Living and Working in Ireland outside of Dublin. One circuit sitting of the Dáil Courts, Beirne and Others v Kilgallon,34 made an order for specific performance by the defendant of an agreement for the sale for £6,000 of land. This case later came before the Supreme Court on appeal on 9 November 1921.35 Abolition of the Dáil Courts After the signature of the Anglo-Irish Treaty in December 1921 a decree was issued by the new Free State Government that the court system should continue to carry out their functions. However, there were still two rival court systems operating under the new provisional government.36 It was the Provisional Government's preference that the old pre-1919 court system be revived instead of Dáil Courts which had continued invariably to function and were the only court system in many rural areas.37 The Dáil Courts came to an end after the outbreak of the Civil War. Under the heading ‘Courts’ the minutes of the new Free State Government of 10 July 1922 reflected the end of the Dáil Courts stating that ‘their activities should be restricted as far as possible for the present and ultimately stopped altogether.’38 Conclusion The Dáil Courts were a significant part of Ireland’s struggle against the power of colonial institutions. Their existence was a short but intense moment of judicial experiment and wonder. From 1919-1922 crown forces constantly moved to suppress any efficiency within the judicial system. However, the courts succeeded in dispensing justice around the country for many months before the Free State Government called for their abolition. The Dáil Courts demonstrated that Irish people could maintain and operate a judicial system during a period of chaos.
34
Beirne and Others v Kilgallon [1922] Dáil Eireann Supreme Courts. Davitt (n 1)125. 36 Mary Katsonouris, The Winding Up of the Dáil Courts, 1922-25, An Obvious Duty ( (edn 19) 14. 37 Farrell (n 21) 122. 38 Minutes 10 July Provisional Government; see Brian Farrell ‘The Drafting of the Irish Free State Constitution: IV (1971) 6 Irish Jurist 345. 35
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