Skellig Michael

Some intriguing discoveries on Skellig Michael, the lump of rock in the Atlantic Ocean offshore of Kerry on which was built an early Christian monastery and hermit’s lair, is reported in the Irish Times August 10th (see www.irishtimes.com ). The possibility is being raised that the island may been in use previously to the monks arrival by the discovery of three new staircases. The monks may have moved into a preexisting complex, similar to what are known as ‘high forts’ where they occur on the Dingle peninsular and on the Blanket islands. On the other hand, they may have been constructed by later pilgrims to the skelligs, but research is ongoing.