What was ‘The Island of the Blessed’?

For many centuries, there were tales of islands lying somewhere out in the Atlantic. One of these was the ‘Island of the Blessed’, an earthly paradise just over the horizon. Several Irish monks decided to look for it but although they braved many dangers, they took fright at last when they saw an Icelandic Volcano. Because of this voyage, ‘St Brendan’s Isle’ was talked about for years. Another mysterious island was the island of the Seven Cities. It was said that seven bishops, driven from Spain by the Moors, arrived at this unknown island and built seven cities – one for each. There was also a legend of the lost island of Atlantis which was supposed to have been engulfed by the sea. This was heard of again later under the name of Antilha, but was never found.