Ancient Irish Anarchy
For thousands of years prior to its invasion by its neighbours Ireland was under a native set of laws and customs known today as the Brehon Law.
During this time Ireland was ‘stateless’, there was no central authority making laws, issuing decrees or collecting taxes, there were no police force or prisons, and judges did not have the authority to enforce their decisions. But still, at this time, Ireland was seen to be a great centre for advanced learning, the arts, and spirituality, so much so that it earned the title: Insular Sanctorum et Doctorum – the Island of Saints and Scholars; not a bad title for what was in effect ‘anarchy’.
In this presentation Kevin Flanagan will be making the case that Anarchy has been tried, there are historical examples that worked, and there are valuable lessons to be learned from ancient Ireland’s anarchic past.
Yes! Thanks for sharing this! I'm writing a novel called Gallowglass (working title) that tells a story about the difference between decentralized medieval Ireland and the central control of the English crown. This is exactly my focus right now!
That sounds really interesting. Would like to hear more about this project. The difference between these two systems both socially and legally, as opposed to religiously as has too often been the case, has been a key focus of my research for some years now. I have plenty of material that you might also like and would be happy to bounce ideas around. Great name by the way!
You might like to check out this podcast I did from my research: The Vatican, the Crown, and the Demise of the Brehon Laws.