Once the most pioneering piece of police legislation in the world, the 700-year-old Statute of Winchester will shortly disappear from Irish law.
The statute, which came into force in Ireland in 1285 by edict of King Edward I, is one of 91 Acts due for repeal under the Statute Law Revision Bill.
The Statute of Winchester was brought into force by authorities struggling to deal with a crime wave. "Continuous wars and recurring truces left bands of unemployed mercenaries who moved about the kingdom preying upon helpless villages," says one historical account.
In order to combat highwaymen, the statute commanded that "highways from market towns to other market towns be widened . . . so that there shall be nowhere a person could hide with 'evil intent'," says another account.
Sheriffs were directed to form posses to capture criminals and could proclaim the cry: "Let him bear the wolf's head." This latter declaration meant that the outlaw could be hunted down and killed in the same way as packs of wolves which ravaged livestock.
Meanwhile, the Pillory Abolition Act of 1816, which allowed offenders to pay fines rather than spend time in the stocks, is also to be made redundant.
While Mr Michael McDowell may lament the passing of the Statute of Winchester, the Tánaiste, Ms Harney, might have similar feelings about the Burning of Bricks (Dublin) Act. In an early version of her ban on smoky coal, the 1770 legislation forbade the practice, saying that citizens had been "grievously annoyed" and that it had "cost the lives of many weakly persons".
The Adulteration of Coffee Act of 1718 sought to counter the "evil-disposed persons" who added water, grease or butter to roasted coffee to increase its weight.
The Chimney Sweepers and Chimneys Regulation Act 1840, which prohibited anyone under the age of 21 from such work, will also go, along with the Children's Dangerous Performances Act of 1879. The latter is described as "an Act to regulate the employment of children in places of public amusement". It outlawed the use of children under 14 in public exhibitions or performances where the "life or limbs of such child shall be endangered".
Most of the outdated legislation has already been replaced by modern health and safety and animal welfare legislation - for example, the Bath and Washhouses Act of 1846 - and therefore can be repealed.
