It serves as the Cork Court Office in civil and family related matters, while the courthouse on Anglesea Street handles criminal trials.

[4] Much of the building's early history has been lost, due to the destruction of records in the great fires of 1891 (the courthouse itself) and 1920 (Cork City Hall).

[5] As a result, most surviving primary sources relating to the history of the courthouse tend to have partisan biases.

[7] In 1829, the Cork Corporation decided to merge the City and County courthouses, and have them both be serviced by a new development.

[8] A competition for design was held in 1830, which brothers James and George Richard Pain won — premiums of IR£40, £20, and £10 were offered.

[13] Under pressure from the trades' council, the Corporation had included a stipulation in the contract which guaranteed the use of local work in regards to the plumbing and furnishing of the building.

[14] It was later revealed, however, that the plumbing contract had been awarded to a Scottish firm, and that many of the establishments providing furniture had evaded the local manufacture clause.

[16] However, he also complained about the interior design of the building, saying that he had exhausted himself addressing the Grand Jury, due to the distance between them.

[16] After it was mostly destroyed by fire in 1891, a town clerk described the courthouse as having been one of the worst of its kind in Ireland, citing in particular the quality of the accommodation and the draughtiness of the building.

[16] It was noted by the clerk that some judges preferred to make use of Model Schools, such as the one the Anglesea Street courthouse now occupies.

[16] William Henry Hill won the competition for permission to rebuild the courthouse in 1891, with works being completed in 1895.

[24] During this period, a temporary facility was improvised in a refurbished warehouse on Camden Quay, and was rented at a cost of €760,000 per annum.

[25][32] Michael Lowry, the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform officially reopened the courthouse.

[4] The restorative works carried out on the courthouse were the most extensive in Ireland since the Four Courts was reconstructed following its near destruction during the Irish Civil War.

[25] After the re-opening of the courthouse, it was announced that it would begin hosting sessions of the Central Criminal Court.

[4] According to Dr. Richard Butler, author of "Building the Irish Courthouse and Prison: A Political History, 1750–1850", the courthouse on Washington Street represents the culmination of an architectural period "marked by [William Vitruvius] Morrison's introduction of a new design in 1826–7, through to Westenra's excitement and anxiety in Monaghan in 1827, and to the design's full realisation at Tralee, Carlow, and finally Cork".

[15][34] There is a flight of steps on three sides leading up to a full Corinthian order octastyle portico, with two intercolumniations at each return.

[13] There is a front range of columns which projects twenty feet from the building, and which support an entablature and a modillioned pediment.

These rooms retain some of the features of their 1890s construction, including wooden architraves and mouldings, along with cast-iron Ionic columns.