Main Guard, Renaissance courthouse in Clonmel, Ireland

The Main Guard is a courthouse in Clonmel with five bays across two stories, a classical facade, and open arches on the ground floor that create a sheltered public space. The design balances formal architecture with functional openings suitable for its role as a public building.

After the Siege of Clonmel in 1650 destroyed the old Manor Court, James Butler, 1st Duke of Ormonde, ordered a new courthouse once his palatinate rights were restored in 1662. Built partly with stone from Inislounaght Abbey, it was completed in 1674 for the Palatinate of County Tipperary and hosted King James II in 1689. The Clonmel Assizes sat here after 1715, and Father Nicholas Sheehy was tried here in 1766.

The structure incorporates stones from nearby Cistercian ruins, linking it to the religious heritage of the surrounding Tipperary region. This choice of materials shows how local sites and their remnants became part of the building's physical fabric.

The Main Guard stands in the centre of Clonmel, north of the River Suir, so it is reached on foot from the town centre. The sandstone arcade of open columns at street level is visible from the pavement. Restoration work begun by the Office of Public Works in the 1990s and a major programme designed by Punch Consulting from 2004 reshaped the building, so parts may be closed while works continue.

The 1674 design borrowed elements from works by Sir Christopher Wren, and the building also served as a tholsel where tolls were collected. Around 1810 its open ground-floor arcade was walled in as shops and extra floors were inserted; the Office of Public Works began restoring the original sandstone arcade in the 1990s.