Bedell’s Irish Old Testament is especially intriguing because its Protestant instructional purpose also helped place a substantial Irish-language text into public circulation. The article suggests that language, religion and political allegiance cannot be treated as identical: the Church of Ireland recognised Irish’s importance, although many Irish-speaking Catholics would not necessarily accept Protestant authority. Published amid James II’s accession and shifting expectations of Catholic advancement, the volume therefore complicates any simple contrast between cultural expression and political power. How should we interpret this publication’s significance: principally missionary outreach, linguistic preservation, or an ambiguous intervention within Ireland’s confessional culture at this time?