Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Chiseling the most rudimentary life from solid rock, the monks lived a harsh, lonely,
disciplined existence here, their colony surviving for more than 500 years. They collected
rainwater in cisterns and lived off fish and birds. To supplement their meager existence,
they traded bird eggs and feathers with passing boats for cereals, candles, and animal hides
(used for clothing and for copying scripture). They finally moved their holy community
ashore to Ballinskelligs in the early 1100s. But Christian pilgrims continued to visit Skel-
lig Michael for centuries as penance...edging out onto a ledge to kiss a stone cross that has
since toppled into the ocean.
Getting There
To book a boat trip from Portmagee, contact
Murphy Sea Cruise
(€45, April-Oct,
mobile 087-676-2983, 087-234-2168, or 087-645-1909,
www.esatclear.ie/~skelligsrock
,
murphyseacruise@esatclear. ie),
Joe Roddy
(mobile 087-284-4460,
www.skelligstrips.com
),
Brendan Casey
(tel. 066/947-2437, mobile 087-228-7519), or
Des Lavelle
(tel. 066/947-6124, mobile 087-237-1017).
Boat trips normally depart Portmagee at 10:00 (depending on tides), sail for an hour,
leave you on the island from roughly 11:00 until 13:30, and get you back into Portmagee
by 14:30 (with plenty of time to drive on to Dingle). Fifteen small boats (from Portmagee,
Ballinskelligs, Waterville, and Valentia Island) have permits to land on Skellig Michael.
Each boat can carry a dozen passengers. This limits the number of daily visitors and min-
imizes the impact on the sensitive island ecosystem.
