In August of 2002 I went to the south of the country, to see a friend of mine and to visit Skellig Michael, one of the unusual rocky islands off the coast where an old Celtic Christian monastary was built. Without a doubt in my mind, this is one of the strangest and most surreal places in the world.

	Ross Castle, near Killarney, county Kerry.
	A mountain behind the village of Ballinskellig, on the "Ring of Kerry" peninsula. I am sitting on the top of a ruined tower house to photograph this view.
	The coast of Kerry as seen from the tour boat, on the way to Skellig Michael.
	The grotto where the boat landing was built, Skellig Michael.
	Climbing the stone steps of Skellig Michael. The unknown tourist in the distance gives a sense of scale.
	Still climbing...
	Arrived at the monastary. This stone beehive hut is believed to be the kitchen for the community, because it is so large, has several openings in its ceiling, and the spiralling ring of stones that jut out from it are believed to be a walkway that allows someone to remove the stone that covers a smokehole at the very top. Note the cross above one of the openings built of white quartz, distinct from the grey limestone of the rest of the structure.
	A wider shot of the monastary. On the left of the picture is the main oratory, believed to have been constructed in two stages (due to the ledge, and a different 'species' of stone floor surrounding it). You can see two beehive huts used as residential cells in the background, a cross slab in the middle, and the burial cairn in the foreground. The kitchen hut is behind the oratory. I found two baby birds nesting inside one of the beehive cells. To the right (outside the photo) is the hut believed to have belonged to the abbot since it is larger, has a series of steps leading up to it, and has a wooden loft inside it for the bed. behind me is another oratory.
	A full view of Skellig Michael, from the tour boat as we were leaving. One must have had to possess great strength of character to survive here, isolated from the rest of the world, and with so little food and water. Modern people, for the most part, no longer share the values and world-views which inspired the construction of this monastary, but we can surely admire the perseverance and dedication of those who lived here, closer to the elements, and closer to God.

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(c) 2002 by B. Cathbad Myers. All rights reserved.