The term Tholsel (Irish Tólsail) refers to extant and former public buildings in Ireland's towns and cities.
The actual meaning of the word is uncertain. Buildings described as, or called, a Tholsel have been used as a town hall, a courthouse, a town gate, a prison, a market house, a council chamber, a customs house, a guild hall, and a place where tolls were collected.
The Tholsel building in Dublin was a late medieval building, erected as a merchants' hall at the corner of Nicholas St. and Christ Church place, next to the Church of St. Nicholas Within. In the late 15th century, it was the home of the first mechanical public clock in Ireland. In the late eighteenth century, the Dublin Tholsel was used as a courthouse, being notable as the location where many Irish people, convicted of crimes, were sentenced to be transported to exile in Australia. It was demolished in 1820.
See the following Wikipedia articles for descriptions of particulars Tholsels: