Today as part of an assignment I went down to the four courts to see Ireland's legal system in action. The case which I went to view was a murder one. The defendant Derek Wade was accused ok killing a Chinese non-nationa;l with a knife.

I sat the whole day listening to the case. Mr. Wade was found guilty that evening for murder and will be handed down a life sentence. I found the whole day to be extremely interesting and I couldn't help but wonder what our legal system would of been like if we had never been colonised?

Surely it would be conducted in the Irish language. Also the traditional wigs worn by the barristers and judges, which we adopted from our British counterparts, would also be probably not a part of the Irish legal system.

However this is not to say that we do not have control over our own legal system. We have a constitution which is dedicated to the idea of an independent identity. I am glad that I witnessed this democratic event in action. I once looked on Irish law as a British gift but going down to the courts has shown me other wise. We have our own identity that I am fina;lly beginning to understand.

We cant weight everything on circumstances that this country underwent. Instead what is being Irish is what each person feels individually. Thats what I believe in any case.