PLANS HAVE been announced by the Courts Service for the building of a new courthouse at Castleblayney, Co Monaghan.
Local sittings of the District Court and Circuit Court have been held at Hope Castle on the outskirts of Castleblayney since the town hall building was condemned as unsafe by Monaghan Co Council, five years ago.
It was announced yesterday that a sitting of the District Court, scheduled for Castleblayney on Tuesday, has been transferred to Carrickmacross courthouse because Hope Castle is being used for Circuit Court sittings.
The Courts Service confirmed yesterday that a one-acre site is now being sought for the building of a new courthouse in the Co Monaghan Border town.
In a separate development, Judge Desmond A Zaidan is moving from his District Court bench to sit in Kildare. Judge Zaidan (45) has been resident judge in Co Donegal since his appointment to the District Court 16 months ago. He moves later this month to Kildare.
The Courts Service said Judge Zaidan was being transferred to a new District Court area created under a recent realignment of courts in the east. Previously Kildare was included with parts of Carlow and Wicklow.
Judge Thomas Fitzpatrick, who has operated as a "moveable" judge across the northwest, has been appointed resident District Court judge in Co Meath, a vacancy created by the retirement of Judge John Brophy. No replacement has yet been announced for Co Donegal but it is expected to be Kevin Kilraine, a solicitor based in Co Leitrim, who is to be confirmed as a judge next Thursday.
Lebanese-born Judge Zaidan, who lives in Co Meath, was educated at Trinity College Dublin and the King's Inns, Dublin. He was called to the Bar in Ireland in 1990 and in Sierra Leone in 1992.
He was one of the youngest judges to be appointed to the District Court.