Skellig Michael: 'I like the solitude and peace of the island'

Pat O'Shea has worked on Sceilg Mhichíl for the last 34 years

For the last 34 years, Pat O'Shea has looked after a rocky island that once housed a monastic settlement, was attacked by Vikings, and is beloved by Star Wars fans.

Each Monday between April and October, he steps out of his house, looks across the rugged expanse of County Kerry and to the Atlantic Ocean beyond.

He eyes the often choppy, frigid waters with an inquisitive eye, trying to judge whether the swells might hamper his weekly commute to work.

At 07:00, he rings the owner of the transport boat moored alongside the village of Portmagee, to determine whether he and his small team will make it across for work on Sceilg Mhichíl (the Irish spelling of Skellig Michael) - the largest of the two Skellig islands, and one of Ireland's national monuments.

Pat and his colleagues at the Office of Public Works (OPW), a state agency, are the caretakers of this world-renowned rocky crag, about 12km off Ireland's south-west coast.

It's a dramatic location, with its soaring jagged cliffs and abundant birdlife, particularly puffins.

Its smaller sibling, just across from it, is famed for its massive colony of tens of thousands of gannets.

The south peak of Sceilg Mhichíl is 218m high and was used as a hermitage by monks, with the 183m-high lower peak containing the main monastic site.

The remote hermitage and well-preserved monastery, reputedly founded in the 6th Century by St Fionán, is also one of the island of Ireland's three Unesco World Heritage sites, along with the Giant's Causeway in County Antrim, and Brú na Bóinne in County Meath.

And thanks to Luke Skywalker, who lived in self-imposed exile for several years on the island sanctuary, which doubled as a watery planet in a galaxy far, far away in two Star Wars films, its allure has been further enhanced.

Pat thinks that while the island's appearance in 2015's The Force Awakens and 2017's The Last Jedi brought Hollywood glamour to the area and boosted visitor numbers, the swell may have peaked.

"The Skelligs have long been an interesting place to come to well before Star Wars, but it has increased numbers," he says.

The first Star Wars festival took place in 2018 against the backdrop of the island, which was used extensively in Episode VII and Episode VIII of the popular science fiction saga

As the island's district foreman, Sceilg Mhichíl has been Pat's place of work in the spring and summer months for the past 34 years.

He and his small team live on the island between Monday and Friday and sometimes longer if bad weather, which comes often, leaves them "marooned", which it has on occasion.

He brings with him on the roughly hour long boat trip from the mainland one bag with clothes and a second with provisions - drinking water and food, including plenty of fresh vegetables.

"You have to make it your home," he says.

"You can't come out and live on beans for the week, or else you'll have health problems. You have to do proper cooking and try to have a proper meal."

Living conditions on the island for the small numbers who work there have improved over the years, but they're still relatively primitive.

Solar panels provide electricity for their huts, which come complete with a small gas cooker, and there's also a shared composting toilet.

Given the remote location, they also must bring with them maintenance supplies.

Pat's speciality is dry-stone walling, and he's never short of tasks.

"There is always upkeep on the monastery and the steps to make sure that they are safe for people to climb up," he says.

So-called beehive stone cells were used by the monks as shelters on the island

"We have to make sure that everything is correct and proper. To make sure there are no loose steps or any wall is dislodged."

In 2021, 12,060 people visited the island, which was closed in 2020 due to Covid. Safety is paramount.

Daily visitors are limited to 180, with tourists gone for the day by late afternoon, leaving just Pat and his team, three guides who live on the island on rotation throughout the summer, and the vast population of seabirds.

The 2022 visitor season runs from May until 1 October.

"I like the solitude and the peace of the island, but if you get a lot of cold weather, with fronts coming in and fog, you could be marooned for some time, and maybe time can feel a bit long," he says.

"But in general, I like my work, which is a big bonus. I get great job satisfaction."

From 08:00 to 20:00, the work days are long and are usually rounded off with a meal, some chat, and maybe a bit of fishing off the pier.

Permits to land visitors at Sceilg Mhichíl have been issued to 15 boat operators

"I used to put out a lobster pot in the mornings and hope that I'd get a lobster crab for my tea," Pat says.

"Everybody has their own bits of interest.

"Talking is very important and socialising with one another. Before, one time, we used to have the lighthouse. It was a great place to visit, but there are no lightkeepers now. We'd have a game of cards. The evening time is nice and peaceful here."

Robert Harris, the head guide for the island, has been coming each season for the last 35 years.

Originally from the United States, he and his County Kerry-born wife have been living in County Leitrim since the 1980s, which was when he responded to a local newspaper advert he saw for guides on the island.

There are five guides in total, with three living on the island for a two-week period, followed by a week off, and then back for another two weeks, continuing between May and October.

Their job is to look after the 180 daily visitors.

"It is nice to keep a perspective open on a different way of living, and the island represents something like that" - Robert Harris, head guide

"It's a wilderness environment. And some people might not know exactly what they're dealing with when they get there," Robert says.

He continues to be struck by the emotional effect the island has on those who visit the monastery and hermitage.

"There are so few opportunities any more for people to live that type of life," Robert says.

"It is nice to keep a perspective open on a different way of living, and the island represents something like that.

"When visitors go up and look at a place where monks lived so long ago, and we have this very precious and tangible isolated spot where you can go out and have physical contact with a different vision, it is incredibly good."

• Star Wars filming to begin in County Kerry

Like Pat, he thinks the Star Wars hype around the island has seen its peak.

"We get people who come out dressed up in the regalia. I have discovered over the last three or four years fascinating aspects of the Star Wars world," he says.

The south peak of Sceilg Mhichíl is 218m high

He recalls giving one young Star Wars fan who suffered from a serious illness a tour of the island some years ago.

"I spent about an hour with him. He talked to me all about the Force, the good and the bad, the light and the dark.

"I thought afterwards, you just couldn't argue with that."

He worries about the long-term effect of having so many people visiting, and says numbers have to be "monitored all the time for preservation reasons".

"My love for the place hasn't waned. I'm more protective of it than I used to be as I realise that it is a fragile and unusual place," he says.

The Irish government last December published its second 10-year management plan to ensure its preservation.

The plan commits to monitor the effect of visitor numbers on the island, with the 180 daily limit to be reviewed annually.

Other measures include preventing unauthorised drone and helicopter flights, enhancing and restoring the former lighthouse buildings, and the continuation of a seabird monitoring programme to ensure the sustainability of the island's colonies.

Both Skellig islands have abundant sea life, including puffins

For fellow guide Catherine Merrigan, the nature on the island is her passion.

"The birdlife here is just incredible. The island is just teeming with life," she says.

Originally from County Wexford, Catherine has been coming to the island as a guide each summer, bar one, since the year 2000.

On her first night there, though, the remoteness overwhelmed her.

"It was quite a shock at the very beginning, because when I came out here I didn't realise the isolation of it. I probably would not have stayed, but there were no boats out for five days and by then I just got a love for the place," she says.

"I realised how special the place was, and I still can say it to this day now. It has its challenges, like any place on earth that you work."

Those challenges include pretty miserable weather, with rain, storms and fog where you can "barely see past your nose".

"I realised how special the place was, and I still can say it to this day now" - Catherine Merrigan

For Pat and others, though, the advantages of island life outweigh the challenges.

"It's a peaceful place to be," he says.

"We get paid to come out here, but I don't think any pay would satisfy you if you didn't have a love for the place, and if you didn't have a special interest in what you were doing here."