Did your ancestor have their day in the Irish Court of Exchequer? Discover more about their case in this collection of records spanning over 250 years of legal proceedings.
Did your ancestor have their day in the Irish Court of Exchequer? Discover more about their case in this collection of records spanning over 250 years of legal proceedings.
Information contained in these records can vary, but you will usually find record of:
Each transcript links to a scan of an original document, which can give more detail about your chosen individual and their dealings with the court.
The Court of Exchequer was one of the senior courts of law in Ireland (one of the four royal courts of justice), and served as a mirror of the equivalent court in England, dealing with matters of equity. It was established before 1300 and for most of its existence has been based in Dublin.
It became notorious for inefficiency, and so many cases were heard by other courts (particularly the Court of Chancery) throughout the 1700s. By the mid-1800s it had overtaken the Court of King's Bench as the busiest law court.
On the passing of the Supreme Court of Judicature Act (Ireland) 1877, it was merged with the other Courts of common law and the Court of Chancery (Ireland), to become a division of the High Court of Justice in Ireland. It was finally abolished with a further reorganisation of the Court system in 1897.
Although these records are from proceedings in courts based in Dublin, your ancestors from all over Ireland may be contained within. Be prepared to inspect records, regardless of your family birth location.
While case details are generally not recorded in these books, there are very many family disputes and those relationships are noted. Those taking cases to Exchequer tended to be land owners, merchants, business owners, professionals and the larger farmers as it was expensive for anyone else to attend court in Dublin. However defendants in cases could come from a broader sector of society.