Skellig Michael, sometimes used as a catchall name to refer to the Skellig Islands, is the larger of the two islands sitting alongside Little Skellig. The entire site, including both islands, is a designated UNESCO World Heritage site as of 1996.
The island is sometimes also known as Great Skellig and sits approximately 8 miles off the coast of southwest County Kerry, near the village of Portmagee, along the west coast of Ireland.
Despite incredible beauty the island is probably best known as the home to a 6-8th century early Christian settlement featuring six beehive stone huts, two oratories, a medieval church and stone slabs and crosses. It’s said the settlement was founded by Saint Fionan and it was used until approximately the 12-13th centuries before eventually being abandoned. Research also suggests that the settlement was only ever home to a maximum of 12 monks and that, due to location, they survived mainly on a diet of fresh fish and eggs!
Alongside the beauty and religious significance the islands are also a designated Important Bird Area and home to protected species including the Gannet, Guillemot, Puffin and Storm Petrel. Little Skellig, completely inaccessible to the public, is said to be home to over 30,000 Gannets!
Skellig Michael is known as a natural wonder and aesthetic beauty and was once described by George Bernard Shaw, an Irish playwright, as an “incredible, impossible, mad place”.