Four Courts, Dublin, Éire

Above is Ireland's answer to England's Old Bailey. It contains the highest courts in the Irish Republic: the High Court and the Supreme Court. The main building with its columned facade dates from 1786 and is one of James Gandon's masterpieces, the most famous of which being Dublin's Custom House. It has survived occupation by anti-treaty forces and concomitant shelling during the Irish Civil War in 1922 and was built in spite of initial local opposition and a landslide that delayed the arrival of its Portland stone. In spite of all this, it is still a very imposing building.