UP UNTIL 1918, Irish women had no right to vote in the Republic of Ireland, and adults couldn’t buy contraception here until 1980.
As for divorce, that wasn’t officially legalised until the summer of 1996. A lot has changed about the Irish legal system over the last century or so, but there are still a few hard-to-believe laws hanging around.
To put your legal know-how to the test, we’ve compiled a selection of real and fake Irish laws. They’re all incredibly weird – but which ones would actually stand up in court?
Here goes.
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Oh, and here are the quiz answers that would have won you top marks as a legal eagle…
1. True. This law was a straggler from an 1817 proclamation. Between 2003 and 2016, the Irish government repealed around 60,000 archaic laws, many of which were carried over from British rule.
2. False.
3. True. Under the Sunday Observance Act (Ireland) of 1695, cinemas could not open on Sundays. This was eventually amended under the Cinemas (Northern Ireland) Order of 1991.
4. True. The European Commission awarded the the terms “blaa” and “Waterford blaa” a Protected Destination of Origin status in 2013. Just like Champagne.
5. False.
6. False.
7. True. Dublin Freemen Bono and The Edge famously did just that in 2000, bringing sheep to graze on Stephen’s Green.
8. True, according to a law passed in 1454.
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