Though not so named in the narrative, this was identified with the fabulous island of Brazil or O'Brazile, which was supposed to lie to the west of Ireland, and which is marked in all early maps. The St. Brandan story is a late legend and cannot be traced in early Irish history. So also Maildun, in the eighth century, sailed to the west in a triple-hide coracle with sixty men, and saw many marvels, sea monsters, demon horses, red-hot animals, burning rivers, speaking birds, and submerged cities. But these tales savour rather of fairyland than of fact.
Secondly come the true or probable voyages, which are for the most part connected with the missionary enterprise of the Irish. Nothing is more remarkable than the rigour and energy of the Irish church in the seventh and eighth centuries, before the Norsemen's coming. Irishmen went everywhere, preaching the gospel. We hear of them in South Italy, France, Lower Austria, Switzerland, and Germany.[1] The centre of activity was the lonely little island of Iona, from which bold monks crossed in boats to Lismore, Gairloch, Tiree, Eigg, Skye, and Applecross, voyaging fearlessly upon tempestuous seas. A peculiar feature of this early Irish Church was the asceticism which led its votaries to seek silence and solitude. They spread up the west coast of Scotland and reached the Orkneys at so early a date as Columba's time. Thus Adamnan relates how Columba bids the ruler of the Orkneys treat the Irish pilgrims gently.[2] He also gives the voyage of Cormac, who was nearly put to death in the Orkneys, and afterwards was driven from his course by a south wind fourteen days' and nights' voyage northwards to land, which may have been the Faroes or Iceland. On the way he was nearly lost, as "foul and dangerous beasts smote his coracle so hard that he thought they would pierce the skin covering of the boat." Through the prayers of Columba he was saved.[3] With this fourteen days' voyage in a coracle may be compared one of seven days' length, mentioned in the Saxon Chronicle. Three "Scots," we read under the year 891, came to Alfred in a hide boat without oars, from Iceland, after a seven days' passage on a stormy sea. They went on to Rome and Jerusalem, being probably Munstermen, who about this time pilgrimaged much
