Killaloe District Court takes up new residence in public house as Shannon court is no more

A NUMBER of changes for the courts in the county are due to come into effect in the New Year and will include Killaloe Court taking up residence at a public house and restaurant.

From January 3, 2012 Killaloe District Court will be held in a function hall at O’Donovan’s (Bar and Restaurant), Derg Court, Cullina, Ballina Killaloe.
The court will sit there for a trial period of three months, with the option of extending the lease on a monthly basis. In addition, the Killaloe court will have extra days assigned to it, sitting as before on the first Tuesday of each month and also on the second Tuesday in the months of January, March, May, July, October and December.
The move comes after the Courts Service rearranged district court venues and sittings, with changes for Athenry, Ennistymon and Shannon courts. 
Ennistymon District Court had been sitting in Kilrush for the last two years but will now move into Ennis, with some areas of the Ennistymon district being subsumed into the Kilrush court sitting.
Shannon court has sat at Ennis for a long number of years but changes mean there will no longer be a specific Shannon court and any Shannon-related cases will now be incorporated into Ennis District Court.
Athenry District Court used to be catered for by the District Court Judge for Clare and South Galway, known as District 12, but will now move to Loughrea Courthouse and be catered for by the East Galway/Roscommon area known as District 4.
Brendan McDonald, western regional manager with the Courts Service explained the changes are due to budgetary constraints.
“We will be facing challenges, facing staff shortages and we need to utilise staff to the best of their ability,” he said.
The changes with the Athenry District Court will mean there are more days available to put on extra courts.
“We’ve spent €7million on Ennis Courthouse and we will be better utilising this facility under the new arrangement, rather than having the courthouse empty. Ennis is a very good facility and we are very proud of the facility there,” Mr McDonald concluded.