Of the 200,000-odd Huguenots whose consciences compelled them to leave France during the 17th-18th centuries, some 10,000 chose to settle in that most unlikely of refuges -- Ireland. The story of why and how these most ardent of Protestant believers found themselves in this most fervently Catholic of islands is one of history's great paradoxes. This book explores this question and attempts to reveal precisely who these Huguenots were, what they contributed to and received from their adopted land, and why Huguenot ancestry is so respected and prized even among devout Irish Catholics. The true chronicle of Ireland's Huguenots is, in opposition to the narrow misrepresentations of the past, one of extraordinary richness and variety, as befits an ethnic group whose influence permeated into every nook of Irish life and society. Here are some of the towering personalities that left such an imprint on Ireland's history, character and heritage: Henri, Earl of Galway; warrior turned financial tycoon David Digues Latouche; the scholar/librarian Elie Bouhereau; and many other greater and lesser luminaries.