Prior to the Municipal Corporations (Ireland) Act 1840 the Marshal was elected annually by the common council from among the freemen; typically this was a formality with the incumbent returned unopposed.

[5] In the 1880s the council discussed and printed reports on whether to make the office a full-time position; subsequently vacancies were publicly advertised, with election from among the applicants still done by the councillors.

In 1867, Michael Angelo Hayes "wore a scarlet tunic richly braided, and a cocked hat, a la Francaise, rode a decent-looking horse, and was admired by the crowd".

[14] The Marshal was an officer of the Lord Mayor and Sheriffs' Court,[15] held at the Tholsel and latterly in Green Street Courthouse;[16] in that role he took charge of the custody and sale of goods under attachment.

[22] The 1838 select committee examining pawnbroking in Ireland said "the manner in which successive Marshals of the City of Dublin have discharged the duties imposed upon them by the Act, will be found by the evidence, and by the [1835] Report of the Commissioners of Municipal Inquiry, to have been exceedingly unsatisfactory".

After 1786, the right to the fees collected in his various duties made the office of Marshal profitable; the holder often farmed out the work to subcontractors, allowing him to enjoy a sinecure.

[29] The reformed corporation elected in 1841 under the 1840 act was "determined ... that no officer should be considered as a sinecure", dismissed the incumbent Marshal, and hired a substitute on a fixed salary.