The stereotypical belief that there are two religions in Ireland, Catholic and Protestant, whose highly-charged fault lines have led to confrontation, fear and misunderstanding, has ignored the strong, vibrant and often courageous dissenting tradition.

This publication provides biographies of some 300 'progressive' Presbyterians from the seventeenth through to the start of the twenty-first centuries.

It is a fascinating guide to individuals, who in many cases helped shape the course of Irish history, challenged the existing consensus of society for the betterment of all sections of the local community be it in terms of religious freedom, civic rights, the rights of tenants, or even the future politic direction of the island of Ireland.