The courthouse in Anglesea Street is built on the site of the former Model School.
Anglesea Street Courthouse was originally a school. It first opened its doors in September 1865 for ‘45 infants, 61 boys and a similar number of girls’. Enrolment later peaked at 450. In the early 20th century there was also a maritime college based on the site which served an important role in the First World War, when Cork was the principal transatlantic port for the British Empire.
The school closed in 1990 with the building converted to a courthouse by Office of Public Works architect Michael Haugh in 1995.
The new courthouse was completed in 2018. It contains 8,500sq m of accommodation, with six new courtrooms and a new public office. There is a 'vulnerable witness' suite, a legal practitioners’ room, a public office and ten secure underground cells, each capable of holding four to six people.
Cork Courthouse is supported by Cork Court Office - Crime.
