Brehon Laws: The Ancient Wisdom of Ireland

Jo Kerrigan, author of Brehon Laws: The Ancient Wisdom of Ireland, sits down in beautiful Cork to discuss the book and the ancient system of laws it describes. Thousands of years ago, Celtic Ireland was a land of tribes and warriors; but a widely accepted, sophisticated and surprisingly enlightened legal system kept society running smoothly. The brehons were the keepers of these laws, which dealt with every aspect of life: land disputes; recompense for theft or violence; marriage and divorce processes; the care of trees and animals. The history of these laws is an often overlooked part of our Irish cultural heritage among non-academics, and Jo Kerrigan's book reveals fascinating details that are inspiring for our world today. In this video, she passionately discusses some of the most interesting laws developed by our ancestors, explains why some of these ancient laws would be useful in today's modern world, and reveals why she wrote the book to appeal to the everyday Irish people. This video was released to celebrate #HeritageWeek2020
Get the book now: www.obrien.ie/brehon-laws
Music: Frolic by E's Jammy Jams, from KZbin Audio Library
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[@creekyknee]

What a wonderful video. I've just ordered the book. I already knew some things about Brehon law but am keen to know more.

[@chrisw3288]

Graham Robb 'The Ancient Paths' Ireland at the heart and zenith of Celtic culture, far from being at the edge of the world, knowledge flowed out, this flowered into Christianity where its monks fanned out into Europe after the end of Roman occupation, Irish monks reading Greek Hebrew & Arabic speaking Latin and Gaelic. Ireland was connected to Egypt and the middle east many centuries before Christ. Christianity came to Ireland from Egypt as the monastic tradition.

[@BManStan1991]

Thank you for this. As both an American and an Irish citizen (my family moved here in the 1930s) I long for the cultures and traditions of my family’s homeland, and a better understanding of whence we came. Something in me longs for it, and takes delight in such knowledgeable videos such as these. This woman is a treasure. Edit: as a side note, I bought the book immediately.

[@billnicks2362]

She is far from a teasure, a chara. Her books are full of misinformation and misinterpretation of Irish history and folklore. Even this video is full of it.

[@BManStan1991]

@@billnicks2362 oh man, who or what might you reccomend then?

[@billnicks2362]

@@BManStan1991 For the laws "Guide to Early Irish law" by Fergus Kely. If there is any specific subject or period of history that you want specifically let me know and I can give you suggestions.

[@BManStan1991]

@@billnicks2362 will check it out. Cheers I am mostly interested in the period in which old irish was spoken.

[@Padraigp]

​@@BManStan1991 old irish as in? My mom studied ancient irish and celtic languages in university ..i have some of my grandmother and granfathers books from the 1940s when they still write the irish letters which is a goddamn shame they do not use them now.

[@nelsonrooks8284]

Bring them back.

[@sunroom7]

Look forward to reading this book Jo Kerrigan. Surely now is the time to return to the Brehon Laws.

[@user-hn4oi7yz1h]

I love hearing about laws that are based on life, common sense, compassion, care, and the future and not on someone's religious beliefs. Human kind has the wits to know how to be, how to live and let live, Brehon Laws proves that. Law and religion should always remain separate. Religion's vary and separate people, laws usually remain stable and hold people together. Thank you.

[@WisdomPrevails369]

Brehon law comes from Druidic Religion

[@danielmcdonagh8114]

brilliant! 👏

[@lives2read]

Definitely buying this book 🤗

[@Colmoreilly21]

Just after buying the book!

[@ebonymaidan7891]

Thanks for posting this wonderful video. I look forward to my copy arriving.

[@rootintobeing]

So incredibly fascinating 💚

[@BoMwarriorVlog]

This history is a big part of "Sister Fidelma Mysteries" book series. ☘️😁 I'm glad to hear the historical fiction in those good books is accurate! ❤️

[@juliamurphy139]

Wonderful laws! Buying the book!

[@PoetryETrain]

Thank you much for this... Subscribed...

[@ciaranrock2969]

Cant wait to get a copy

[@WLK1965]

Very interesting! I like the marriage laws, but marrying for love to a woman who had more land and cattle had to be tough for the man and hence prevented many of them from proposing to a woman of higher status, wouldn’t you think? I love history and will order your book. Thank you for sharing.

[@Padraigp]

Why would it be tough for the man exactly. He loves her and shes got a fuckload of cows. I cant see any downside to it except in your own mind which is probably weatern ...we didnt have those people looking down their noses at other men for such things so apart from the scorn of other men what downside is there even today?

[@BoMwarriorVlog]

​@@PadraigpThe pride of men has been a reasonable factor throughout history, to the detriment of a good outcome. 🤷

[@mrkrahe1]

Brilliant

[@LDT7Y]

As far as I was aware, Ireland is still under the rule of Rome via the EU (where the 'british' laws came from). So it makes sense the irish would still follow the imported roman legal system. The southern parts of the 'UK' ruled by celtic tribes such as the Iceni, who were then taken over by Rome, left the roman EU system during brexit. But Ireland has yet to do this. I'd like to see all of the islands return to a modernised version of ancient laws such as Brehon.

[@creekyknee]

Very interesting points. Modern Ireland has something that the UK doesn't have any more thanks to Brexit. Its called an economy.

[@LDT7Y]

Yes, everything has a price.

[@auntpittypatski]

Where can I get the book?

[@creekyknee]

I bought mine on the O'Briens website. Link in the description.

[@bellj753]

My heart hurts to see what we have now instead of this. The world will not truly be a free place until women all over the world are truly free.

[@billnicks2362]

They certainly weren't free under the Brehon laws. They were considered legally incompetent for the most part and female slaves were used as a form of currency.

[@margaretnesbeth593]

The sound went low when it came to the laws for women😖

[@siofra3819]

Women were practically equal to men in Ireland, unlike their Saxon sisters. Irish women had more rights than most women in Europe.

[@billnicks2362]

@@siofra3819 "Practically" equal is a massive stretch. The average woman was seen as legally incompetent (in the same category as children and mentally ill people). She was for the most part incapable of making independent contracts, couldn't give evidence in court (unless it was about rape or sexual assault, but even then there were stipulations) and was answerable to her nearest male relative (including getting her hounour price depending on their status). Women were also barred from chieftainship. The usual things given to "prove" women were equal according to Brehon Law are: 1) That she could own property. This is a misunderstanding. A woman could inherit only if there was no male heir to inherit and even then it was a life interest. It could not be passed down to her children and was instead distributed among the kingroup. 2) That women could attain high-status positions. This again is a misrepresentation of the reality. The high-status roles such as tribe healer, poet etc were all hereditary roles that required a three-generation rule women were also barred from chieftainship. AND... female slaves were literally used as a form of currency.

[@siofra3819]

@@billnicks2362 what rubbish. Women could lead armies, be warriors and druids, possess wealth and property in their own right, and engage in marriage on an equal footing with their husbands.The Brehon Law was a system well ahead of its time. It was all about equality and democracy and was based on a complex system of fines instead of corporal punishment. It covered everything from matters of commerce, crime, healthcare, the ownership of property to marital and family law, and equal rights.Women were entitled to enter all the same professions as men; they could be Druids, poets, physicians, lawgivers, teachers, warriors, leaders, even Queens. The mythological stories are littered with such references to women of power.there are many records of married women taking legal proceedings on their own account against outsiders, quite independently of the husband, in defence of their special property.Husband and wife stood on equal terms in a brehon's court, so that if the husband gave evidence against his wife, she was entitled to give evidence against him. Irish women could have their husband fined for many reasons. It's well known Irish women had a lot more rights in them times than saxon women of other women in Europe

[@billnicks2362]

@@siofra3819 Not all women were on equal footing with their husbands. Literally 1 of the 8 types of marriage is about equal footing. 4 of those types of Marriage are by rape or abduction. Women were only able to own land if there was no male heir, which was unusual and even then, it wasn't inherited by her children and returned to the clan. Women could become druids, poets, healers etc but there was a strict rule in which 3 generations of your family had to be of that profession. Mythological stories are not reality. The laws literally barred women from becoming chieftains and there are no female leaders or powerful queens mentioned in any historical sources, outside of myth. The laws are massively biased on class and gender. Yes they had it better than elsewhere but that does not equal a paradise for women. And lets not forget that female slaves were literally used as currency. And, it was largely compensation based but they did give corporal punishment too. It was common for people to have limbs amputated, be castrated, blinded, set adrift or be killed by spear or sword too. I worked with some of the texts at uni, I don't need a list of things they cover, but thanks.

[@creekyknee]

@@billnicks2362 Tell that to Grainne Mhaol. She would have had your head chopped off before you got to your second point. You are gravely mistaken. And as for your point about slaves being used as a form of currency, correct. Female and male. St.Patrick was not a girl.

[@justusouma1601]

Get yourself Irish Wisdom Preserved in bible and Pyramids Conor MacDari

[@joecascone8113]

What if you kept killing and maming others after you were broke? Catholic Christianity believes that it is a woman that is to be honored and revered more than any other creature. Marriage is an institution that God inspired. God only united man and woman. Society without the Creator is one that will not prosper. This ancient legal system seems to impress you because of its stress of integrity of women and property. God loves the Irish, but Ireland has begun to turn its back on God

[@creekyknee]

Amen to that. Lets all applaud the fact that the Irish have thankfully woken up to the damage that these PPs (Pedo-Priests) have done to our country.

[@scallopohare9431]

And never mind that you refer to women as "creatures," as if they are not human.

[@billnicks2362]

As per tradition, tons of misinterpretation in this video, just like in her books (Old ways, old secrets is an absolute mess from start to finish). I will add a suggestion for better sources at the end. But to tackle this video at least, a few points. The claim that "we had these laws before the celts came" is beyond speculative and hinges on the indo-European origins of the laws. While the origin is true, there is absolutely no way of telling when the laws were transmitted to Ireland or that it wasn't brought over with the "celts". To claim that the celts "changed the laws because they were more warlike and not fond of women" is, again, speculative with zero evidence to back it up. The laws were first written down in the 7th/8th Century and the surviving manuscripts are copies of copies of copies. We have nothing to compare how they were when the celts came here. The claim that the church's effect on the laws was to make women "second-class citizens" is baseless. The church actually passed Brehon laws to protect women (and other non-combatants) in times of war. These laws (Cáin Phadraig and Cáin Adomnán/ Lex innocentium) were promulgated numerous times, countrywide, over centuries. The Laws, without church intervention, was inherently patriarchal. Inheritance was patrilineal, names were parilineal. Women slaves were used as currency and women had zero voice in legal matters (outside of rape/SA and even then there were conditions). In the part where she describes compensation, she leaves out the fact that outside of the usual compensation-based system people were set adrift in boats, had limbs amputated, castrated, blinded or killed by sword or spear for crimes also. Women's rights: When speaking of Marriages, she fails to mention that 4 of the 8 are marriages are by rape or abduction "laws were made by the people for the people". No, they were made by the aristocrats, for aristocrats. They heavily favoured the upper classes. A person of higher status could literally fix guilt on people, regardless of the evidence. The fact she wants to go back to them is ludicrous. If you want accurate info on the Laws I would suggest looking to "A Guide to Early Irish Law" by Fergus Kelly. It is the gold standard for the Brehon Laws. If you have to get Kerrigans (as it is more cost effective and widely available) just be aware that she is very far from accurate in many of her interpretations.

[@scottsullivanmma]

Yeah this woman strikes me as someone who has an agenda. The first thing she starts doing is bashing others.

[@billnicks2362]

@@scottsullivanmma Exactly that. There is a continuing thing (which admitted was worse in her other book) where she ignores evidence in an attempt to put a feminist bent on everything and make medieval Ireland out to be some sort of matriarchal feminist eutopia when it was anything but.

[@Padraigp]

Whether theyre historically accurate or not they sound like damn fine laws. And if thats her interpretation of them and she wants to go back to her interpretarion of them with all she has left out then that would explain why she wants to go back to them. I would assume she doesnt want to go back to your interpretation of them. But her own. All we can do is take those laws that make sense today and leave those that make none in the past..

[@pat75713]

We could do without her feminism she is part of today s problem

[@annegribben444]

And of course you arent ...😳🙃😂

[@creekyknee]

What a stupid comment.