A horizontal rectangular headpiece featuring intricate, symmetrical Celtic interlace and knotwork patterns.

FOREWORD

A decorative square drop cap containing the letter 'I' embellished with Celtic knotwork backgrounds.

I was first moved to write this small book for the satisfaction of my own soul, as part of my study of the Great Book of the Ancient Laws of Ireland The "Ancient Laws of Ireland" refers to the Brehon Laws, a complex system of native Irish law that functioned for centuries before the English conquest.. The English translation of these laws was published to the world between the years 1865 and 1901. I have also written this throughout in the hope that it might prove interesting—and perhaps even useful—to my countrymen and countrywomen in the work of social reorganization that lies before them, and to which so many have already committed themselves.

This study is not easy for a student in every respect, but even its difficulties bring their own reward. It is by struggling with these challenges that the student gradually escapes the more conventional atmosphere of the modern world. One soon acquires a delightfully vivid sense of the pure, ancient way of life into which the study of Ancient Ireland leads, with its high ideals of honor, its neighborly consideration, its hospitality, its self-restraint and its dignity. It was a society of common sense and courtesy, with a high respect for learning, industry, and skill, and a great zeal for the law and for order.