Skellig Michael
Skellig Michael (Sceilg Mhichíl)
The towering peaks of Skellig Michael are in the foreground. Little Skellig, a world renowned bird sanctuary lies beyond and - eight miles in the distance - is the coast of County Kerry on the mainland of Ireland.
Much of our imagery on New Pilgrim Path focuses on the extraordinary UNESCO World Heritage Site of Skellig Michael. Its ancient history, its sacredness as a place, its influence on Christianity, its status as a place of pilgrimage, its recent rise to global prominence as a location in the ‘Star Wars’ films, and its breath-taking beauty are explored here through words and images.
Much of our imagery on New Pilgrim Path focuses on the extraordinary UNESCO World Heritage Site of Skellig Michael. Its ancient history, its sacredness as a place, its influence on Christianity, its status as a place of pilgrimage, its recent rise to global prominence as a location in the ‘Star Wars’ films, and its breath-taking beauty are explored here through words and images.
Many visitors to New Pilgrim Path ask about the significance of the breath-taking images of Skellig Michael on every page.
Just 500 years or so after Christ's death and resurrection, the first monks arrived on Skellig Michael (from the Irish Sceilg Mhichíl, meaning ‘Rock of Michael the Archangel’), an island in the open Atlantic 12km (8 miles) from Ireland's south west coast, lying at the very edge of the then known world. The monastery that they established in this inhospitable environment remains one of the most remarkable testaments to human faith on earth.
Skellig Michael is one of two islands (the other, Little Skellig, is an internationally renowned sea bird sanctuary which has never known human habitation). The larger island was the westernmost sacred site along a long line of ancient pilgrimage places running from Mount Carmel in Palestine through Greece, Italy and France to Ireland.
Skellig Michael has risen to unexpected prominence globally as a location in the massively popular "Star Wars" films. Ancient meets new! Ancient meets new, too, in our 21st century pilgrimage. In bygone days, pilgrims typically stopped at holy sites along their way, to refresh themselves for the next stage of their journey. Today, our touch screens or keyboards can lead us on our path; websites can be the stopping points where we draw strength for our continued journey. Thus, images of Skellig Michael seemed very appropriate for our website!
Just 500 years or so after Christ's death and resurrection, the first monks arrived on Skellig Michael (from the Irish Sceilg Mhichíl, meaning ‘Rock of Michael the Archangel’), an island in the open Atlantic 12km (8 miles) from Ireland's south west coast, lying at the very edge of the then known world. The monastery that they established in this inhospitable environment remains one of the most remarkable testaments to human faith on earth.
Skellig Michael is one of two islands (the other, Little Skellig, is an internationally renowned sea bird sanctuary which has never known human habitation). The larger island was the westernmost sacred site along a long line of ancient pilgrimage places running from Mount Carmel in Palestine through Greece, Italy and France to Ireland.
Skellig Michael has risen to unexpected prominence globally as a location in the massively popular "Star Wars" films. Ancient meets new! Ancient meets new, too, in our 21st century pilgrimage. In bygone days, pilgrims typically stopped at holy sites along their way, to refresh themselves for the next stage of their journey. Today, our touch screens or keyboards can lead us on our path; websites can be the stopping points where we draw strength for our continued journey. Thus, images of Skellig Michael seemed very appropriate for our website!
Skellig Michael. Image courtesy of Patsy Lynch (@patsylynch)
This very short video offers stunning aerial footage of Skellig Michael, courtesy of Peter Cox Photography. Note the extraordinary 670-step staircase leading to the monastery, carved out of the rock by monks almost a millennium and a half ago.
The most fantastic and impossible rock in the world: …the Skelligs are pinnacled, crocketed, spired, arched, caverned, minaretted; and these gothic extravagances are not curiosities of the islands: they are the islands: there is nothing else. The rest of the cathedral may be under the sea for all I know…An incredible, impossible, mad place…I tell you the thing does not belong to any world that you and I have lived and worked in: it is part of our dream world. George Bernard Shaw.
The most fantastic and impossible rock in the world: …the Skelligs are pinnacled, crocketed, spired, arched, caverned, minaretted; and these gothic extravagances are not curiosities of the islands: they are the islands: there is nothing else. The rest of the cathedral may be under the sea for all I know…An incredible, impossible, mad place…I tell you the thing does not belong to any world that you and I have lived and worked in: it is part of our dream world. George Bernard Shaw.
Skellig Michael was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list in 1996: "All the physical components of the ideal small monastery exist on Skellig: isolation, difficulty in accessing the site, living spaces, buildings for worship and plots for food production. Here, amongst dramatic and unique settings, the indigenous stone architecture of a past millennium is intact... Skellig Michael is the most spectacularly situated of all Early Medieval island monastic sites, particularly the isolated hermitage perched on narrow, human-made terraces just below the South Peak." UNESCO.
A 10-minute film showing the natural beauty of Skellig Michael.
Even more isolated than the monastery is the 9th century hermitage on Skellig Michael. This enthralling book - which you can read online - is a dramatically told account of Skellig Michael, an island off the west coast of Ireland. It is the story, pieced together from fragmentary remains, study, and conjecture, of a man’s attempt to live on a tiny ledge some 700 feet above the Atlantic on the outer edge of the European land mass, alone, as close to God as possible, in what is perhaps the ne plus ultra of ecstatic monastic solitude. Richly illustrated with maps, plans, and photographs that capture both the astonishing beauty and isolation of the hermitage, the text also includes reconstruction drawings of the site that combine a surveyor’s accuracy with an artist’s imaginative response to the hermit who found spiritual refuge on a pinnacle.
Forgotten Hermitage in the Desert of the Sea: The Forgotten Hermitage of Skellig Michael by Walter Horn, Grellan D. Rourke, Jenny W. Marshall, and Paddy O’Leary [University of California Press, 1990].
Forgotten Hermitage in the Desert of the Sea: The Forgotten Hermitage of Skellig Michael by Walter Horn, Grellan D. Rourke, Jenny W. Marshall, and Paddy O’Leary [University of California Press, 1990].
Skellig Michael has been described as one of the world's greatest "thin places" - places at the convergence of the earthly and the spiritual worlds. This 30-minute video by Lightkeepers Films captures the otherworldly quality of the island.
Trailer for "Star Wars: The Last Jedi". It and its predecessor, " The Force Awakens", both feature Skellig Michael as a location.
Comments from cast and crew included: "We needed to find somewhere completely from another time and place. Skellig Michael is an island off the coast of Ireland. We were completely blown away by it." "It's just indescribably beautiful". "It's a miracle, this place. We are indescribably honoured to be here".
Comments from cast and crew included: "We needed to find somewhere completely from another time and place. Skellig Michael is an island off the coast of Ireland. We were completely blown away by it." "It's just indescribably beautiful". "It's a miracle, this place. We are indescribably honoured to be here".
VISITING SKELLIG MICHAEL
Visiting Skellig Michael is not for the faint-hearted! If you are contemplating a visit, you should view this video!
Visiting Skellig Michael is not for the faint-hearted! If you are contemplating a visit, you should view this video!