Since the earliest days of Christianity preaching has been one of the main ways of conveying the faith yet in the Irish context it is a subject which has been largely neglected. This book is the first to provide an account of preaching in Ireland from the earliest recorded evidence until the eighteenth century. It spans both linguistic divisions, dealing with Irish language, English and Latin sources, and confessional divides. It not only deals with the medieval preaching tradition but also charts how that was reshaped under the influences of Reformation and Counter-Reformation. The contributors approach preaching from a diverse series of perspectives: historical, literary and theological making this a book which will appeal to a wide range of people, both literary scholars and historians as well as those who are interested in the practicalities of preaching.