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Lecture 2The Ancient Irish LawThe great peculiarity of the ancient laws of Ireland, so faras they are accessible to us, is discussed, with much instructiveillustration, in the General Preface to the Third Volume of theofficial translations. They are not a legislative structure, butthe creation of a class of professional lawyers, the Brehons,whose occupation became hereditary, and who on that ground havebeen designated, though not with strict accuracy, a caste. Thisview, which is consistent with