Right Relationship: An Introduction to Ireland's Brehon Laws
Explores Ireland's Brehon Laws, and the principles of honour, kinship, reciprocity, justice and right relationship that underpin them, presented by Irish Pagan educator, storyteller and cultural practitioner Tara Tine.
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The Brehon Laws form one of Europe's longest lived native legal traditions, which has been preserved within a remarkable body of legal manuscripts, dating from the early medieval period until well into the seventeenth century.
These texts reveal not only how disputes were settled, but how early Irish people understood community, leadership, family, land ownership, honour, hospitality and the responsibilities that bound society together.
Rather than approaching the Brehon Laws simply as historical curiosities, this online class explores the worldview which gave rise to them. Tara Tine introduces the structure of early Irish society and examines how legal status influenced everyday life, why compensation was generally preferred over punishment, and how poets, judges and kings fulfilled distinct roles within society.
This class at the Irish Pagan School also explores the ways in which concepts of truth, justice, obligation and the natural order were intertwined.
What Will You Gain by Taking this Class:
Through historical evidence, practical examples and an optional guided visualisation, you'll gain a broad introduction to the principles underlying early Irish law and a deeper appreciation of the relationships between individuals, families, communities and the wider world.
By the end of the class, you will have a foundation for understanding the Brehon Laws within their historical and cultural context, while reflecting on the enduring ideas of reciprocity, community and right relationship.
What Will You Learn?
- An introduction to the origins, history and surviving sources of Ireland's Brehon Laws
- The structure of early Irish society, including honour price, kinship, fosterage and the tuath
- How legal status, contracts, land ownership and legal responsibility shaped everyday life
- Restorative justice, compensation, sick maintenance and the practical resolution of disputes
- The roles of kings, judges and poets within early Irish society
- The relationship between law, cosmology, kingship, the supernatural and the natural order
- The influence of Christianity upon Ireland's native legal tradition
- Common misconceptions surrounding the Brehon Laws and early Irish society
- An optional guided visualisation exploring community, ancestry and right relationship
Who This Class Is For
This online class will suit you if:
- You care about Irish history, and you are tired of tourist brochure versions of it.
- You are working with Irish heritage or spirituality and want your historical grounding to be solid, not vibes based or made for TV.
- You are part of the Irish diaspora and want a connection that respects the reality of Gaelic Ireland and the violence of its destruction.
- You have already bumped up against the limits of other 'Sources' and want something deeper, more demanding, and more honest.
If you want spiritual bypassing or soft focus shallow worship, this is not your class.
If you want to have your thinking sharpened by a native Irish teacher who is steeped in both the records and the wider cultural context, you're in the right place. Fáilte abhaile!
Class Details
- Date: Sunday 18th October
- Teacher: Tara Tine - Diary of a Ditch Witch (check her on YouTube HERE)
- Format: Live online class with replay access on the Irish Pagan School legacy platform
- Level: Open to all, no prior academic background required
- Accessibility: Replay and downloadable resources so you can go at your own pace, even if you cannot attend live.
This is a completely self paced online course.
When you are enrolled, join in live if possible, and get the recorded files after for repeated or further study and reference. You decide when you start and when you finish.
The date of this live class is - Sunday 18th October, 9pm Irish Time. (please google '9pm Irish time in [my city name] is...)
- If you can't attend the live class, your enrollment now entitles you to access the recorded class files (available by the following Tuesday) at the best value price.
When you enroll in this class, you are receiving lifetime access (with a full 30 day money back guarantee).
Enroll in the course, download the content, learn from the materials... and if you don't like what you've learned just email us and we'll give you all your money back. We're taking a risk by offering this - we can't get the content back, so you could just enroll, then ask for a refund, and rip us off! However, we work on an honour system with our Tuath, as did our ancient ancestors. We trust that you won't do that to us, just like you can trust that we will do our very best to make sure you have a good experience with the Irish Pagan School.
You have a 100% money back Guarantee, for a full 30 days, so you can go ahead and enroll with full confidence.
(see below - HOW TO GET ACCESS TO THIS COURSE)
Your Instructor
Tara Tine is an Irish Pagan educator, storyteller and cultural practitioner whose work explores Irish history, folklore, mythology, traditional knowledge and the relationship between people and the Irish landscape. A native of County Louth, Tara is a self-taught forager and practitioner of Irish folk traditions, with many years' experience researching and sharing Ireland's native plants, traditional plant knowledge and herb magic. Her 'Native Irish Herbs' series on her 'Diary of a Ditch Witch' YouTube channel explores the plants encountered in the Irish landscape, their traditional uses and their place in Irish folklore.
Tara's interests extend beyond plants into the wider history and culture of Ireland. She has given talks for Louth and Monaghan County Councils on Irish history, folklore and traditional practices. A long-standing activist with a particular interest in environmental, cultural and heritage issues, Tara has a strong connection to the landscapes and communities of her native northeast of Ireland. Tara's teaching brings together historical research, folklore, traditional knowledge and lived experience of the Irish landscape. Her classes explore Irish traditions in their cultural and historical context, with particular interests in plants, folk magic, mythology, social history and the laws and customs of early Ireland.
"Tara does a great job putting together incredibly interesting information in an easily accessible way and goes above and beyond to answer the questions posed by the participants of the q&a."
- Sarah - Herb Magic in Ireland Student https://irishpaganschool.com/p/herb-magic-samhain
Course Curriculum
"The Irish Pagan school is an invaluable resource that covers many topics within Irish Paganism. The free classes provide the resources one needs to continue their education, even if one can't afford to move on to the paid classes or purchase other materials. The teachers are well versed in the subjects they cover, from an academic as well as spiritual point. IPS is really one of the few sources regarding Irish Paganism that I trust to, not only teach information free from ideas rooted in colonization/ cultural appropration, but to also direct me to other trustworthy sources."
- Billie Ælfwine 
recommends The Irish Pagan School.
Frequently Asked Questions
"I am loving the courses and meetings. I have looked for knowledge for most of my life and am so relieved I found a place and teachers that are so knowledgeable, kind and ready to share all the wonderful culture, traditions and everything related to Irish Paganism. I highly recommend the IPS for anyone interested in pure, down to earth learning."
- Anna Garcia recommends The Irish Pagan School.
Once you have enrolled for a LIVE online course...
You will receive some emails from Eolas @ IrishPaganSchool.ie.
When you enroll in a course at the Irish Pagan School, you’ll receive a system confirmation email that contains a clickable link to the course. You can use this link to open your course, or you can type the school or course page URL into the address bar of your web browser. (www.IrishPaganSchool.com)
You'll also receive:
- Fáilte - How to Access your Course at the Irish Pagan School! This tells you how to log in, what to do if you forget your password, and how to join our Students Only facebook group (if you'd like to).
- Your Live Online Class Zoom Invite. This is the invitation to join our live event. You can also find this in the Course Curriculum, after you log in using the instructions in the email above!
If you can't attend the course teaching live (at 9pm Irish time on the Sunday), don't worry, the recorded files and presentation slides, etc. will be posted into your Course Curriculum by the following Tuesday.
HOW TO GET ACCESS TO THIS COURSE
- Choose the payment option below that best suits you - pay in Euros with a Credit Card, or pay in US Dollars with a Credit Card or PayPal.
- Click your preferred option so it's highlighted in orange.
- Click the big orange 'Enroll Now' button.
- On the Order Summary page, click to 'Add Coupon' if you have one! (Type in the coupon code, for example, from our Patreon Here)
- Enter your Account and Payment information.
- Tick the box to agree to the standard Terms and Conditions.
- Click the orange button at the bottom of that page to enroll at the price that is displayed.
Don't forget you have a full, no hassle, 30 day money back guarantee!