Nearly seven years ago I got to circumnavigate the famous Skellig Michael off the south west coast of Ireland, symbol of the archangel Micheal and spiritual haven of the Mainistir Fhionáin monks that made this sacred rock their home. I planned to return one day with the anticipation of climbing to its pinnacle. Last Saturday […]
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When I watch a gull in flight above some beautiful landscape my eye is drawn to the movement and for a moment I feel I share in its effortless freedom. Thinking about it some more I muse the gull has no concept freedom so in that moment the freedom was completely mine. Photo: Robert Rath, […]
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Just under two kilometers north east of Skellig Michael is the smaller of the Skelligs, ‘Little Skellig’. What struck me as the biggest difference between the two is that here on Little Skellig the sea birds ruled. Tens of thousands of gannets and other migratory birds clings to every usable surface of this barren rocky […]
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A long time ago in a land far far away people found refuge in a sacred haven from the rest of the world. For centuries the monks of Skellig Michael, so named after Saint Micheal the Archangel, endured or reveled here sharing company with the seabirds and their faith. Today Skellig Michael has lost none […]
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These two beautiful gannets patrolling the waters off Little Skellig easily lived up to their reputation of Ireland’s most majestic seabird. For a a few moments they flew in to hold perfect formation alongside our ungainly craft. With wings beating in unison and the and effortlessly glide they showed us up a thousand times over. […]
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