By Cianna McNally

Castleblayney Town Councillors have reluctantly accepted the fact that the town has lost all its court sittings because no available premises in the area were deemed suitable for use by the Courts Service.

The council had been heavily involved in a campaign to keep the court sittings in the town. Speaking at the July monthly meeting of the town council on Tuesday evening, Fine Gael councillor Aidan Campbell described the situation as a sad day for Castleblayney and said that in his opinion, it was a “done deal from very early on.” He added that the Courts Service should have accepted the offer of rent-free premises, which was going to be funded by local solicitors, when it was first made to them.

The councillors also lamented over the fact that the courthouse in the town was let fall into a state of such disrepair that it was closed under the Health and Safety Act. “The courthouse had problems over the years and there was no effort made to look after it,” stated Fianna Fáil councillor Brendan Hughes. Cllr Gary Carville said that he believed the Courts Service “cherry-picked” the best courthouses in the county and left Castleblayney “to pick up the pieces.”