Skellig Islands


The Skellig Islands, once known as "the Skellocks", are two small, steep, and rocky islands lying about west of Bolus Head on the Iveragh Peninsula in County Kerry, Ireland. The larger of the two is Skellig Michael which, together with Little Skellig, is at the centre of a Important Bird Area established by BirdWatch Ireland in 2000. Skellig Michael is also famous for an early Christian monastery that is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Little Skellig

The smaller of the two islands is Little Skellig. It is Ireland's largest northern gannet colony with almost 30,000 pairs, and is closed to the public. It is also one of the world's largest, and is of international importance. The island is tall and is approximately east-northeast of Skellig Michael.

Skellig Michael

Also known as Great Skellig, this is the larger of the two islands, with two peaks rising to over above sea level. With a sixth-century Christian monastery perched at above sea level on a ledge close to the top of the lower peak, Great Skellig is designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Birdwatch Ireland were concerned that the Irish government allowed filming on a seabird sanctuary without third party consent. During the 2014 nesting season, black-legged kittiwake chicks in nests were swept into the sea by the downdraught from a helicopter and devoured by gulls.

Wildlife

Both of the Skellig islands are known for their seabird colonies, and together comprise one of the most important seabird sites in Ireland, both for the population size and for the species diversity. Among the breeding birds are European storm petrel , northern gannet, northern fulmar , Manx shearwater, black-legged kittiwake, common guillemot, razorbill and Atlantic puffin . Red-billed chough and peregrine falcon can also be seen.
The surrounding waters have abundant wildlife with many Grey seal. Basking shark, minke whale, dolphin, beaked whale, and leatherback sea turtle have also been recorded. The islands have many interesting recreational diving sites due to the clear water, an abundance of life, and underwater cliffs down to 60 meters.

Filming location

The final scene of ' was shot on Skellig in July 2015, with additional filming taking place there in September 2015 for the following film in the series, '. The remains of the Skellig Michael monastery appear in the film, representing an ancient Jedi temple.
Earlier, the Skellig Islands served as a location in the Werner Herzog 1976 movie Heart of Glass, where the islands feature in one of the prophecies by the seer Hias.
Certain scenes from the 2012 movie Byzantium were also filmed here.

Gallery