Paintings of The Skellig Islands. Skellig Michael and The Small Skellig, are two huge and spectacular looking rocks standing in the Atlantic Ocean about 12 km southwest of Valentia Island, off the Iveragh Peninsula, County Kerry.
There is also an even smaller Skellig known as the lemon which can be seem from some views.
It was on Skellig Michael, the large Skellig, that early Christian monks created a monastic settlement, in the sixth century AD, on which the monks survived for about 300 years, through many hardships, including Viking invasions. Their buildings are known as beehives, a once popular form of building in parts of Ireland.
The Small Skellig is also famous because of the 27,000 pairs of gannet nesting there, making it the second largest gannet colony in the world. Both Rocks have an abundance of bird life.
These islands are now designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Skellig Michael was used in the filming of Star Wars - The Force Awakens, amid many complaints about damage to wildlife and antiquities. The following Star Wars movie was filmed on Sybil Head on the Dingle Peninsula, using a replica of the stone beehive village buildings.
I HAVE A GALLERY SHOWING MY PAINTINGS AND SLIDE SHOWS in the Ballyferriter area on the Dingle Peninsula. Directions on Google. I hope you can visit.
