Can the old Brehon laws steer the Republic away from anti-immigrant sentiment?

Ireland's recent Prime Minister is a relatively young man leads a comparatively young republic that’s experience several unprecedented challenges.

Simon Harris was confirmed as “Taoiseach” or Prime Minister on April 9, 2024following the surprising resignation of his predecessorLeo Varadkar.

Harris, 37, assumes leadership of a rustic at a crossroads of change. Local, state and presidential elections are only across the corner, the outcomes of which can determine the form of Irish democracy – and quite possible, unity on an island divided between a British-dominated north and an Irish republic within the south – will take time.

Underlying these decisions is the query of how Irish voters will reply to the challenge of what’s generally known as “New Ireland” – a rustic by which… 20% of the population weren’t born within the republicwith an analogous number identifying as non-white Irish.

A History of Immigration

For a rustic whose principal export has historically been its people – with 8 million left the country between 1815 and 1914 largely as a consequence of famine – and in a rustic where until recently there was little immigration, this represents a big change.

Moreover, the change occurred in a comparatively short time period and had a big impact on the present population of the republic just over 5 million.

In 2023 141,600 people emigrated to Ireland, which represents a 15-year high. The majority are returning Irish nationals, many from the UK, encouraged by Ireland vibrant economy and connections to the European Union. But there’s also one significant variety of Ukrainian refugees. A smaller number come from India, Brazil or Africa, the latter including refugees from the principal conflict areas of Eritrea, Sudan, Somalia and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The record levels of immigration come at a time of a Severe housing shortage in Irelandhas led to a backlash that boiled over on November 23, 2023. Triggered by the Knife attack on three babies and their carer In central Dublin, an immigrant of Algerian origin sparked a mob of looting, arson and vandalism on the streets of Dublin. The Garda (Police) Commissioner blamed the events a “crazy hooligan faction driven by a right-wing extremist ideology”.

Anti-immigrant sentiment was high accompanied by a hashtag campaign, #irelandisfull. And it doesn't just take the shape of street violence. The openly anti-immigrant Ireland First was official Registered as a political party in 2023 and is on the lookout for candidates for the upcoming elections.

To address growing tensions, Harris said he desired to pursue it further a “more planned and sustainable” immigration policy.

But familiarity with Ireland's History could provide a counterpoint to the “Ireland is full” viewpoint, which has little to do with traditional Irish values ​​of hospitality. Rather, such views contradict one another Brehon law – the customs and laws that governed Irish society before the arrival of the English within the twelfth century.

The Brehon Laws were remarkable Body of progressive codes that regulated all facets of society, from beekeeping to murder. Their exact origins are unknown, but for several centuries they were passed orally from one generation to the following.

The laws were first written down within the seventh century, mostly by Christian monks – the keepers of much of ancient Celtic culture.

Welcome, stranger

Refund – or restorative justice – and punishment was not the main focus of the laws. Consequently, there was no death penalty or prison sentences, but relatively a scale of punishments or fines for all infractions that were proportionate to the seriousness of the crime and the financial resources of the offender.

On the topic of hospitality, that The Brehon Laws were clear: All households, from royal residences to the poorest houses, were obliged to supply a certain level of “oigidecht” – or hospitality – to travelers, even in the event that they were unknown. In Old Irish the word oigi meant “stranger”.

Hospitality included foods and drinks and even entertainment, with the extent of entertainment depending on the social status of the household. No monetary payment was expected, although visitors could offer their hosts a poem or song.

Refusal to abide by these rules may lead to expulsion or a superb.

The arrival of the English and with them English common lawundermined the applying of the Brehon laws, although they didn’t completely disappear until the seventeenth century.

Today the name has been preserved in US cities through the existence of Brehon Law Firmsthat place human rights at the center of legal interventions.

Open arms

It is the spirit of Brehon that I imagine best represents Irish society today. Despite the outbreak of xenophobia in November and the emergence of anti-immigrant policies, nearly all of Irish persons are still known for his or her hospitality towards strangers.

It's a well-deserved popularity. From the time of French Huguenots flee religious persecution within the seventeenth century to Ukrainian refugees within the 2020sIreland has provided protection to people facing discrimination and death elsewhere.

And it has long welcomed nonwhite visitors African-born Olaudah Equiano within the 1790s to the American abolitionist Frederick Douglass, within the 1840s to the American actor and activist Paul Robeson within the Thirties – each of them considered their time in Ireland to be considered one of their happiest.

Douglass, then a fugitive slave, was beaten “the complete absence of any prejudice against me because of the color of my skin.”

It's a popularity that has paid off. Irish tourism stays robust, Generates sales of over 5.3 billion euros (roughly $5.7 billion) in 2023, making it the country's top domestic industry and the biggest regional employer.

A key a part of promoting Ireland as a travel destination is the concept of visiting the “Ireland of the Welcomes”, where the The time-honored greeting is “Céad Míle Fáilte”.“, which translates to “A Hundred Thousand Welcomes.”

As Ireland – and its recent, young leader – responds to the challenges of a more diverse society, the Brehon Laws can function a guide for Irish people looking for a return to traditional values ​​based on hospitality and inclusivity, making a recent Ireland , by which each tourists and immigrants are “welcomed a hundred thousand times over”.