It's probably fair to say that in no county in Ireland is local history more widely appreciated than in Wexford.
There is hardly a long-standing family in the county which can't trace its roots to 1798, and tell you the part named relatives played in the rebellion of that year.
Dr Edward Culleton, however, believes there is a "huge gap" in people's knowledge about the early Christian period in the county. He has sought to address this in his book, Celtic and Early Christian Wexford, published yesterday.
The book examines developments in the county from AD400 to 1166, tracing the origins of Christianity and placing them in the context of the prevailing social, economic and political conditions of the time.
Dr Culleton, a research associate in Trinity College Dublin, and a native of Wexford, said he always had an ambition to look at that period because of the lack of information available.
The book begins by setting out the environmental, social and economic background of the time before dealing with pagan Celtic Wexford, tracing the origins of Christianity including the lives of the early saints, moving on to the rise and eventual decline of the monasteries of Ferns and Tahgmon and other ecclesiastical sites.
It also examines how the Norse established Wexford town.
Published in hardback by Four Courts Press, it's priced at £19.95.