circa 460 AD
Conversion to Christianity
The dating of Ireland's conversion to Christianity remains controversial. While the general view holds that this occurred during the 5th and 6th centuries, recent work suggests that Ireland may already have had many Christians by the early 400s. The presence of the KOI formula on local ogham stones (such as at Ballintaggart), which are probably of 6th century date, indicates that the people being commemorated on these stones were Christians. This suggests that the peninsula had many Christians during the 5th century, and was already largely Christian before St Patrick arrived in Ulster (he did not set foot in West Kerry). The earliest known Christian church site in Ireland has recently been excavated at Caherlehillan, near Cahersiveen. This dates to between 450 and 500 AD.
