Early Irish Saints is a collection of essays on the lives of individual early Irish saints from Patrick to Columbanus of Bobbio. Each essays covers what we know about that particular saint as well as some of the legends and stories passed down about him. It is not only male saints; there are several women featured as well. What is particularly nice is that the author uses recent sources, but still manages to remain fairly orthodox in his works—i.e. he never claims that St. Bridget is actually a Celtic deity re-purposed by the Church. Overall, a solid collection and definitely a book to be read by anyone with an interest in the saints of Ireland or medieval Irish culture. Highly recommended. ( )