Lecture by Associate Prof. Dr. Qiu Fangzhe in the 48th talk of the “Tan Lark Sye Lecture Series”
The 48th session of the Tan Lark Sye Lecture Series, organized by the Institute of International Education and the Tan Lark Sye Institute of New Era University College（NEUC）, was held on 25 March. The lecture featured Associate Prof. Dr. Qiu Fangzhe from the University College Dublin, Ireland, as the keynote speaker. He delivered a talk entitled “Early Irish Legal History: Progress to Date and Its Significance”. The lecture was moderated by Asst. Prof. Dr. Ng Khai Boon, Head of the International Academic Exchange Office and attracted more than 170 participants. In the lecture, Dr. Qiu approached the topic from the perspectives of legal history and comparative law, offering an in-depth discussion of Ireland’s indigenous legal system prior to the establishment of the common law, as well as its historical trajectory and fate.
Dr. Qiu was awarded his PhD in Early and Medieval Irish in 2014 by University College Cork, and has since worked at the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies and Maynooth University. He joined University College Dublin in 2020 and teaches modules in Early Irish and Celtic Civilisation. He is currently the principal investigator of the ERC-funded project “Fluid Texts And Scholars’ Digests: (Re)Production of Law in Medieval Ireland” (2023-28). His research interest focusses on medieval Irish law, the early Irish language and historical linguistics.
During the lecture, Dr. Qiu systematically outlined the core characteristics of early Irish law and the historical process through which it was marginalized, drawing on historical sources and comparative perspectives. He encouraged the audience to reconsider the complex relationships between colonialism, legal transplantation, and indigenous institutions, offering valuable insights into the diverse developmental paths of different legal civilizations.
Following the lecture, participants actively engaged with the speaker during the Q&A session, with questions addressing the basic structure of early Irish law, the characteristics of legal texts, and the areas of social life regulated by law. Dr. Qiu responded to each question in turn, fostering an engaging and dynamic exchange.
