The Skelligs Islands.

County Kerry.

The Skelligs islands off the County Kerry coast are now a popular tourist attraction even though there are no shops or accommodation on the islands. The islands were first mentioned in history when in 490AD it is recorded that Duach King of west Munster took refuge at the skelligs rock, when pursued by Aengus, King of Carhel.

A monastery was established some time in the 6th century, the founders name is not known for certain but tradition gives the credit to St. Fionan. Many of the buildings consisting of stone beehive huts survive to this day, access to the monastic buildings is by means of a track consisting it is said of six-hundred stone steps leading to the top of Skellig Michael.

During the Viking era the Skelligs were attacked on several occasions the first in 795, the second raid in 812 saw the Abbot Eitgal, carried off and starved to death. The islands were raided several more times although little detail appears to have survived from this period. Despite continued assaults by the Norsemen the monks clung tenaciously to their rock even doing some rebuilding in 860.

Over the centuries the islands became a place of pilgrimage, particularly the larger island Skelligs Michael. In the eighteenth century pilgrims came not only from Ireland but Europe, at easter time to recite the stations of the cross and kiss the 'Needles Eye' which consisted of crawling along a horizontal finger of rock overhanging the sea and kissing the end of it.

With the progression of time the religious Pilgrimages led to something altogether different, the ceremonies were now almost attended entirely by girls and young men eligible for marriage. Instead of fasting the couples went to the Skelligs to court, dance and have a good time in 1582 Pope Gregory XIII abandoned the Julian calendar, most people accepted this the monks on Skelligs didn't. At that time marriages during Lent were not allowed by the church, so Shrove Tuesday was the deadline if you didn't make it by then you had to wait until easter. This meant that you could go to Skelligs and be married there up to ten days after the Papal date for Shrove Tuesday.

This lead to the famous 'Skelligs List' which were defamatory but often humorous poems, common all over Kerry and beyond in the 19th and early 20th century. Many of these poems can now be seen in the archives of U.C.D