Ireland's rich monastic past led it to be known as the Island of Saints and Scholars.
Alongside the great monastic settlements of Glendalough, Clonmacnoise,
and Mellifont, there were many smaller abbeys dotted around the country.
The monastery at Dromiskin, south of Dundalk in Co Louth, dates back to the 5th or 6th century. It was plundered by both the Irish and the Vikings in the 10th and 11th centuries. The bell tower would have originally stood much higher and the head of the 10th century Celtic Cross was restored in the early 20th century. The ruined church is thought to date to the 13th century with later additions.