Longford town's 200-year-old courthouse is to be renovated, following a "long and acrimonious" process to save the historic building. The building had fallen into such a state of disrepair, that court sittings have not taken place there since 1994.
The Courts Service is investing £3.5 million in the renovation, which has included the recent purchase for £1.3 million of the adjoining pub, a property owned by local councillor, Mr Peter Kelly, and his family.
A spokesman for the Courts Service said planning permission is currently being sought. Once permission is granted, the work is expected to take two years to complete.
He said the new courthouse facilities will include Circuit Court and District Court offices, and consultation and waiting rooms, as well as car parking.
The courthouse, on Longford's Main Street, is a Georgian structure, dating from 1791.
Since 1994, courts have been held in the town's temperance hall, a local hotel, and the Longford County Council chambers.
Circuit Court criminal cases were at one stage held in Mullingar, Co Westmeath, because the Longford facilities were considered inadequate. And there were fears Longford would lose its status as a Circuit Court location.
The Longford Bar Association sought a judicial review to make the Department of Justice fulfil its statutory obligations and provide adequate court facilities for the town.
Mr Padraic Gearty, the association's president, said their preference was to establish new facilities on a greenfield site, and to give the existing courthouse over to civil authorities.
He said the renovations will mean the inside of the courthouse will be "gutted".
Local PD councillor Ms Mae Sexton, also of the Longford courthouse action group, said the campaign to save the courthouse was "long and acrimonious", going on since the early 1990s and spanning three government lifetimes.
"The courthouse will be renovated with the greatest of care being paid to its original architectural and historic features," the Court Service said.
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