The Pseudo-Historical Origins of the Senchas Már and Royal Legislation in Early Ireland

The pseudo-historical account of the origins of the Senchas Már claims that Ireland’s most important collection of vernacular legal tracts was written in the fifth century, at a meeting of St Patrick and Lóegaire mac Néill at Tara. Aspects of the description of this episode reflect historical instances of royal legislation in seventh- and eighth-century Ireland. This suggests that the story was intended to depict the Senchas Már as an instance of royal legislation, and to associate its status as national law with the claims of the Uí Néill kings to island-wide authority.