© 2019 selection and editorial matter, James Law, Cristina McKean, Carol-Anne Murphy and Elin Thordardottir; individual chapters, the contributors. The earliest record of speech and language disorders in Ireland dates back to the seventh and eighth centuries. There was reference in old Irish legal texts to the principle of ‘dligid édteanga aimsire’, which means ‘tonguelessness is entitled to time’, whereby arrangements were put in place to protect the rights of individuals with speech and language disorders (Kelly, 1992; IASLT, 1993).