In ancient Ireland there was no need for police, public prosecutors or prisons because the clan regulated wrongdoing through what we would now call a system of restorative justice. That is, it aimed to repair the harm done to the victim of crime rather than focusing on punishment of the offender, although fines were often imposed as well as compensation. It was a system of mediated dispute resolution that concentrated on restoring the victims of crime to their pre-crime status and ensuring the offender took responsibility for their wrongdoing.

There has been a resurgence of interest in restorative justice in the United States after years of skyrocketing incarceration and recidivism rates.

In my book I explore the differences in focus relative to criminal offenders between the Brehon laws and our criminal justice system, and the experimental programs of restorative justice in the United States.