Brendan the Navigator (or Brandan or Brenainn), was born in what is now County Kerry, Ireland, about 486 A.D. He was a great traveler and founder of churches and monasteries, including his most famous one at Clonfert. According to medieval legend, Brendan and a band of intrepid monks embarked in a small boat upon a long voyage around the Atlantic in search of "Terra Repromissionis," or the "Promised Land."
The Navigatio Brendani, which dates from the 11th century, contains the earliest surviving version of this story and became a multi-language “best-seller” in its time. Brendan was over 80 years old at the start.