Consistorial Court

One of the last remaining consistorial courts of eighteenth- century origin in Ireland. Church courts were an important institution in medieval Ireland, and continued to exercise jurisdiction on over matters relating to religion and morality after the Reformation. Here the bishop, or his representative, wielded power to investigate offences against church law such as blasphemy, sacrilege and adultery, as well as more routine matters such as issue marriage licenses and granting probate for wills. Nowadays this room is filled with more pleasant sounds in its function as a choir room. Above the courtroom was the cathedral library. It contained approximately 3,000 items, the oldest of which was Erasmus’ first edition of Saint Augustine’s works (1528). Books on law constituted almost a third of the collection, making it one of the largest collections of its type outside Dublin at the me.