Sadly, Colmán Etchingham died prematurely on 7 June 2023, as this book was going through the press. He had submitted a typescript in February of that year, and while he would undoubtedly have suggested changes informed by his ongoing voracious research and added updated references, of necessity the volume remains substantially as it left his hands. It presents his interpretation of the Viking Age in Ireland, framed by his perspective on Viking activities elsewhere.

In facilitating the publication of this volume, the Publisher and the Series Editors are indebted to Professor Lesley Abrams, Balliol College, Oxford, as well as to Colmán's former colleagues in Maynooth University, Prof. Terence Dooley, Head of the Department of History, and in particular Dr Elizabeth Boyle, the Department of Early Irish, who provided crucial academic and practical support. Lydia Hursh, of the Department of Early Irish, offered expert assistance with the Figures, redrawing a number of them, and both the Department of History and the Department of Early Irish contributed financially to the publication of the book. Generous financial support towards this volume was also made possible by a gift to the University of Cambridge in memory of Dorothea Coke, Skjaeret, 1951. Caroline Palmer, Editorial Director at Boydell and Brewer, guided the volume deftly through its final stages and the Series Editors are grateful for her input and advice. The support of Colmán's family is much appreciated, including that of his brother, Fiachra Etchingham, and especially of his wife, Carmel Gaynor McKenna.