In the dock: The colourful comings and goings of Cork District Court 

Sarah Horgan spent a day at the courthouse on Anglesea Street and witnessed cases that were bizarre, fascinating, and sad

The Criminal Courts of Justice on Anglesea Street, Cork. Picture: Chani Anderson

Disinterested mutterings fill the dock at Cork District Court as some of the city’s best known repeat offenders await their fates for yet another day of reckoning.

Jittery with laughter, defendants acknowledge each other with nudges and smirks, while outsiders remain oblivious to their private joke. In another life, they might have been doctors or accountants. However, in this one, they navigate a very different path paved by violence and addiction.