 In 1171 Henry II designated the area the rendezvous for his Irish expedition.An army of 400 warships, 500 knights and 4,000 men-at-arms gathered in the haven before sailing to Waterford, and on to Dublin, which marked the first time an English king had stood on Irish soil, and the beginning of Henry's invasion of Ireland.St Thomas a Becket chapel was dedicated in 1180, a structure which looked out over the Haven from the north shore of the town.