponz and

William Fauvel William Fauvel, or Flauvel (died 1339) was an English-born judge and Crown official of the fourteenth century, part of whose career was spent in Ireland. Despite his eminence, he died in prison in England while awaiting sentence for murder. ...

, were English.Ball, ''The Judges in Ireland'' Vol. 2 pp.79,107

The move to Carlow in the 1360s

Along with the Irish Court of Exchequer, it moved to

Carlow Carlow ( ; ) is the county town of County Carlow, in the south-east of Ireland, from Dublin. At the 2016 census, it had a combined urban and rural population of 24,272. The River Barrow flows through the town and forms the historic boundar ...

in the early 1360s, due to the disturbed political conditions in Dublin; but the judges, finding that Carlow was also afflicted with political unrest, returned after thirty years to Dublin. A petition for redress dated 1369 refers to the recent burning of the town by the Irish of

Leinster Leinster ( ; ga, Laighin or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, situated in the southeast and east of Ireland. The province comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Meath, Leinster and Osraige. Following the 12th-century Norman invasion of ...

, and more generally to "the time of war", during which most of the judges dared not go to Carlow.Smyth, Constantine Joseph ''Chronicle of the Law Officers of Ireland '' London Butterworths 1839 p.145 Hostile Irish clans destroyed Carlow by fire several times, notably in 1363, 1376 and 1391-2.Otway-Ruthven A.J ''A History of Medieval Ireland'' Barnes and Noble reissue New York 1993 pp. 277, 309-10, 324 John Tirel, the Chief Justice 1386-95, was notoriously reluctant to brave "the dangers of the roads". He usually acted through a Deputy, but in 1389 he was appointed the justice for Carlow and ordered to hold the sessions there.''Patent Roll 19 Richard II''

Abolition

Under the Supreme Court of Judicature Act (Ireland) 1877, the Court of Common Pleas was merged into the new High Court of Justice in Ireland as one of its constituent divisions; the

retained his old rank. After the first decade of the new Court's existence, it was decided that it could be made to work more efficiently by merging the Common Pleas and Queen's Bench Divisions. The Division thereafter was called Queen's Bench, and the term ''Common Pleas'' fell into disuse.

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{{Kingdom of Ireland

Common Pleas A court of common pleas is a common kind of court structure found in various common law jurisdictions. The form originated with the Court of Common Pleas at Westminster, which was created to permit individuals to press civil grievances against o ...

Courts and tribunals established in the 13th century 13th-century establishments in Ireland 1877 disestablishments in Ireland Courts and tribunals disestablished in 1877