Photo by Denny O'Brien.

Please click image to see inner Skellig.

Skellig means rock which is named after the Archangel Michael, an Irish monastic site from 588-1222 AD. It was established by Fionán, a monk from the monastery of St. Brendan the Navigator in Ireland. Most likely, Fionán was influence by the life of St. Antony of Egypt to seek a "desert" place and since there were no deserts in Ireland, the rock served his purpose. He journeyed in a curach, an open boat with hulls made of skin. Most likely he journeyed with twelve other monks, but upon reaching the open sea, they stopped rowing, letting the wind and waves point them toward their destination, and then continued rowing till they came to this rock. This rock they landed upon is about one-half mile long and less the 500 yards wide at it widest, reaching a height of 607 feet above the water. It is located about 8 miles off County Kerry, south-west of Ireland.

Beehive huts on Skellig: photo courtesy of Fr. Aquinas T. Duffy.

This rock was a harsh environment to live on. Rocks were the only building material on hand which they used to built their dwellings. They had to collect rain water for drinking and washing. To survive the monks fished, grew vegetables in their garden and at some period of the year collected eggs from the birds nesting on rock ledges. There was no wood for fire so, I presume, most meals had to be eaten cold unless periodically a boat would bring them some supplies. This is a reasonable assumption because they needed objects like candles and bread for the Eucharist which they could not make themselves. Furthermore, monks who came to the Skellig had to come by boat from Ireland.

Their was a life of silence, penance and prayer. Every monk memorized the 150 psalms of the Bible which they used in chanting the Office. Traditionally they prayed six times a day interspersed between work and sleep. The Mass was celebrated on Sundays and Feast Days. The penances imposed by the Abba (father) were at times severe. One penance given to monks was to stand or kneel with his arms outstretch in the form of the cross (crosfigel) while praying a given number of psalms. The Irish saw this way of life as green martyrdom meaning that by fasting and work the monk freed himself from evil desires and the sufferings endured were a sign of repentance and penance for his past sins.

In their view, they were living at the edge of the habitable world. Far out to sea the sky merged with the sea. They experienced the ebb and flow of the sea and the fog enveloping the rock. They daily heard the sounds of sea birds flying overhead for their nesting place Little Skellig about one and half miles away or resting on their rocks. Occasionally, on a clear day, they could see the coastland of Ireland. All there was: sea and rocks, wind and sky, day and night, work and prayer, the passing of seasons and the end of earthly life.

I am grateful for the book Sun Dancing, by Geoffrey Moorhouse for the facts and assumptions above.

St. Benedict of Nursia