Ireland was Christianized from the 5th to 8th centuries. A local Christian missionary, Saint Donard (known in Irish as Domhanghart), became associated with the mountain. According to tradition, he was a follower of Saint Patrick and founded a monastery at Maghera, a few miles north of the mountain. Donard is said to have appropriated the mountain and the monument for Christianity, allegedly by making the Great Cairn into a hermit's cell and using the Lesser Cairn as an oratory. According to the Life of Saint Patrick and the Tripartite Life of Saint Patrick, Patrick blessed Donard in the womb, declaring that Donard would not die but abide inside the mountain as a perpetual guardian. According to folklore, a cave runs from the seashore to the cairn on the summit, and it is here that Donard (or Boirche) lives. The writings of Gerald de Barri indicate that in the late 12th century the name Sliabh Slángha was going out of use and being replaced by Sliabh Domhanghairt. Sliabh Dónairt is the modernised spelling.