Councillor calls on Minister for Justice to 'commit' to reopening Donegal Courthouse

A Donegal County Councillor has called on the Minister for Justice to get behind reopening Donegal Town’s courthouse. 

Cllr Jimmy Brogan believes it was “astonishing the building got into such a state of disrepair and has appealed to Minister Jim O’Callaghan, who will visit Donegal this week, in the wake of a series of closures to courthouses in the county in recent years.

“I am calling on him to give the people of Donegal Town a commitment that the courthouse in Donegal Town will reopen as soon as possible,” Cllr Brogan said.

“Donegal Town Courthouse was originally built in 1833, and reconstructed in the early 1920s. It’s just off the Diamond and holds the District Court, Family Law Court, Circuit Court and Coroner’s Court sittings. In September 2025, it was announced that the courthouse would be closed for public use because of health and safety concerns, and all sittings would be relocated to Ballyshannon Courthouse.

“It is astonishing that the building was allowed to get into a state of disrepair, where there was a partial ceiling collapse in the public entrance of the building. The Office of Public Works (OPW) closed the building and ordered a full condition survey to be carried out to assess the scale of the damage and what remedial work is needed.

“We have seen other courthouses closed. Glenties Courthouse was closed in 2015 and Carndonagh Courthouse was temporarily closed in March 2019 but has not reopened. The community in Donegal Town fear the courthouse may follow the fate of these other rural courthouses in the county.”

Cllr Brogan thinks that the continued absence of a courthouse in Donegal Town will have negative knock-on effects for the town. 

He added: “Given its prominent location in the centre of Donegal Town and its connection to local history, the building is part of the identity of the town. We have seen the closure of other government services, like the Donegal Education Centre last year, and now it’s the courthouse that is in serious threat. 

“Local legal professionals have expressed concern that the closure may become permanent if repairs are not prioritised, warning about loss of access to justice for rural communities in Southern Donegal. There is also the loss of revenue to the local retailers and hospitality businesses in the town.

“Members of the Fianna Fáil party have passed a motion in Donegal County Council and we have heard Government TDs and Senators commenting on their commitment to getting the courthouse reopened but they need to see actions and need to hear this from the Minister himself. The courthouse has to reopen as soon as the repairs can be done. I will be meeting with the Minister for Justice myself this week and will be asking him to make that commitment for the courthouse to re-open as soon as possible.”

Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme