The Skellig Islands, Skellig Michael and Small Skellig, stand aloof in the Atlantic Ocean some 12 km southwest of Valentia Island, County Kerry. A designated UNESCO World Heritage site, Skellig Michael is renowned among archaeologists as the site of a well-preserved monastic outpost of the early Christian period. Small Skellig, meanwhile, is famous in the world of ornithology and is home to some 27,000 pairs of gannets, making it the world’s second largest colony of the impressive seabirds.
Skellig Michael is renowned among archaeologists as the site of a well-preserved
monastic outpost of the early Christian period, and it is now designated as a UNESCO
World Heritage Site. Small Skellig, meanwhile, is famous in the world of ornithology,
as it is home to some 27,000 pairs of gannets, making it the world’s second-largest
colony of these sea birds.
The monastic site on Skellig Michael is reached by climbing more than 600 steps on a
1,000-year-old stairway. Stone beehive huts where the monks lived and prayed cling
to cliff edges alongside oratories, a cemetery, stone crosses, holy wells and the Church
of St Michael. These remains demonstrate the spartan conditions in which the monks
lived until they left the island in the 13th century.