Matters dealt with by the Circuit Court
Types of cases dealt with by the Circuit Courts include defamation and false imprisonment cases, minor land valuation matters, malicious/ criminal injury, intoxicating liquor licences and family law.
Circuit Court records in the National Archives
Each Circuit Court Office is responsible for transferring its records to the National Archives. As a result, the most recent year for which records have been transferred varies by county.
The main categories of records produced by the Circuit Court are:
- Civil Bill Files (Ordinary, Equity, Ejectment, Family Law, Testamentary)
- Cause Books (Registers of Civil Bill Cases)
- Criminal Files
- Execution Order Books
- District Court Appeals (Books and Files)
- Criminal/Malicious Injury Books
- Applications for Publican’s Licences (Files) new Intoxicating Liquor Licences
- Registers of Publican’s Licences (Books)
- High Court on Circuit Papers
- Ex-Parte Applications (Files)
- Workmen’s Compensation Act (Books and files)
Family law cases
Family law cases held by the National Archives are closed to the public and can only be accessed with the permission of the relevant Circuit Court.
Publicans’ licences
The Circuit Court deals with applications for publicans’ licences. Circuit Court records relating to licencing include registers, applications and files. For cases without a licencing file, researchers can consult other categories of publican licence records, such as Licence Application forms and Registers of Licences.
If a researcher does not know the exact year a licence was granted or the applicant’s name, they should consult the Registers of Publican’s Licence Applications.
Circuit Criminal Court records
The Circuit Criminal Court deals with criminal cases in the Circuit Court. The records of the Circuit Criminal Court are comprised of State Books, which are also referred to as Criminal Books, and State Files.
Criminal Court records
The Director of Public Prosecutions can direct any trial due to be heard before the Circuit Court to be transferred to the Central Criminal Court.
Researchers should be mindful that criminal court records contain high levels of personal and sensitive information, which may be upsetting.
Older court records may also contain terminology that is now outdated and may be offensive.
Coroners records
A coroner is an independent official who investigates a sudden, violent or unexplained death. Coroners are appointed by local authorities and there may be more than one per county, for instance in Dublin there are two for the City and County.
Coroners are required by law on leaving office to deposit their papers with the County Registrar of their local Circuit Court Office. While not an official place of deposit for coroners records, the National Archives has acquired coroners records through transfers of records from the Circuit Courts and individual coroners.
Coroners work independently of the courts and keep their own records, and therefore the quality and quantity of records vary by county. The main types of records which may be found are registers with details of inquests held and individual inquest files. In some cases there may also be reports on deaths where it was decided no inquest was required and registers noting sudden deaths and details of inquests held.
Researchers should be mindful that coroners records contain high levels of personal and sensitive information, which may be upsetting.
How records are arranged
Circuit Court Offices keep similar records nationwide, but how they are arranged can vary from county to county.
In some Circuit Court Offices, Civil Bills were categorised (for example, ordinary, ejectment, equity, testamentary and publicans’ licences), while others stored them all together.
The Civil Bill files are listed in numerical order in Cause Books by the name of the plaintiff (the person or organisation who brought the case). Each file is given a sequential number within the year that the case was started.
How to access Circuit Court records
The finding aids for the Circuit Court records are located in the Reading Room. The records are in blue folders with a folder for each county. A small number of Circuit Court records are searchable in our online catalogue.
How to order records from 1922 to 1982
Records from 1922 to 1982 are arranged alphabetically by subject. To order a record, complete an order docket in the Reading Room.
- Include the reference for the Circuit Court (NAI/CS/CC/), followed by the county and the description of the record as given in the finding aid, including the covering dates
- For example: NAI/CS/CC/MO/Equity Civil Bill file 1/1950
How to order records from 1983 onwards
These are listed individually and are included in the relevant county folder. To order, complete an order docket in the Reading Room.
- Include the three-part National Archives reference code
- For example: NAI/CS/CC/MH/2005/114/1
How to order older records and coroner’s records
Most Circuit Court records dating before the mid-1970s and coroners records are stored in our Four Courts premises. To access these records, follow these steps:
- Visit the Reading Room to consult the Finding aids and locate the record you want and its reference code
- Reference codes generally have three parts, e.g., 2004/74/993
- If a record lacks a National Archives reference code, use the original reference, e.g., CC/CN/E178/1980
- Place an order for the record
- Return to the Reading Room to consult the record when it has been delivered to Bishop Street
Ordering records
Orders made for records stored off site at the Four Courts take two working days if made in person, or up to three working days if requested by email.