island, its presence still visible today in the form of a ditch. The remains of a child (probably a plague victim) were discovered, discarded rather than buried in the ditch during the 1968 excavation. The remains may also have been that of a young Viking slave (comparisons to the remains found in Llanbedrgoch on Anglesey would suggest this) but accurate dating tests have not yet been carried out. The ruined stone church may be as old as the 7th century and was probably abandoned for a period when the Vikings used the island as a base and there is evidence that the island was used as a slave market during this period. The Annals of the Four Masters says that in 938. Coibhdeanagh, the Abbot of Cill-achaidh, drowned in the sea off the island trying to escape with treasures from the church hidden in his vestments during one Viking raid. In the early 19th century the Admiralty erected the Martello Tower, one of eight dotted along the Dún Laoghaire coastline, as an early warning defensive device against the one-time threat of invasion during the Napoleonic Wars. A herd of goats, originally put on the island in the early 19th century, remains there today but they are replacements for the original goats who were removed. According to Samuel Lewis's 1837 Topographical Dictionary of Ireland, "[t]radition states" that Dalkey was used as a place of refuge for some citizens of Dublin during the "great plague" of 1775. "King" of Dalkey Prior to 1798, it was the custom annually to elect, in the month of June, the King of Dalkey (and emperor of the Muglins) along with various officers of state whose proceedings were recorded in a newspaper called the Dalkey Gazette. Waters and leisure The island is also an ideal spot for fishing, with pollock, coalfish, wrasse and mackerel being caught. The channel between the island and the mainland is approximately 1200 yards long and 330 yards wide and known as Dalkey Sound which has a rocky floor and a strong tide flows through it. The waters around Dalkey Island are much used for sailing, angling and diving. Rocks known as Maiden or Carraig Rock, Clare Rock and Lamb Island, all to the northwest, form part of the ridge of the Island. Parts of these rocks are only visible at low tide. The southern end of the island is a favourite with