[4][5] The building first became a courthouse in 1792[dubious – discuss] when it was also used to hold sessions and assizes for the county.

The Parliament Street Courthouse dates from 1786 so that from the 1790s the building housed the County Courthouse, County Gaol and City Gaol though it was also used intermittently for theatre performances, public meetings and elections.

[6][7] While it's believed that much of earlier remodeling work to transform the building was done by Sir Jerome Fitzpatrick, the current facade was constructed by architect William Robertson in 1824.

[8][9][3][10][11] As a courthouse the building still had seven cells for prisoners but was not considered to be well arranged as a modern gaol though it operated as the city's detention facility or bridewell from 1871 until 1946.

[14] In 2008, the area was the subject of an archaeological excavation by Maedbh Saunderson, in the course of which domestic medieval materials and burgage plots were uncovered, evidence of post-medieval structural development, as well as a prison burial plot and land drainage.