Court of equity

So, um, he's come to this, uh, with that wonderful comparative lens.

Did a lot of work on the English Court of Chancery.

Uh, he's doing a huge amount on Voices.

It'll be the Court of Chancery that, that Daniel talks about today and the work that he's done on Chancery.

So going across then, we have Claire McNulty.

And again, Claire has been around the last couple of days.

Claire really has been working on something called the Funeral Entries.

And the Funeral Entries, um, again, a phenomenal, uh, resource based in the National Library of Ireland.

Needless to say, military commanders operating through march and martial law were capable of addressing little beyond immediately-- immediate security concerns.

So the Equity Court of Chancery therefore assumed particular importance.

It was cheaper than the common law courts and increasingly willing to, to address issues of land title and other disputes that the common law could not readily entertain.

Fortunately, enough survives of the working files, whether in original, contemporary, or calendared form, to reconstruct something of the Gaelic Irish experience of that court before-- in the sixteenth century.

Again, looking at Wexford, the evidence suggests that five to six percent of Tudor Chancery cases concerned the modern County Wexford.

Virtually no Gaelic Irish appear in cases prior to fifteen ninety-two, but thereafter represent about sixteen percent of cases, all from the Gaelic districts in the north.

Most of the litigants explicitly state they're using Chancery because the area involved was not shire ground, and so out-outside the purview of the common law.

While many of the cases were initiated by the Old English encroaching on Gaelic lands, around half the cases were brought by Gaelic freeholders, equally aware of the precarity of the rights they held, quote, "According to the custom of Gavelkind." And not just from Old and New English speculation either.

Needless to say, military commanders operating through march and martial law were capable of addressing little beyond immediate security concerns.

So the Equity Court of Chancery, therefore, assumed particular importance.

It was cheaper than the common law courts and increasingly willing to address issues of land title and other disputes that the common law could not readily entertain.

Fortunately, enough survives of the working files, whether in original, contemporary or calendared form, to reconstruct something of the Gaelic-Irish experience of that court in the 16th century.

Again, looking at Wexford, the evidence suggests that 5-6% of Tudor Canterbury cases concerned the modern county Wexford.

Virtually no Gaelic Irish appear in cases prior to 1592, but thereafter represent about 16% of cases, all from the Gaelic districts in the north.

Most of the litigants explicitly state they're using Chancery because the area involved was not Shire ground and so outside the purview of the common law.

While many of the cases were initiated by the Old English encroaching on Gaelic lands, around half the cases were brought by Gaelic freeholders, equally aware of the precarity of the rights they held, quote, according to the custom of Gavelkind.

It's, maybe it's a, a sort of an arbitration exercise or dispute resolution side.

But I would argue if you take that 100 years later into Chancery Court, they would probably enforce that.

I, I would imagine saying that's good as a, a contract agreement within law after that point.

And I think, if I'm not mistaken, Colm Kenny mentioned one before where that had happened.

The English or the Protestant Armagh church, uh, church courts are dealing with wills up until the mid-1850s as ecclesiastical law.

It's not in a, it's not used in that common law system.

We have, again, Neil Johnston sent me that quote there on the bottom of a Catholic chur- a Catholic priest, Alexis Stafford, being appointed to sit in the Chancery Court as Master of Chancery.

That's in the 1686.

That's a March law, that's common law tradition, Breton law tradition, finding a solution to a disputed land.

Maybe it's a sort of an arbitration exercise or dispute resolution side, but I would argue if you take that 100 years later into Chancery Court, they would probably enforce that.

I would imagine saying that's good as a contract agreement within law after that point.

And I think, if I'm not mistaken, Colm Kenny mentioned one before where that had happened.

It's not used in that common law system.

We have again, Neil Johnston sent me that quote there on the bottom of a Catholic priest quote.

Alexis Stafford being appointed to sit in the Chancery Court as Master of Chancery.

That's in 1686.

The child lived with the applicant until the 18th of September 1911 when she was informed her husband had taken the child away from her cousin.

In October, the applicant obtained possession of the child under an order of the Equity Court and the infant remained with her until May last when Mrs Finlay alleged during her absence at work the respondent took possession of the child and she's not been in her possession since.

Subsequently, she's applied to her husband for the return of the child but the respondent refused to let her have it.

In his affidavit in reply, the respondent alleged that the applicant had neglected the child and this allegation was denied by the applicant.