History

In Dublin, the two Provosts who were responsible to the exchequer as accountants for the Royal rental, exercised the powers of a Coroner from 1215.

In 1292, the two Provosts were succeeded by two Bailiffs for the City of Dublin. Under the Laws and Usages of the City of Dublin, which were drawn up around the year 1316, it was confirmed that the Bailiffs were to act as Coroners at inquests in cases of death within the boundaries of the city. In 1548 Dublin City was shired under a charter issued by King Edward VI. This meant that the city was now equal in status to a county, and for legal purposes, it was known as “the county of the city of Dublin”. The two Bailiffs were replaced by two Sheriffs, who continued to exercise the powers of a Coroner until 1617.

In that year, a judgment handed down in the Court of King’s Bench stated that the sheriffs of Dublin City should no longer act as Coroners. Unfortunately, the records of the Court of King’s Bench were destroyed in the destruction of the Public Record Office in 1922, and the only extant source for this information is an incomplete entry in the Dublin City assembly rolls. It is therefore not possible to give reasons for the decision of the Court. Henceforth the office of Coroner was to be exercised by two elected aldermen whose term of office appears to have varied between one and three years.
In 1687 four Coroners were appointed for the county of the city of Dublin under a charter issued by James II. However, after the Battle of the Boyne, the status quo was resumed, with two aldermen elected as Coroners from 1691.

A new Dublin City Coroner’s Court and City Morgue were erected at Store Street in 1901 and replaced the original City Morgue in Lower Marlborough Street, which was later incorporated into the original Abbey Theatre. The building was designed by the then Dublin City Architect Charles J. McCarthy. The Coroner’s Court building still stands on the site and was completely refurbished between November 2008 and April 2010 with the addition of a modern extension, designed by Kieran Kavanagh of Dublin City Council’s City Architect’s Department, providing much-needed improved facilities for members of the public and staff. During that period of refurbishment the Coroner’s Court was temporarily relocated to the Distillery Building in Smithfield.

The original City Morgue, which had become outdated, was demolished in 1999. Mortuary facilities were temporarily relocated to the grounds of the Dublin Fire Brigade Training Centre in the O’Brien Institute in Marino. A new state-of-the-art mortuary facility has been developed at Griffith Avenue, Whitehall, in what was then the old Whitehall Garda Station. The new City Mortuary has been in use since 2017. That building is shared with the Office of State Pathologist.

Originally, Dublin had two Coroners, the Dublin City Coroner and the Dublin County Coroner. The two Dublin jurisdictions were amalgamated on 8th September, 2011 and the jurisdiction is now known as the Coroner’s District of Dublin. All reportable deaths in Dublin City and the three administrative Counties of Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown, Fingal and South Dublin now fall within the remit of the Dublin District Coroner.

Legal and organisational responsibility for the Dublin District Coroner’s Court and City Mortuary was transferred from Dublin City Council to the Department of Justice on 1st January, 2018. In accordance with legislative changes the number of Coroner’s in Dublin was increased in 2020. Currently there are 4 Coroners for the District of Dublin.