[3]: 177 D. A. Binchy has argued that the Irish system of distraint preserved a transitional phase between "primitive unrestricted seizure" (i.e., seizing of property without legal procedure) and the limited and state-controlled distraint of later legal systems (such as is present in English common law).
[3]: 178–179 Cethairṡlicht Athgabálae is concerned with the proper kinds of distraint to be enforced on particular categories of person.
For example, among professionals, their tools are made useless until the creditor has seized sufficient property, and among dependent persons of little property (such as slaves), Cethairṡlicht Athgabálae allows the creditor to limit that person's movement and diet until their master pays the debt.
The "four paths" of the title is somewhat of an anachronism, reflecting the late development of a (restricted) class of distraint available to women.
Later redactors of Cethairṡlicht Athgabálae were unaware of this development, and struggled to make sense of the title.