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"Ennistymon Courthouse c. 1790"
(Old Ennistymon Society 1999 - Preserving the Past for the Future)

By the end of the eighteenth century, Ennistymon was establishing itself as an important centre for North Clare. A Sessions House stood at the corner of Main Street and Parliament Street, while a courthouse, barracks and bridewell were all established on Parliament Street. The Courthouse is estimated to have been built around 1790 and catered for many activities during its long lifetime. Apart from regular court sessions, the Guardians of the Ennistymon Poor Law Union also met here regularly, their first meeting being in 1839. A Fuel Fund Committee met here in the 1870's, and the building was also, on occasion, a venue for local entertainment. Due to its dilapidated condition, the District Court sittings ceased in the early 1980's. Joe Connole had been Court Clerk here for many years, and the well-known Gordon Hurley was the last sitting judge. In the 1990's, the Old Ennistymon Society took charge of the Courthouse, and the renovated building is now a working studio for a number of locally based artists, trading under the name of Courthouse Studios.