The archives of the Grand Jury are one of the oldest and more valuable of local authorities. Originating in the seventeenth century, the main function of the Grand Jury was the administration of justice. In the following centuries they took on more functions such as the provision of roads, collection of taxes, dispensaries, county infirmaries, and gaols, to name a few. At the end of the nineteenth century their powers were given to county councils, and to a lesser extent, to rural district councils under the Local Government (Ireland) Act of 1898. Any Grand Jury archive found is preserved and has unrestricted access.
For the Grand Jury descriptive list, go to the 'Advanced Search' tab on the 'Search' page of our online catalogue and type in the collection code GJ/ into the 'Reference' field and click 'search'.
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