The former Court of Petty Sessions at Rathcoole, county Dublin is a fine Edwardian Arts and Crafts building which was built and opened in 1914 on the south side of Main Street, Rathcoole village. The Arts and Crafts style, derived from English traditions, was being applied to Irish public buildings in the early twentieth century, including post offices, village halls, Carnegie libraries and banks of small towns and villages. The architect was William Collen, Dublin County Surveyor (circa 1860 – 1932).

The building was used as a courthouse for only a few years until 1925, was used intermittently in the following decades as a library and community-uses and lay vacant and unused for extended periods in between.  As the owner of the building, South Dublin Co. Co. did conservation work to safeguard the building during 2013. In 2020, SDCC. with its partners in the local community of Rathcoole and supported by Department of Rural and Community Development under Towns & Villages grant funding, completed a sensitive architectural conservation + adaptive reuse project within an Architectural Conservation Area, promoting sustainable development and community engagement.

Meeting point: Outside the main entrance of building

This tour is pre-book only.

All buildings are generally accessible to most persons.