The Court of Admiralty of Ireland, 1575–1893

Kevin Costello

‘Dr Costello’s account is well written, well structured and very well researched. It brings to life many of the colourful characters of that court over the period of its existence. Above all, it is a tale told well by an obvious scholar in the area. The discussion is lively and never heavy going. Admiralty lawyers, and non-admiralty lawyers alike, will both find it a most interesting read', Damien J. Cremean, The Cambridge Law Journal (2013).

‘An ambitious analysis of the civil and criminal roles of the Court of Admiralty of Ireland from its beginnings to its dissolution … [this book] covers a lot of ground in under three hundred pages … it is meticulously documented … an illuminating work that adds to our knowledge of a significant aspect of the Irish and British legal and maritime worlds', Cheryl Furty, The Journal of British Studies (January 2013).

‘[A] pioneering new study … Based on impressive research, Kevin Costello has produced a well-crafted and wide-ranging history of the Court of Admiralty in Ireland. It provides a detailed discussion of the development of the court, its jurisdiction and business, including a commentary on its limitations and the problems it faced, which is enlivened by incisive biographical sketches of the judges who served during the period of its existence. This is an important contribution to legal and administrative history, which will be of genuine interest and value to students of maritime history', JC Appleby, Journal for Maritime Research (2012).

‘The Irish court of admiralty had more than its fair share of scandals … None of the court’s original records now survive, but it is possible to learn a lot about the court as an institution and about its work from other sources, including the pre-1783 appeals to the English High Court of Admiralty and published law reports on proceedings in the court from the 1840s onwards, and a wide range of other sources. Kevin Costello has made excellent use of all of these in this book … Kevin Costello has now written what will certainly be the definitive study of this court. Historians of Irish legal institutions and Irish law should be grateful to him for a job well done', Paul Brand, The Irish Jurist (December 2011).

‘The story of the Irish admiralty court is inherently interesting to maritime historians … Costello follows the history of admiralty jurisdiction in Ireland from the late sixteenth century through the early 1890s … readers interested in Irish maritime history will benefit from the author’s close-up look at the operations of the Court of Admiralty of Ireland', Thomas M. Truxes, The Mariner's Mirror (2012).