An island's law

A bibliographical guide to Ireland’s legal past

W.N. Osborough

In its 25th anniversary year, the Irish Legal History Society republishes two bibliographical essays by its progenitor and former president, Professor W.N. Osborough, fully revised and updated, and collected here with a new third essay to form a complete bibliography of Irish legal history. The volume provides a full and fascinating insight into the depth and breadth of research on the subject (and no less to the range and rigour of Professor Osborough’s learning), and will become an authoritative and indispensable guide for all those interested in the legal history of this island. Also included to mark the anniversary, and to pay tribute to Professor Osborough, are his inaugural address from 1988, and a speech by Professor Norma Dawson on the occasion of his retirement from the Council of the Society in 2011. This unique collection offers a complete overview of Irish legal history scholarship from one of its leading exponents.

W.N. Osborough is Emeritus Professor of Jurisprudence and Legal History, University College, Dublin, and the author of Borstal in Ireland (1975), Law and the emergence of modern Dublin (1996), Studies in Irish Legal History (1999) and Literature, Judges and the law (2008).