Brehon law
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…
This Maxim reflects a common theme found throughout the BrehonLaws of Early Ireland; personal social responsibility. Social responsibility was both morally expected and in many ways legally ordained. While this Maxim,…
A defining moment in the erosion of the old Irish ways came from the Vatican in 1155 when the Catholic Pope Adrian IV (1100-59); the Vatican’s first and only English Pope,…
On the various names given to the land known as Ireland. IX. Its Ninth Appellation it receiv'd likewise from the Sons of Milesius, who nam'd it Scotia, from their Mothers…
The Book of Aicill relates to the criminal law and is often discussed as being on par in significance with the Senchus Mór; although, the latter deals with civil law.…
Under the Ancient Irish Brehon Laws restitution was the favoured method for dealing with wrongdoings. Compensations owed by offenders are given great attention in the legal manuscripts, but it is…
1. their worldly duties, 2. their conscience, 3. and the Laws of Nature. One of a large collection of 'Triads' - words of wisdom, advice, and guidance always given in…
Here are the Destructions: The Three Circuits of the House of Lir1 The Posession of Burach's House* The Destruction2 of the House of Dumha The Difference of Cathbhad's House* The…
The Senchus Mór (pronounced: shen-kus moor) is one of the most important legal texts from early Ireland and it means the ‘Great Ancient Tradition’. However, the most all-encompassing word for this body…
A maxim of Irish Law first recorded in the eight century. It is a precept which underlies the phrase “All men are created equal” which appears in the American Declaration…