Judge hits out at ‘Dublin mandarins’ for planned closure

A judge has criticised Dublin-based “mandarins”, detached from the reality of life in rural Ireland, for advocating the closure of a district court in one of the country’s top tourist towns.

The Courts Service has included Kinsale, Co Cork, among a list of court venues to be closed.

However, Judge James McNulty, who sits on the bench in District Court No 18, which includes south-west Cork, said: “District court venue closures may be justified in other towns and places in the State — but not in Kinsale.