Introduction: page 9 In which the true value of this rich heritage is expounded. Chapter One: A Brief History 13 Touching upon the best efforts of Celts and Christians, Vikings and Normans, to eradicate these great laws; also how the Elizabethan age and the Penal Laws almost succeeded, but how Brehon law somehow survived in hiding. Chapter Two: Who Was Who in Ancient Ireland 42 Of kings and judges, poets and innkeepers - not forgetting the upwardly (and downwardly) mobile. The importance of the tribe and of the family, and the system of fosterage. Chapter Three: For the Protection of the People 65 Concerning murder and theft, injury and insult, restitution and rehabilitation. Also, the offence of the looker-on, and the punishment of 'the ninth wave'. Chapter Four: Awareness of Animals 92 Wherein these are defended from injury, but also made responsible through their proper owner for their own trespasses. The personal importance of pet dogs, the rule of the cat in his every activity.

Chapter Five: Laws of the Land 117 Being the control of boundaries, every man's right to water, the guarding of the trees be they noble or common. Chapter Six: The Rights of Women 135 On land ownership and property, marriage and divorce, insult and rape of both kinds. The proper vengeance of a first wife upon a second, and the power of a true queen. Chapter Seven: A Day in the Life of Ancient Ireland 155 Treating of daily life three thousand years ago, as the old laws depict it. A Note on Sources 173.