Читать книгу Irish History: People, places and events that built Ireland - Neil Hegarty - Страница 24

The most extraordinary – and remote, and elemental – of Irish monasteries was the settlement on Skellig Michael (Sceilg Mhichíl), a crag of rock that lies in the Atlantic some seven miles west of County Kerry’s Iveragh peninsula. The twin-peaked silhouette of the Skellig, as viewed from the mainland, is one of the most evocative of Irish sights. The island is a World Heritage Site and an important and abundant bird sanctuary; and it has recently gained new global fame as the hidden hermitage of Luke Skywalker in the latest Star Wars films. The Skellig has a venerable history, for at some point between the sixth and eighth centuries AD, monks crossed from the mainland to found a settlement in this extreme environment. The monastery was established on a terraced slope 180 metres above the sea and a hermitage was built below the island’s south peak. The settlement endured until the twelfth or thirteenth century and remained a place of regular pilgrimage in the following centuries. Today, visiting is possible in the summer months: flights of stone steps lead from a landing place to the monastic remains, with their characteristic ‘beehive’ cells and tremendous ocean views.