Among the most popular tales of the Celtic monks of Ireland is the story of St. Brendan. St. Brendan was an Irish monk living in the 6th century. According to legend, he and fourteen monks set sail from Ireland in a small ship known as a coracle or  curragh , in search of the legendary "Island of the Blessed." The details of his fantastic journey, recorded in the 9th-century tale, the  Navagatio , or "The Voyage of St. Brendan," survive in nearly 120 manuscripts and was immen