The Dublin suburban District Courts: Blanchardstown, Tallaght, Swords, Balbriggan, Dún Laoghaire and Bray

The suburban venues of the Dublin Metropolitan District

The Dublin Metropolitan District is the largest District Court district in the State, and its work is spread across the city-centre venues and five suburban courthouses: Blanchardstown in the west, Tallaght in the south-west, Swords and Balbriggan in the north county, and Dún Laoghaire on the south-east coast. Bray, over the county boundary in Wicklow, is the main venue of District No. 16 and takes cases from the north of that county, so it belongs in the same conversation for anyone living in the south of County Dublin.

Each venue hears criminal, civil, family and licensing business and has its own office. The summons or charge sheet names the venue; cases are listed by the Garda district that brought them, and the Courts Service's find your District Court area map confirms the venue for an address. The district page for all the Dublin venues is at /districts/dublin, and Bray's at /districts/16.

The Dublin Metropolitan District has no general sittings page on courts.ie; the only published schedule is the vacation sittings page. Sitting days for each suburban venue are not confirmed from the Courts Service's pages, so treat the time on your summons as the sitting time and ring the office if in doubt.

Blanchardstown

Blanchardstown District Court sits at Grove Court on Grove Road, Dublin 15. Criminal, civil, family and licensing business all sit here. The venue page is at /courts/blanchardstown.

Tallaght

Tallaght District Court is at The Courthouse, Westpark, Tallaght, Dublin 24, near the Luas Red Line terminus. Criminal, civil, family and licensing business sit here. The office is open all day on weekdays, but the Courts Service notes that the public counter is closed on Wednesdays, so a Wednesday enquiry is by phone or email. The venue page is at /courts/tallaght.

Swords, temporarily sitting at Balbriggan

Swords Courthouse on North Street, Swords, is the District Court venue for the north county, but the Courts Service's Swords Courthouse page says the courthouse and its court office are temporarily closed and that sittings relocated to Balbriggan from 2 September. A summons that names Swords is heard at Balbriggan Courthouse until the Courts Service says otherwise. One office, the Swords and Balbriggan District Court Office, covers both venues, and its published number is a mobile. The venue page is at /courts/swords.

Balbriggan

Balbriggan District Court sits at St George's Square in the centre of Balbriggan. It hears criminal, civil, family and licensing business for its own area, and the Swords sittings are temporarily held here. The same Swords and Balbriggan office serves it. The venue page is at /courts/balbriggan.

Dún Laoghaire

Dún Laoghaire District Court sits at the courthouse on Corrig Avenue, near the DART station. Criminal, civil, family and licensing business sit here. The venue page is at /courts/dun-laoghaire.

Bray: District 16, County Wicklow

Bray is not in the Dublin Metropolitan District. It is the main venue of District No. 16, County Wicklow, and the Bray Court Office also serves Wicklow town's sittings. Unlike the Dublin venues, District 16 has a published sittings page, so the days are known. For 2026, criminal and civil business sits on the first to fourth Monday, the first Wednesday and the first to fourth Thursday of each month at 10:30 am. For 2027 the Courts Service lists criminal on the first to fourth Monday and the second to fourth Thursday, family on the first Wednesday, civil on the first Thursday, and the annual licensing court on Monday 27 September. The venue page is at /courts/bray and the district page at /districts/16.

The Bray office is open in the mornings only on Wednesdays and Thursdays. Wicklow town's courthouse has no page of its own on courts.ie and its address is not confirmed; the Bray office is its contact.

Which areas go where

The Courts Service does not publish a street-by-street list of which suburb goes to which venue. In practice the Garda district that issues the summons or charge decides the venue, and the venue is printed on the document. The pattern is geographic: Dublin 15 and the west to Blanchardstown; Dublin 24 and the south-west to Tallaght; the north county to Swords (sitting at Balbriggan for now) or Balbriggan; the south-east coast and the Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown area to Dún Laoghaire; the city centre and much of the inner suburbs to the Criminal Courts of Justice. Family law for the Dublin Metropolitan District has a dedicated office at Dolphin House, though family business also sits at the suburban venues. Under-18s go to the Children Court at Smithfield.

If a summons names a venue that seems wrong for your address, do not ignore it: the venue on the document is where the case is listed. Ring that office, and if the venue has changed since the summons issued, the office will tell you.

What sits at a suburban venue

Each of these courthouses is a full District Court. On the criminal side that means first appearances, summons lists, remands, bail, hearings and sentencing, within the District Court's limits of 12 months on one charge and 2 years in all (Criminal Justice Act 1984, sections 11 and 12 as amended) and fines by class under the Fines Act 2010. On the civil side, claims up to €15,000 and small claims up to €2,000. Family law business, in camera, under the Domestic Violence Act 2018 and the maintenance and guardianship Acts. Licensing applications for the local pubs, clubs and events, and the annual licensing court each September.

What happens in the District Court is the same here as at the CCJ, and the local office is often less pressed than the city-centre one, which matters when you ring with a question. The District Court handled 342,791 criminal offences in 2025 and 136,736 civil matters (Courts Service Annual Report 2025); the Dublin venues between them take the largest share.

Lists and adjournment notices

District Court daily lists are not published online at any of these venues. The Legal Diary on courts.ie covers the higher courts. Each list is held at the local office and displayed in the building on the day. The Courts Service's news page carries notices when a venue's lists are adjourned or cancelled, which happens with building closures of the Swords kind, and the updates page notes those affecting the District Court.

If you have lost your date, ring the office that issued the summons with your name and any reference, or use the court date tool to work out where you are. If you cannot attend, ring before the list is called. On a summons the court can proceed and convict in your absence for a minor matter; on a bail date, non-appearance brings a bench warrant and forfeiture of the bond. Adjournments are at the judge's discretion, and the 2026 legal aid dispute added more of them across the Dublin venues; if your solicitor has withdrawn, attend every date yourself, tell the judge and ask for an adjournment and for legal aid. The changes page tracks the dispute.

On the day

Arrive before the time on your summons, find your courtroom from the list, and be in the room when the list is called. Stand when your name is called and address the judge as "Judge". There is no dress code. If your means are insufficient and the charge is serious enough, ask for legal aid with a statement of means from the clerk at the first appearance. Each office arranges interpreters, Irish Sign Language and other access needs on request; give notice where you can.

Where this leaves you

Six courthouses, five offices, one of them on a mobile number and one temporarily sitting somewhere else. Use Find a court to check the venue your summons names, its office and its hours before you set out, and to confirm whether Swords has reopened. If you may qualify for legal aid, ask the judge for it at your first appearance (how legal aid works). If you want a solicitor of your own, the solicitor page explains how to find one who takes District Court work at your venue.