St Patrick's Island

Acording to tradition about the year 460, St Patrick was hounded out of Wicklow and set sail northward and landed on what is now known as St Patrick's Island. He founded a monastery there, which flourished until the Vikings raided it and took the "Chalice of St Daconna." In 1148 a Synod was held on the island to discuss matters of church reform and in 1220 the Archbishop of Dublin issued a directive to move the Monastery to the mainland as the island was found to be too inconvenient. The Monks moved to the island of Mallock where the old graveyard of Holmpatrick is to day and built a new monastery. St Patrick's island is about 10 acres in area and up to recently was used for grazing cattle.