Sheriff of Dublin City

Sheriff of Dublin City was a judicial and administrative role in Ireland. Initially, the Sovereign's judicial representative in Dublin, the role was later held by two individuals and concerned with a mix of judicial, political and administrative functions. In origins, an office for a lifetime, assigned by the Sovereign, the Sheriff became an annual appointment following the Provisions of Oxford in 1258. Background The first Shrievalties were established before the Norman Conquest in 1066 and date back to Saxon times. Besides his judicial importance, the sheriff had ceremonial and administrative functions and executed High Court Writs. In 1908, an Order in Council made the Lord-Lieutenant the Sovereign's prime representative in a county and reduced the Sheriff's precedence. Despite this, the office retained responsibilities for the preservation of law and order in a county. Dublin Sheriffs (two for each year) were first appointed in Dublin in 1308 under the name of bailiffs; the title was changed to sheriff in 1548. The sheriffs presided at meetings of the Common Council (the "commons" or lower house of the City Assembly of Dublin), and after their year in office took their place among up to 48 Sheriffs Peers, who sat alongside 96 Guild representatives as the Common Council. List of Sheriffs of Dublin City