The Brehon Laws - wisdom from pre-historic Ireland 

Sometime between 1000 and 700 B.C., Ollamh Fodhla collected the Laws that had been developed over a very long time. Around the fifth century, Christian scribes wrote down what they could of the Brehon Laws. In fact, St. Patrick is supposed to have had a part in organising these writing workshops. The Christian scribes modified the Laws to suit Christianity, and reportedly omitted sections that were considered non-Christian.

The Christian influence, followed by the Vikings, the Normans and the British saw the end of the Brehon Laws. Invading colonists tend to obliterate the language, customs and traditions of those they rule over. This makes it easier to impose the language and traditions of the conquerors and thus rule more easily. Thus, Ireland saw the demise of the Brehon Laws.

When Ireland gained some degree of freedom from the Penal Laws, it was discovered that some of the ancient manuscripts had survived. Many were written in an old form of Irish and so the slow and painstaking task of translation and interpretation began. Much of this work was done by John O’Donovan and Eugene O’Curry in the mid nineteenth century. Even now, academics differ over translation and interpretation of some of the old texts, which, with translating ancient texts, can be contentious.

Laws relating to people.

Some of the over-arching principles of the Laws against people were that:

1) Status determined punishment and retribution

2) Identifying an offence and ensuring retribution were primarily considered, rather than the crime and punishment approach

3) Punishment was imposed by the community, not by the judge

4) Rehabilitation was always considered

5) Cattle were the currency of the day

6) The mental state of the offender, the circumstances of the offence (pre-determined or spur of the moment) and the contribution of the victim were all considered.

7) An onlooker who didn’t intervene in a crime was culpable

But the Laws were wider than relating to people, there were also laws relating to animals, property, the environment and women’s rights.

Laws relating to animals.

The Laws were particularly considerate towards protecting animals. The deliberateness and severity of an injury to an animal determined the fine imposed. Generally, it was a requirement that animals in public places should be appropriately restrained. If they weren’t, the owner was responsible. If a dog was injured or killed, the replacement of the dog with one of equal ability was a necessity, in addition to any fine imposed. Additionally, the offender was also liable for any damage incurred in the absence of the dog, for example, any theft of animals being protected by the dog. It was also an offence to allow your dog to defecate on a neighbour’s land. Such excrement had to be removed immediately, and three times the bulk of the excrement in butter, curds or dough should be paid. Domestic cats were a necessity to control rodents. A heftier fine was imposed if the cat that was killed was a good ‘mouser’. If a cat scratched somebody, or stole food, the input of the victim was considered. Did the person interfere with the cat in its duties?, was the door properly closed?, was the lid on the saucepan?

Bees were particularly protected with a set of laws called the Bechtbretha. As honey was the only source of sweetness, and an essential ingredient in mead, having a bee-hive was a necessity. Because the bees collected nectar from plants and flowers in the vicinity, the person on whose land the hive was, had to share the honey with their neighbours. Bees were a protected species so if you got a bee sting for no known reason, then you were entitled to a ‘meal of honey’ from the bees owner, but only if you could prove that you hadn’t killed the bee. Other animals, such as pigs, herons, hens, etc. also had laws to protect them.

Laws relating to property.

There were a lot of laws relating to property. Land ownership had responsibilities and rights. A landowner was responsible for fencing the boundaries of their land. If a neighbour’s cattle broke into the land, the fine was dependant of the quality of the fencing and on the quality of the land. If there was no water associated with land, a farmer was entitled to dig a trench across another person’s land in order to source water. However, they had to pay for the privilege, the amount of payment depending on the quality of the land. Access to land was just as important then as it is now.

The Brehon Laws recognised several types of marriage, including marriage of equals, female dominance, male dominance, marriage without family consent, etc. There were different laws associated with each. Women could own land and were entitled to inherit it and Will it, independently of their husband, if they were married. Divorce was permitted under certain circumstances and on separation, a woman was entitled to take from the marriage the same amount of land as she had brought into it, along with a share of any gains made during the marriage.

In ancient times, women had more rights than they have had in recent centuries. A man could take a second wife, although the second wife had only half the entitlements of the first. The first wife also had the freedom to abuse, verbally or physically, the second wife for a limited time. In return, the second wife was limited to verbal abuse, biting and scratching, for a limited time also. However, if a woman left her husband without just cause, she had no legal rights. Trial marriages of a year and a day were permitted. If things worked out, they married and if not, they separated amicably. Any children that resulted from the trial marriage were looked after by the woman’s family. Any children born from rape were the responsibility of the man’s family. Women in ancient times could have a career, unlike more recent times when many women were forced to leave their career on marriage. They were doctors, brehons, farmers, craft-workers, etc.

Among other things, the ancient Brehon Laws contained consequences for the family of the perpetrator of a crime, responsibilities towards animal welfare and the environment and women’s rights. They contain laws that are considered innovative in the 20th and 21st centuries. There is a lot to be learned from their broad approach of offence and retribution, and protection of the environment.

Further reading: Brehon Laws: the ancient wisdom of Ireland. Jo Kerrigan, The O’Brien Press, 2020.