Guest Contribution: The Lost Laws of Ireland by Catherine Duggan
The Brehon Law Academy is very pleased to host our first guest contribution! Catherine Duggan has written 'The Lost Laws of Ireland' and shares her views on the Brehon Law…
Irish Script on Screen – Irish Manuscript Archive
Irish Script on Screen (ISOS) is a fantastic resource that allows you to explore high quality scanned images of Irish manuscripts. This collection of beautifully ornate manuscripts can be viewed…
Old Map of Ireland showing its Great Lordships c.1500
Map of Ireland Divided into Great Lordships c.1500 Source: Edmund Curtis' History of Medieval Ireland.
Online Database for Irish Myths and Sagas
The mythology of ancient Ireland is made up of a number literary epics and tales of ‘gods and men’ that interlink and cross-over one another to form a rich and…
Irish Manuscripts: Crith Gablach-Branched Purchase
Written around 700 AD the Crith Gablach, which means ‘branched purchase’, set out the principle guidelines that should be aspired to in an ideal society. Ancient Ireland could be described as…
Fasting for Justice: Hunger Strike in Ancient Ireland
When we think about 'fasting for justice' today many Irish minds of a certain age would likely drift towards thoughts of Bobby Sands and the H-Block Hunger Strikers of 1981. While an important chapter of modern Irish history the principle of fasting for justice or hunger-striking is not a new one; it was practiced by the early Irish in the times of Brehon laws as a means of compelling a stronger party to justice.
Irish Manuscripts: Uraicecht Becc – The Short Primer
This poetic manuscript declares the King of Munster to be supreme and makes reference to monasteries in Emly and Cork; both counties of that province. For this reason, it is…
Three Things A False Judge Deserves
Every false judge deserves a short life, removal from office, and death without an heir. In this triad the brehon (or judge) is reminded of the consequences should they err…
Ancient Irish Olympics – The Lughnasa Games at Telltown
The Telltown or Tailtiu Games were said to have been instituted by the Gaelic god Lú Lamhfada Samildanách – Lugh the Long-Armed Master of the Arts, and are considered to…
Irish Manuscripts: Bretha Nemed –The Judgements of the Privileged Classes
The significance of status in early Irish society cannot be over-emphasised. Several important texts outline the intricate classifications which were based primarily on hereditary rights, kin-ship, property ownership, and, in…