In Athassel Priory, Francis Young assesses late medieval and early modern Ireland through a new lens. His examination of the titular ecclesiastical foundation in Co. Tipperary and the likewise titular saint to whom Athassel was dedicated—the first book-length work to focus on St. Edmund's cult in Ireland, in fact—offers a window onto the fortunes of one of the most powerful Anglo-Norman families in Ireland, the de Burghs/Burkes. As the founders of Athassel, this dynasty's history was intimately bound up with that of the veneration of Edmund and the importance of Athassel itself; more than that, however, the choice of St. Edmund as the priory's patron presents details about the complexities of identity—of “Englishness”—both within and beyond the Pale. Indeed, it is Young's argument “that the cult of St Edmund played an important role in forming and protecting the self-understanding of descendants of the Anglo-Normans in late medieval Ireland, the ‘English of Ireland’” (11–12). In addition, the eventual gaelicization of the Burke dynasty, along with the site of Athassel itself, would ultimately create what Young calls “a distinctively Irish way of thinking of oneself as being English” (12).

Young weaves together material culture with documentary history, folklore, and hagiography, using evidence from Athassel itself, from elsewhere in Ireland, and from beyond Ireland's shores. Though he works primarily with evidence from the medieval through Renaissance eras, he also spends a bit of time with the drawings, paintings, and descriptions produced by antiquarians of the eighteenth through early twentieth centuries. Young uses this combination of artifactual, textual, and artistic data to trace the foundation and fortunes of Athassel priory, the establishment of St. Edmund's cult in Dublin, its dissemination beyond Dublin and the Pale, and the larger contexts of Anglo-Norman Ireland as seen through the rise and fall of the de Burghs/Burkes.

Young lays out the details of his evidence and argument across an introduction, five chapters, a conclusion, two appendices (one providing a list of the priors of Athassel and one offering key primary sources associated directly with Athassel itself), and a bibliography. Chapter 1 (25–48) establishes the context for St. Edmund's cult in Ireland. Here, Young outlines the veneration of other English saints in early Ireland; identifies the complex nature of political, religious, and cultural identity in Norman Ireland; and discusses the interactions between these different groups. In the process, Young argues that religious devotion to English saints acted as a performative demonstration of English identity that resisted gaelicization (unlike the English language, for instance) by linking multiple generations of Anglo-Normans in Ireland to their English ancestry, a performance that he calls “devotional Englishness” (28, 35, etc.).

Chapter 2 (49–71) traces the history of Edmund's cult, with particular focus on Dublin and the Pale. Young explains the origins of Edmund's veneration in England, its inherent entanglement with both English and Norse communities, and its arrival and dissemination in Ireland. He weighs the evidence for a cult of Edmund in Norse Dublin and concludes that such a presence is “plausible” but a matter of speculation (54–57); he follows that with the rise of St. Edmund's veneration in Ireland, starting with the foundation of the Chapel of St. Edmund in Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin, between 1181 and 1212. Throughout, Young shows that the choice to adopt St. Edmund's patronage demonstrated the Englishness of the Anglo-Norman community in Dublin. In every instance, Young asserts, St. Edmund served as a means of bringing together medieval Ireland's different identities—and did so with such efficacy that his cult spread well beyond the Pale.

Chapters 3 (72–100) and 4 (101–127) then examine the history of Athassel priory. Young outlines the intimate connection between the priory and its founder dynasty, the de Burghs/Burkes, who used communities like Athassel as a form of spiritual encastellation to demonstrate both their own power and their explicit link to the English crown and its authority. Young shows how Athassel's rise and fall witness to the de Burgh/Burke fortunes and, through them, the wider events affecting Anglo-Norman communities in Ireland as a whole. Ultimately, as the Burkes grew increasingly gaelicized and estranged from the English crown, another non-gaelicized Munster dynasty, the Butlers, were able to take control of Athassel. Even as the priory's religious life declined and its buildings decayed, however, Athassel's territories remained a significant source of revenue for the Butlers for decades after the priory was secularized by the Henrician dissolution.

Finally, chapter 5 (128–152) looks at the final years of Athassel and at the legacies of Athassel and of the cult of St. Edmund in Ireland, including evidence like antiquarian interest and folklore about the priory. Ultimately, Young observes, St. Edmund's cult and its importance as a sign of Englishness faded in the face of increased emphasis on St. George. Despite Edmund's diminution, however, the popularity of the name Edmund and, significantly, its gaelicization as Éamon, both in the early modern period and today, demonstrate that this most quintessentially English saint “became, at least for a time, an Irishman” (155).

The strength of Young's work is the delicate, objective balance he maintains. Any study in which a microcosm illuminates the macrocosm risks oversimplification, a pitfall to which Young never falls prey; instead, his analysis highlights the complexities of identity in later medieval and early modern Ireland, and his treatment of the evidence is well rounded and multidimensional. Young does use the potentially problematic terms “nation” and “international” a handful of times; though he eventually frames them in quotation marks, a brief initial clarification of their specific meaning in the late medieval context of this study could be useful (e.g., 25–26, 49–51). This moment is minor, however. Francis Young's work is solid, and Athassel Priory adds important elements to our understanding of culture in Norman Ireland and beyond.