The Eagans: A Brehon Family

The native Irish law, or Brehon Law, was that great body of civil, military and criminal law used until the beginning of the seventeenth century. It regulated the Irish society from kings to slaves and enumerated the rights and privileges of all. A very complex and detailed law, it was interpreted by a group of hereditary masters called brehons—from breth, the Irish word for 'judgement.' Among the major hereditary brehon families, the Mac Aodhagáins (MacEgans) were, without a doubt, the most prominent.