The first book to trace the history of the diocese of Kerry has been published, entitled The Diocese of Kerry, formerly Ardfert. More poetic is the subtitle, Working in the Fields of God.
Fr Kieran O'Shea, historian and parish priest of Knocknagoshel near the Limerick border, has traced the history of the 53 parishes in the diocese and its official change name from the diocese of Ardfert in 1952.
The bishops to serve in the diocese are also given mention. These include the controversial Bishop Eamonn Casey, later Bishop of Galway.
Dr Casey had a great interest in the well-being of emigrants and "the laity held him in high regard", the book notes.
Ten of the parishes which form the diocese are actually in Co Cork, but only one part of Co Kerry is not. It was less easy to trace the history of Christianity in Kerry and it was not clear when Christianity first came, Fr O'Shea writes.
Some scholars mention a pre-Patrician link, with plenty of evidence of contact between the southwest and the Roman world. Ogham stones in the area also indicate links between Kerry and the wider world before the arrival of St Patrick.
Even from its earliest documented days, travel remained a constant of Christianity and a link to a wider world. St Brendan, the county's best-known saint, was one of many early figures to have travelled across continental Europe and beyond.
The low profile of Catholics during penal times is traced. This was a time when there were 49 priests in the diocese and no priest was allowed a curate. "The expectation was that when a priest died, he would not be replaced," Fr O'Shea writes.
The book also contains a list of Mass sites and holy wells from medieval times.