Market-house in Clonroad Beg

Situated at O’Connell Square, where the present O’Connell monument stands, within Ennis historic town (CL033-082----). The earliest documented court sessions in Ennis were held in the vaulted chapterhouse or sacristy of Franciscan Friary (CL033-082001-) from 1570 (Ó Dalaigh, 1986, 5). By 1641 a new market-house including courtrooms had been built in the centre of the town on the E side of what was then the market place. Dineley’s sketch of 1681 represents it as an L-shaped, gabled building of two or three floors. Moland’s map (1703) shows it with a cupola over the roof and an arched façade of three bays at the front. The ground floor of the building was arcaded for the use of market traders and the upper floor was where the law courts were held and where the county grand jury assembled. There is a reference in the Orrery letters (ii, 73-4) to its use as a playhouse in 1666 as cited in Ó Dálaigh (2012, 23). The market-house was replaced by a new building c. 1733 which was itself demolished in 1852. (Bradley, Halpin and King 1988, 52; Ó Dálaigh 2012, 4, 15) Compiled by: Mary Tunney Date of upload: 19 May 2014