1 00:00:01,160 --> 00:00:04,120 Speaker 1: Welcome to steph you missed in history class from how 2 00:00:04,160 --> 00:00:13,480 Speaker 1: Stuff Works dot com. Hello, and welcome to the podcast. 3 00:00:13,480 --> 00:00:16,840 Speaker 1: I'm Holly Frying and I'm Trac B. Wilson. Uh. If 4 00:00:16,880 --> 00:00:19,120 Speaker 1: you are a Star Wars fan, and frankly even if 5 00:00:19,120 --> 00:00:23,120 Speaker 1: you're not, you have probably seen scenes of Luke Skywalker 6 00:00:23,239 --> 00:00:25,840 Speaker 1: in The Force Awakens and in promotional materials for The 7 00:00:25,880 --> 00:00:29,120 Speaker 1: Last Jedi, where he and eventually Ray are standing on 8 00:00:29,160 --> 00:00:32,879 Speaker 1: an island with ancient looking structures on it that is 9 00:00:32,880 --> 00:00:36,800 Speaker 1: a real island that's not a set. And those structures 10 00:00:36,800 --> 00:00:39,559 Speaker 1: are also not sets that were built for the film. 11 00:00:39,640 --> 00:00:42,120 Speaker 1: They are part of a real thing that is ancient. 12 00:00:42,520 --> 00:00:45,680 Speaker 1: Skellic Michael, the island where those scenes were shot is 13 00:00:45,680 --> 00:00:48,280 Speaker 1: a historic site with a fascinating history all its own. 14 00:00:48,320 --> 00:00:50,960 Speaker 1: It's also got kind of a nice juxtaposition because a 15 00:00:50,960 --> 00:00:53,479 Speaker 1: big chunk of its history is is much older, and 16 00:00:53,479 --> 00:00:55,240 Speaker 1: then there's a newer history of some of them more 17 00:00:55,240 --> 00:01:00,240 Speaker 1: modern things that have been built on the island. Um. So, 18 00:01:00,360 --> 00:01:02,720 Speaker 1: since I have Star Wars rabies and I can barely 19 00:01:02,760 --> 00:01:04,800 Speaker 1: manage to contain myself while I wait for the Last 20 00:01:04,880 --> 00:01:07,959 Speaker 1: Jedia premiere, uh, and because this really is a legitimately 21 00:01:08,200 --> 00:01:11,840 Speaker 1: very very interesting historical site. I thought it might be 22 00:01:11,880 --> 00:01:14,399 Speaker 1: fun to delve into this location in its rich history 23 00:01:14,440 --> 00:01:18,560 Speaker 1: for the podcast. Yeah, if you were concerned, based on 24 00:01:18,600 --> 00:01:20,960 Speaker 1: the number of times that we said the last Jedi, 25 00:01:21,080 --> 00:01:23,039 Speaker 1: we're not going to be talking about anything in the 26 00:01:23,080 --> 00:01:26,560 Speaker 1: movie at all on the island at all. That's pretty 27 00:01:26,640 --> 00:01:29,440 Speaker 1: much all the Star Wars talk except a story about 28 00:01:29,440 --> 00:01:32,560 Speaker 1: filming at the end, and even that has nothing to 29 00:01:32,600 --> 00:01:35,039 Speaker 1: do so we're not going to spoil anyone or anything 30 00:01:35,080 --> 00:01:39,280 Speaker 1: related there no Star Wars. You would have had to 31 00:01:39,400 --> 00:01:41,480 Speaker 1: have not gone to see the Fourth Awakens yet for 32 00:01:41,520 --> 00:01:44,800 Speaker 1: that to have been a spoiler, which I don't know. 33 00:01:44,880 --> 00:01:47,440 Speaker 1: Maybe we didn't, but at this point, if you haven't 34 00:01:47,480 --> 00:01:50,200 Speaker 1: gone to see the Force Awakens, then I think you 35 00:01:50,200 --> 00:01:52,440 Speaker 1: would have to have been in media blackout because it's 36 00:01:52,440 --> 00:01:59,240 Speaker 1: appeared on so many like magazine covers, television, tromos um. 37 00:01:59,280 --> 00:02:02,040 Speaker 1: You know, interview us are often inter cut if you 38 00:02:02,080 --> 00:02:05,840 Speaker 1: see them on television with shots of this island. So 39 00:02:05,880 --> 00:02:08,120 Speaker 1: it's I don't think we're giving anything away. I feel 40 00:02:08,120 --> 00:02:13,600 Speaker 1: confident that we have skirted any well. I think if 41 00:02:13,639 --> 00:02:18,240 Speaker 1: you have not yet seen Force Awakens, you probably don't 42 00:02:18,320 --> 00:02:22,760 Speaker 1: care about Star Wars spoilers. Right, none of which are 43 00:02:22,800 --> 00:02:24,840 Speaker 1: in here anyway. We are literally just talking about the 44 00:02:24,880 --> 00:02:27,440 Speaker 1: history of this. I want to be very clear, Okay. 45 00:02:27,760 --> 00:02:30,640 Speaker 1: Skelling Michael is one of two islands that make up 46 00:02:30,639 --> 00:02:35,080 Speaker 1: the Skellic Islands. The word skelling derives from the Irish 47 00:02:35,120 --> 00:02:38,480 Speaker 1: word for steep rock. And then the other island is 48 00:02:38,480 --> 00:02:40,560 Speaker 1: the smaller one of the two. It's called Little Island 49 00:02:40,880 --> 00:02:43,600 Speaker 1: and it's closed to visitors. Sometimes we'll also see you 50 00:02:43,600 --> 00:02:47,720 Speaker 1: skelling Michael called Great Skelling yep. Also you'll see it 51 00:02:47,800 --> 00:02:50,200 Speaker 1: spelled in various different ways. We're going with kind of 52 00:02:50,200 --> 00:02:55,320 Speaker 1: the most basic, uh, globally facing spelling that gets used 53 00:02:55,320 --> 00:02:59,519 Speaker 1: a lot. It's probably the americanized spelling. That's just the 54 00:02:59,520 --> 00:03:01,280 Speaker 1: scoop on that. If you see it spelled a different way, 55 00:03:01,280 --> 00:03:05,520 Speaker 1: that's why. And Skelling Michael is uh seven miles that's 56 00:03:05,520 --> 00:03:08,520 Speaker 1: eleven point six kilometers west of the edge of Ireland's 57 00:03:08,560 --> 00:03:12,680 Speaker 1: Eva Peninsula in County Kerry, and the highest elevation of 58 00:03:12,720 --> 00:03:15,440 Speaker 1: the island is seven hundred and fifteen feet that's about 59 00:03:15,480 --> 00:03:18,639 Speaker 1: two hundred and eighteen meters. And this island is tiny. 60 00:03:19,000 --> 00:03:21,560 Speaker 1: It is less than a square mile in area. So 61 00:03:21,880 --> 00:03:27,040 Speaker 1: if you do hectares. That's nine hectares. The Minister for 62 00:03:27,280 --> 00:03:31,160 Speaker 1: Art Heritage and the Geltacht owned Skelling Michael on behalf 63 00:03:31,520 --> 00:03:34,240 Speaker 1: of the Irish people. And there's also a lighthouse and 64 00:03:34,280 --> 00:03:36,560 Speaker 1: support buildings for the lighthouse on the southern end of 65 00:03:36,600 --> 00:03:39,200 Speaker 1: the island, as well as a helipad. And this portion 66 00:03:39,240 --> 00:03:42,120 Speaker 1: of the island falls outside of the ownership arrangement mentioned above. 67 00:03:42,120 --> 00:03:44,000 Speaker 1: We'll get a little bit more into that in a bit. 68 00:03:44,560 --> 00:03:48,000 Speaker 1: The geological makeup of Skelling Michael is what's called Old 69 00:03:48,040 --> 00:03:52,400 Speaker 1: Red sandstone, sedimentary layers of rock deposited somewhere between three 70 00:03:52,480 --> 00:03:55,320 Speaker 1: hundred sixty and three hundred seventy four million years ago 71 00:03:55,600 --> 00:03:58,160 Speaker 1: during the Devonian period, when Ireland was part of a 72 00:03:58,280 --> 00:04:04,520 Speaker 1: much larger continent. It's the westernmost European instance of Devonian sandstone, 73 00:04:04,600 --> 00:04:08,200 Speaker 1: which can be found throughout Britain and Ireland, Scandinavia and Greenland. 74 00:04:08,320 --> 00:04:13,280 Speaker 1: It's also in portions of Canada. Skelling Michael also has 75 00:04:13,320 --> 00:04:16,479 Speaker 1: to twin peaks with a valley in the middle which 76 00:04:16,480 --> 00:04:20,120 Speaker 1: has come to me known as Christ's Saddle Uh and 77 00:04:20,200 --> 00:04:23,400 Speaker 1: that hellapad that we mentioned briefly is for emergencies only. 78 00:04:23,520 --> 00:04:25,400 Speaker 1: That's not a standard way to get on and off 79 00:04:25,400 --> 00:04:29,040 Speaker 1: the island or special cases um So from the middle 80 00:04:29,080 --> 00:04:32,760 Speaker 1: of May to September, visitors may travel to Skelling Michael, 81 00:04:32,960 --> 00:04:36,040 Speaker 1: but only by boat and it is for davisits exclusively 82 00:04:36,480 --> 00:04:38,400 Speaker 1: and I should also mention that sometimes if they have 83 00:04:38,440 --> 00:04:40,520 Speaker 1: had damage in the winter, they will shorten that window 84 00:04:40,920 --> 00:04:44,919 Speaker 1: that visitors can come. Tourists also cannot stay overnight on 85 00:04:44,960 --> 00:04:48,640 Speaker 1: the island and there are no amenities. Basically, you you 86 00:04:48,720 --> 00:04:50,080 Speaker 1: go for a little while and you get back on 87 00:04:50,120 --> 00:04:52,480 Speaker 1: the boat and you leave. Uh. The island is also 88 00:04:52,560 --> 00:04:56,800 Speaker 1: designated a statutory nature reserve, so no animal visitors are 89 00:04:56,800 --> 00:05:00,040 Speaker 1: allowed and no trash can be left behind the The 90 00:05:00,160 --> 00:05:03,800 Speaker 1: animals that most commonly benefit from the islands reserve status 91 00:05:03,839 --> 00:05:08,200 Speaker 1: are birds. Seabirds often nest there during their respective breeding seasons. 92 00:05:08,600 --> 00:05:11,479 Speaker 1: Skellic Michael is considered one of the most important breeding 93 00:05:11,520 --> 00:05:14,360 Speaker 1: grounds for birds in Ireland, and for some species it's 94 00:05:14,360 --> 00:05:17,120 Speaker 1: one of the most important places in the world. The 95 00:05:17,200 --> 00:05:20,719 Speaker 1: storm Petrol and makes Sheerwater have some of their largest 96 00:05:20,800 --> 00:05:23,080 Speaker 1: breeding groups on the island, and it's also home to 97 00:05:23,279 --> 00:05:28,680 Speaker 1: puffins which I love and kitty Wake among others. Paragram 98 00:05:28,720 --> 00:05:32,200 Speaker 1: falcons also nest there although not every year, and there 99 00:05:32,240 --> 00:05:35,720 Speaker 1: are a few mammals on the island as well, including 100 00:05:35,880 --> 00:05:40,640 Speaker 1: gray seals, house mice, and rabbits. Also of interest in 101 00:05:40,760 --> 00:05:44,000 Speaker 1: terms of its natural makeup is the lichen that grows 102 00:05:44,040 --> 00:05:46,920 Speaker 1: on Skelling Michael. There are actually one hundred and twenty 103 00:05:46,920 --> 00:05:50,760 Speaker 1: eight different species of lichen found on this tiny rocky island, 104 00:05:50,839 --> 00:05:53,760 Speaker 1: and to like in a colas fungi, that's enough to 105 00:05:53,800 --> 00:05:57,400 Speaker 1: classify it as a nationally important site for lichen growth 106 00:05:57,680 --> 00:06:00,240 Speaker 1: based on a conservation study that was conducted in two 107 00:06:00,240 --> 00:06:05,599 Speaker 1: thousand nine. To get to more of the human made structures, 108 00:06:06,000 --> 00:06:08,960 Speaker 1: Skelling Michael is also home to a monastery that was 109 00:06:09,000 --> 00:06:10,960 Speaker 1: built hundreds of years ago, and we're going to get 110 00:06:11,000 --> 00:06:13,640 Speaker 1: into the history of that in more detailed descriptions of 111 00:06:13,680 --> 00:06:17,080 Speaker 1: the monastery and just a bit but at first. But 112 00:06:17,200 --> 00:06:21,000 Speaker 1: first we're going to talk about how it exists there today. 113 00:06:21,160 --> 00:06:24,000 Speaker 1: The settlement has two different segments, and the first is 114 00:06:24,000 --> 00:06:27,200 Speaker 1: the monastery itself, which is built on the islands east side, 115 00:06:27,600 --> 00:06:31,159 Speaker 1: high up on sloping areas of rock. The monastery has 116 00:06:31,240 --> 00:06:35,080 Speaker 1: three access points, all of which involve navigating a lot 117 00:06:35,240 --> 00:06:39,040 Speaker 1: of steps. A lot of steps, like they actually say 118 00:06:39,120 --> 00:06:41,200 Speaker 1: in the visit any of the visitors stuff that you 119 00:06:41,360 --> 00:06:44,640 Speaker 1: may read, like the visitors advisories like please don't come 120 00:06:44,680 --> 00:06:47,040 Speaker 1: if you're not ready to take on like six hundred steps, 121 00:06:47,080 --> 00:06:52,120 Speaker 1: because it is vigorous work and it's not there's not 122 00:06:52,160 --> 00:06:54,080 Speaker 1: an easy way up. There's like I said, there are 123 00:06:54,080 --> 00:06:57,200 Speaker 1: no amenities, there's no elevator, there are no chair lifts. 124 00:06:57,360 --> 00:07:00,000 Speaker 1: You have to handle it yourself. And those steps are 125 00:07:00,080 --> 00:07:03,520 Speaker 1: really amazing because they're cut from the rock of the island, 126 00:07:03,600 --> 00:07:05,760 Speaker 1: from the landing point where you would first step foot 127 00:07:05,800 --> 00:07:08,039 Speaker 1: on the island up to the highest point where water 128 00:07:08,120 --> 00:07:11,920 Speaker 1: can possibly reach, and then above that height the steps continue, 129 00:07:12,000 --> 00:07:14,760 Speaker 1: but from then on they're made of dry stone masonry. 130 00:07:14,920 --> 00:07:19,800 Speaker 1: The structures within the monastery included church, two oratories, seven 131 00:07:19,960 --> 00:07:24,760 Speaker 1: beehive cells, water cisterns, and a cemetery. And locked which 132 00:07:24,800 --> 00:07:29,040 Speaker 1: I have also heard Irish people say locked Locked as 133 00:07:29,080 --> 00:07:32,679 Speaker 1: a square or rectangular structure built with layers of stones 134 00:07:32,720 --> 00:07:35,080 Speaker 1: but no mortar. While they have been found at a 135 00:07:35,160 --> 00:07:39,000 Speaker 1: number of Irish Early Christian monastic sites, their function isn't 136 00:07:39,160 --> 00:07:42,000 Speaker 1: entirely clear. There have been several theories, including that they 137 00:07:42,040 --> 00:07:45,440 Speaker 1: may have marked graves of important holy people or were 138 00:07:45,520 --> 00:07:48,120 Speaker 1: used to house relics or had some sort of social 139 00:07:48,200 --> 00:07:52,520 Speaker 1: spiritual function, and there are also two large garden terraces 140 00:07:52,760 --> 00:07:56,320 Speaker 1: and retaining walls which form the foundation of the entire site. 141 00:07:56,600 --> 00:08:00,000 Speaker 1: The second area of construction is separate from the monastery itself, 142 00:08:00,160 --> 00:08:03,280 Speaker 1: on ledges of the South Peak. It's composed of several 143 00:08:03,280 --> 00:08:08,120 Speaker 1: structures and including an oratory, altar, locked and water cisterns. 144 00:08:08,720 --> 00:08:11,720 Speaker 1: Steps cut out of the rock provide access to these structures, 145 00:08:11,720 --> 00:08:15,440 Speaker 1: which are described in archaeological stratigraphic report written in two 146 00:08:15,720 --> 00:08:20,240 Speaker 1: eleven as daringly constructed. I sort of feel that way 147 00:08:20,280 --> 00:08:23,600 Speaker 1: about everything. I'm skelling, Michael. It's so beautiful, but I 148 00:08:23,600 --> 00:08:26,120 Speaker 1: don't know that I am its target visitor, because I 149 00:08:26,160 --> 00:08:28,000 Speaker 1: think I would spend the whole time screaming in fear 150 00:08:28,080 --> 00:08:30,360 Speaker 1: that I would just fall. It's all very steep. That 151 00:08:30,480 --> 00:08:33,120 Speaker 1: name is apt uh, And we're gonna go a little 152 00:08:33,120 --> 00:08:35,840 Speaker 1: bit deeper into talking about those daring structures that Tracy 153 00:08:35,880 --> 00:08:38,800 Speaker 1: just mentioned, uh and where they fit into the island's history. 154 00:08:38,840 --> 00:08:46,559 Speaker 1: But first we're gonna pause for a quick sponsor break. 155 00:08:47,640 --> 00:08:50,439 Speaker 1: The first known reference to skelling Michael goes all the 156 00:08:50,480 --> 00:08:54,560 Speaker 1: way back to sevent b c. It's referenced is the 157 00:08:54,559 --> 00:08:58,240 Speaker 1: place where the Prince Ire, fifth son of Milicius, died 158 00:08:58,280 --> 00:09:00,400 Speaker 1: when his ship was separated from the rest of his 159 00:09:00,440 --> 00:09:03,680 Speaker 1: fleet during a storm, crashed upon a rock and sank. 160 00:09:04,400 --> 00:09:07,719 Speaker 1: This is, however, a folkloric accounts, so it remains unverified. 161 00:09:08,320 --> 00:09:11,400 Speaker 1: There's another unverified story of Skellic Michael set in the 162 00:09:11,400 --> 00:09:14,839 Speaker 1: fifth century. In this instance, after a conflict between the 163 00:09:14,920 --> 00:09:17,560 Speaker 1: Kings of Castle and the Kings of Munster, the king 164 00:09:17,640 --> 00:09:21,040 Speaker 1: of West Munster named Dwach is said to have fled 165 00:09:21,120 --> 00:09:24,679 Speaker 1: to Skellic Michael. And while this event is written as 166 00:09:24,720 --> 00:09:27,800 Speaker 1: having happened in the fifth century, that account was recorded 167 00:09:27,800 --> 00:09:30,400 Speaker 1: in either the eighth or the ninth century, so it's 168 00:09:30,480 --> 00:09:33,439 Speaker 1: it's accuracy is hard to gauge. We know for certain, 169 00:09:33,720 --> 00:09:36,280 Speaker 1: based on the structures that we talked about earlier, that 170 00:09:36,480 --> 00:09:39,520 Speaker 1: monks moved into the island at some point, but exactly 171 00:09:39,520 --> 00:09:43,520 Speaker 1: when that happened also isn't clear. The earliest estimates place 172 00:09:43,600 --> 00:09:46,160 Speaker 1: at at the place the start of the monastery somewhere 173 00:09:46,160 --> 00:09:49,360 Speaker 1: in the sixth century, although it could have been built 174 00:09:49,080 --> 00:09:52,160 Speaker 1: as late as the eighth century and then the earliest 175 00:09:52,240 --> 00:09:55,480 Speaker 1: known reference to the monastery is in an Annal entry 176 00:09:55,559 --> 00:09:58,520 Speaker 1: from the year eight hundred twenty four, which describes a 177 00:09:58,640 --> 00:10:01,439 Speaker 1: Norse raid on sc Like Michael, Yeah, there's a lot 178 00:10:01,520 --> 00:10:06,679 Speaker 1: of disparate accounts that that place that at different times, 179 00:10:06,720 --> 00:10:09,240 Speaker 1: but it's somewhere in there. I think most people tend 180 00:10:09,280 --> 00:10:11,400 Speaker 1: to favor the earlier thing because a lot of the 181 00:10:11,400 --> 00:10:13,599 Speaker 1: accounts that happened later on, and we'll talk about it 182 00:10:13,640 --> 00:10:16,520 Speaker 1: in a minute, suggests that it was already functioning. The 183 00:10:16,559 --> 00:10:19,559 Speaker 1: position of this monastery is actually quite well chosen. It's 184 00:10:19,600 --> 00:10:23,160 Speaker 1: six hundred feet above sea level, and where it sits 185 00:10:23,200 --> 00:10:26,040 Speaker 1: on the island and in relation to its peaks, offers 186 00:10:26,040 --> 00:10:28,920 Speaker 1: some natural shelter, and it has plenty of stones to 187 00:10:29,080 --> 00:10:32,199 Speaker 1: use in building, so the monks could access stone from 188 00:10:32,280 --> 00:10:34,800 Speaker 1: right there on the island to build these structures, and 189 00:10:34,920 --> 00:10:38,880 Speaker 1: it enabled relatively easy water collection, so channels were cut 190 00:10:39,120 --> 00:10:42,800 Speaker 1: into sloping stone to direct water right into cisterns that 191 00:10:42,840 --> 00:10:45,800 Speaker 1: they had placed, and the two primary cisterns that were 192 00:10:45,920 --> 00:10:48,160 Speaker 1: used were built to hold roughly a hundred and twenty 193 00:10:48,160 --> 00:10:50,800 Speaker 1: gallons that's about four hundred and fifty liters of water. 194 00:10:51,760 --> 00:10:54,160 Speaker 1: One of the unique aspects of the monastery is the 195 00:10:54,240 --> 00:10:57,679 Speaker 1: cell structures that are sometimes described as as bee hives. 196 00:10:58,160 --> 00:11:03,960 Speaker 1: These hives are shaped like inverted elliptic paraboloids, so not 197 00:11:03,960 --> 00:11:07,640 Speaker 1: not bee hives like the flat ones in boxes that 198 00:11:07,679 --> 00:11:13,160 Speaker 1: are manufactured, but the domed ones the bees would actually 199 00:11:13,200 --> 00:11:16,400 Speaker 1: build on their own or that you know. Sometimes people 200 00:11:16,480 --> 00:11:18,960 Speaker 1: keep these in baskets that are that shaped, like an 201 00:11:18,960 --> 00:11:23,760 Speaker 1: inverted semi dome sort of structure. They have a doorway 202 00:11:23,920 --> 00:11:26,360 Speaker 1: built into the front of each of them and steps 203 00:11:26,360 --> 00:11:28,680 Speaker 1: that lead in and out of the doors. The beehive 204 00:11:28,760 --> 00:11:32,200 Speaker 1: cells are all arranged along the monasteries large oratory, but 205 00:11:32,280 --> 00:11:34,960 Speaker 1: there are some differences among them, and the cells are 206 00:11:35,120 --> 00:11:39,600 Speaker 1: lettered for identification. Yeah, and just for clarity, um the 207 00:11:39,720 --> 00:11:42,840 Speaker 1: cell letter order does not in any way pertain to 208 00:11:42,960 --> 00:11:47,320 Speaker 1: their age order, which I was trying to explain this 209 00:11:47,400 --> 00:11:49,480 Speaker 1: to to a friend and they got a little thrown 210 00:11:49,559 --> 00:11:52,520 Speaker 1: by that. So just know that this the A through 211 00:11:53,000 --> 00:11:56,599 Speaker 1: um G does not in any way suggest that A 212 00:11:56,760 --> 00:12:00,240 Speaker 1: came first and Gee was at the end. There with 213 00:12:00,400 --> 00:12:04,840 Speaker 1: completely separate um naming systems. So cell A is the 214 00:12:04,920 --> 00:12:08,120 Speaker 1: largest one. It actually has a second interior level and 215 00:12:08,120 --> 00:12:11,240 Speaker 1: it's believed to have been a communal space, and it's 216 00:12:11,280 --> 00:12:13,880 Speaker 1: quite large at the base of the structure. The walls 217 00:12:14,000 --> 00:12:16,400 Speaker 1: of Cell A are one point eight meters six so 218 00:12:16,480 --> 00:12:19,840 Speaker 1: that's almost six ft, and the interior space is about 219 00:12:19,840 --> 00:12:22,560 Speaker 1: fifteen by twelve point five feet that's about four point 220 00:12:22,559 --> 00:12:25,640 Speaker 1: six by three point eight meters, and there's an interior 221 00:12:25,760 --> 00:12:29,400 Speaker 1: height of sixteen feet. It's about five ms. Cells B 222 00:12:29,600 --> 00:12:32,199 Speaker 1: and C are smaller, they're about two thirds the size 223 00:12:32,200 --> 00:12:36,040 Speaker 1: of cell A. Cell D is actually no longer intact, 224 00:12:36,080 --> 00:12:38,520 Speaker 1: but it was probably the oldest cell on the site. 225 00:12:39,000 --> 00:12:43,880 Speaker 1: Probably it collapsed before cells C was completed. Cell E 226 00:12:44,280 --> 00:12:47,400 Speaker 1: is bigger than B and C, but smaller than A. 227 00:12:48,480 --> 00:12:51,920 Speaker 1: It's it's like a word problem in the s A T. 228 00:12:52,640 --> 00:12:55,040 Speaker 1: Cell F is smaller in size to B and C, 229 00:12:55,440 --> 00:12:57,959 Speaker 1: and it has these interior slabs that are arranged in 230 00:12:58,000 --> 00:13:00,800 Speaker 1: a manner that suggests it might have been a leaping area. 231 00:13:01,480 --> 00:13:04,760 Speaker 1: These cells were built at various points in time, and 232 00:13:04,800 --> 00:13:07,520 Speaker 1: they aren't homogeneous in their size as noted or in 233 00:13:07,559 --> 00:13:11,080 Speaker 1: the way the stone work is done. Yeah, it's pretty 234 00:13:11,080 --> 00:13:14,079 Speaker 1: clear evidence that they were worked on at various points 235 00:13:14,080 --> 00:13:19,440 Speaker 1: in time. So, uh, it's it spans some number of years. 236 00:13:19,800 --> 00:13:22,760 Speaker 1: There is a central church at the monastery that is St. 237 00:13:22,800 --> 00:13:26,040 Speaker 1: Michael's and it's partially collapsed, and what would have been 238 00:13:26,080 --> 00:13:27,760 Speaker 1: its roof, which would have been made of wood, is 239 00:13:27,800 --> 00:13:31,559 Speaker 1: long gone. The church appears also to have not been 240 00:13:31,559 --> 00:13:34,080 Speaker 1: built all at the same time, but in two different stages, 241 00:13:34,240 --> 00:13:37,600 Speaker 1: the second one to expand on what was a fairly 242 00:13:37,640 --> 00:13:40,679 Speaker 1: small church that was built in the first phase. While 243 00:13:40,720 --> 00:13:44,960 Speaker 1: a prominent and impressive aspect of the monastery's design is 244 00:13:45,000 --> 00:13:49,720 Speaker 1: its retaining walls, they have experienced multiple structural failures throughout 245 00:13:49,720 --> 00:13:51,400 Speaker 1: the life of the site and beginning when it was 246 00:13:51,440 --> 00:13:54,480 Speaker 1: still occupied. The walls have been the focus of a 247 00:13:54,480 --> 00:13:58,280 Speaker 1: lot of conservation and preservation work over the years. Yeah, 248 00:13:58,320 --> 00:14:01,120 Speaker 1: they're amazing, and that they really are. Are, you know, 249 00:14:01,240 --> 00:14:04,520 Speaker 1: holding up all of this man made structure, But they 250 00:14:04,559 --> 00:14:08,240 Speaker 1: definitely are bearing the weight of that man made structure. 251 00:14:08,280 --> 00:14:11,160 Speaker 1: And as a consequence, sometimes they get tired and they 252 00:14:11,160 --> 00:14:15,040 Speaker 1: break up. Cells don't really get walls don't really get tired. 253 00:14:15,080 --> 00:14:17,160 Speaker 1: I know, nobody needs to tell me, but they get 254 00:14:17,160 --> 00:14:22,600 Speaker 1: on it. Um. So the daring structures that we referenced 255 00:14:22,600 --> 00:14:24,600 Speaker 1: a little while ago make up what's come to be 256 00:14:24,640 --> 00:14:29,000 Speaker 1: called the Hermitage, and so in the modern era, UM 257 00:14:29,120 --> 00:14:32,120 Speaker 1: these man made structures on Skelling Michael South Peaks, they're 258 00:14:32,120 --> 00:14:34,680 Speaker 1: a little bit away from the others. Were first referenced 259 00:14:34,680 --> 00:14:37,720 Speaker 1: in an eighteen forty one mapping survey, and then they 260 00:14:37,760 --> 00:14:40,600 Speaker 1: made another appearance on record in the eighteen fifties, when 261 00:14:40,680 --> 00:14:43,560 Speaker 1: Lord Dunraven visited the island and wrote of having seen 262 00:14:43,600 --> 00:14:47,400 Speaker 1: the ruins of a quadrangular building there. The South Peak 263 00:14:47,480 --> 00:14:50,760 Speaker 1: ruins were noted again by visiting scholars in the nineteen fifties, 264 00:14:50,800 --> 00:14:53,480 Speaker 1: but it actually wasn't until the nineteen eighties that a 265 00:14:53,560 --> 00:14:55,760 Speaker 1: study of the site was ordered by the Office of 266 00:14:55,800 --> 00:15:00,000 Speaker 1: Public Works. There are three terraces that make up the hermitage. 267 00:15:00,200 --> 00:15:03,440 Speaker 1: There's a garden and dwelling terrace that's forty three ft 268 00:15:03,600 --> 00:15:07,120 Speaker 1: that's about thirteen meters long. It ranges in width from 269 00:15:07,160 --> 00:15:09,520 Speaker 1: six point five to thirteen feet, which is two to 270 00:15:09,560 --> 00:15:13,160 Speaker 1: four meters. One end of the terrace, which includes a 271 00:15:13,200 --> 00:15:16,160 Speaker 1: section of the retaining wall, it's about five feet or 272 00:15:16,200 --> 00:15:18,680 Speaker 1: one and a half meters high, and that remains intact. 273 00:15:19,040 --> 00:15:23,200 Speaker 1: The other end of it, though, has collapsed. The Oratory 274 00:15:23,320 --> 00:15:25,920 Speaker 1: Terrorists sits at a right angle to the garden and 275 00:15:26,000 --> 00:15:29,080 Speaker 1: dwelling terraces, and it's about thirteen feet that's four meters 276 00:15:29,440 --> 00:15:32,480 Speaker 1: higher up on the peach on this terrace is a 277 00:15:32,520 --> 00:15:36,240 Speaker 1: small oratory with an interior space of seven point five 278 00:15:36,360 --> 00:15:38,880 Speaker 1: by six point five feet that's about two point three 279 00:15:38,920 --> 00:15:42,080 Speaker 1: by two meters, and this terrace extends far past the 280 00:15:42,120 --> 00:15:45,240 Speaker 1: oratory to the east, although it is quite a narrow 281 00:15:45,760 --> 00:15:48,160 Speaker 1: sort of terrace that you're you're on at that point 282 00:15:48,400 --> 00:15:51,560 Speaker 1: from the oratory terraces. The outer terrace used to be 283 00:15:51,600 --> 00:15:54,560 Speaker 1: reachable via a traverse that was chiseled from the stone 284 00:15:54,600 --> 00:15:57,400 Speaker 1: by the months, but in modern times it's a place 285 00:15:57,440 --> 00:16:00,760 Speaker 1: that's really best visited by skilled call timer's and no 286 00:16:00,800 --> 00:16:03,400 Speaker 1: one else. It's treaches to navigate the ledges that you 287 00:16:03,400 --> 00:16:05,880 Speaker 1: have to move across. It's not clear if that outer 288 00:16:06,000 --> 00:16:09,080 Speaker 1: Terrace was ever completed, and it's also not clear what 289 00:16:09,160 --> 00:16:13,120 Speaker 1: its function was. Yeah, I watched a brief like newsreel 290 00:16:13,160 --> 00:16:14,800 Speaker 1: of a team that was going up when they were 291 00:16:14,880 --> 00:16:19,840 Speaker 1: doing some preservation investigation, and it's like, look, we found handhelds. 292 00:16:19,880 --> 00:16:24,760 Speaker 1: Like they're literally basically just scaling up the rock face 293 00:16:24,880 --> 00:16:27,600 Speaker 1: until they actually found something that a human could stand on. 294 00:16:28,080 --> 00:16:30,320 Speaker 1: So it is not just something you would go, hey, 295 00:16:30,320 --> 00:16:34,720 Speaker 1: I'd like to go up there. It's a again, not 296 00:16:34,800 --> 00:16:37,040 Speaker 1: a place that I should maybe visit because it looks 297 00:16:37,120 --> 00:16:41,840 Speaker 1: terrifying um. Sometime before the early eleventh century, the island 298 00:16:41,880 --> 00:16:45,640 Speaker 1: monastery was dedicated to St. Michael. St. Piannon is also 299 00:16:45,720 --> 00:16:48,480 Speaker 1: closely tied to the history of the monastery and may 300 00:16:48,520 --> 00:16:51,200 Speaker 1: have been its founder. He's often referenced as the founder, 301 00:16:51,240 --> 00:16:53,400 Speaker 1: but again it's all a little unclear. Records of the 302 00:16:53,480 --> 00:16:57,200 Speaker 1: late twelfth century indicate that the settlement was occupied and 303 00:16:57,280 --> 00:17:00,680 Speaker 1: having regular mass at that point, but soon after in 304 00:17:00,720 --> 00:17:05,159 Speaker 1: the thirteenth century, shifting church structure in Ireland and increased 305 00:17:05,200 --> 00:17:08,320 Speaker 1: instances of inclement weather on and around the island lad 306 00:17:08,920 --> 00:17:12,639 Speaker 1: the monastery to be abandoned. The monks who had been 307 00:17:12,680 --> 00:17:15,639 Speaker 1: living there moved to the mainland village of Balance Skelags, 308 00:17:15,960 --> 00:17:19,119 Speaker 1: and after that point the monastery at Skelling Michael was 309 00:17:19,200 --> 00:17:23,199 Speaker 1: considered part of the Balance Skellings Monastery. Yeah, but it 310 00:17:23,280 --> 00:17:25,840 Speaker 1: wasn't really, it's not believed to have been occupied after 311 00:17:25,880 --> 00:17:28,439 Speaker 1: that point. It just kind of was was notated as 312 00:17:28,520 --> 00:17:33,080 Speaker 1: part of their their larger um kind of organizational structure. 313 00:17:33,359 --> 00:17:36,080 Speaker 1: But again, like there had been a shift in climate 314 00:17:36,200 --> 00:17:38,359 Speaker 1: and they it really was not easy or safe to 315 00:17:38,400 --> 00:17:41,639 Speaker 1: occupy that area any longer. From the fourteenth to the 316 00:17:41,640 --> 00:17:45,119 Speaker 1: sixteenth centuries. The island appears on navigational charts that were 317 00:17:45,200 --> 00:17:49,240 Speaker 1: used by both Italian and Iberian seafarers. The monastery was 318 00:17:49,280 --> 00:17:52,200 Speaker 1: officially closed in the sixteenth century with Henry the Eighths 319 00:17:52,240 --> 00:17:55,959 Speaker 1: dissolution of monasteries, and it passed into private ownership by 320 00:17:56,000 --> 00:18:00,080 Speaker 1: a family named Butler. The Butler family retained ownership of 321 00:18:00,080 --> 00:18:03,960 Speaker 1: island until eight one. In November of eighteen twenty, Jay 322 00:18:04,080 --> 00:18:07,280 Speaker 1: Butler was approached by the government's Board of Works about 323 00:18:07,280 --> 00:18:10,480 Speaker 1: a permanent lease on the island so that two lighthouses 324 00:18:10,520 --> 00:18:13,000 Speaker 1: could be built there, and after some back and forth, 325 00:18:13,119 --> 00:18:17,440 Speaker 1: legal experts investigating the situation determined that Butler's legal ownership 326 00:18:17,520 --> 00:18:21,200 Speaker 1: of the land was not clearly documented. After an appraisal 327 00:18:21,240 --> 00:18:24,200 Speaker 1: of the property, the Butler estate was paid seven eighty 328 00:18:24,240 --> 00:18:27,080 Speaker 1: pounds for Skelling Michael and the Commissioners of Irish Lights 329 00:18:27,119 --> 00:18:30,080 Speaker 1: assumed ownership of it. We're gonna talk about the lighthouses 330 00:18:30,080 --> 00:18:32,159 Speaker 1: in just a moment, but first we're gonna pause and 331 00:18:32,200 --> 00:18:41,679 Speaker 1: have another short sponsor break. Construction of the two lighthouses 332 00:18:41,720 --> 00:18:45,920 Speaker 1: at Skelling Michael began in August of eighteen one. Inspector 333 00:18:45,960 --> 00:18:50,520 Speaker 1: George Halpin designed the buildings in roadway and oversaw initial construction. 334 00:18:51,359 --> 00:18:55,359 Speaker 1: The lighthouse road runs from the upper lighthouse site, which 335 00:18:55,359 --> 00:18:59,840 Speaker 1: is h on the western side of the island, south 336 00:19:00,480 --> 00:19:02,919 Speaker 1: to the coast, and then around the islands south and 337 00:19:02,960 --> 00:19:05,720 Speaker 1: east edges to the east landing. There is no road 338 00:19:05,840 --> 00:19:08,480 Speaker 1: along the northern shore of the island. There aren't many 339 00:19:08,520 --> 00:19:12,120 Speaker 1: records of the actual construction process, but both lighthouses were 340 00:19:12,160 --> 00:19:15,280 Speaker 1: completed and in use by the end of eighteen six. 341 00:19:15,680 --> 00:19:18,480 Speaker 1: The taller of the two lights was nearly four hundred 342 00:19:18,480 --> 00:19:21,639 Speaker 1: feet that's a hundreds above the high water mark, with 343 00:19:21,680 --> 00:19:25,480 Speaker 1: a visibility range of twenty five miles or forts. The 344 00:19:25,640 --> 00:19:28,280 Speaker 1: lower light was a hundred seventy five ft or fifty 345 00:19:28,359 --> 00:19:30,800 Speaker 1: three point three ms above the high water mark, with 346 00:19:30,880 --> 00:19:34,960 Speaker 1: a visibility range of eighteen miles or twenty kilometers. Both 347 00:19:35,040 --> 00:19:38,280 Speaker 1: were non moving lights. Uh in a sad note in 348 00:19:38,359 --> 00:19:41,680 Speaker 1: eighteen sixty nine, so more than forty years into the 349 00:19:41,760 --> 00:19:45,280 Speaker 1: lighthouses life, a small modern grave was added to the 350 00:19:45,359 --> 00:19:48,840 Speaker 1: chapel at Skelling Michael. At that point lighthouse keeper W. 351 00:19:49,040 --> 00:19:52,440 Speaker 1: Callahan buried two of his small children there after, both 352 00:19:52,440 --> 00:19:55,800 Speaker 1: had died of an illness. He then requested and was 353 00:19:55,880 --> 00:19:58,520 Speaker 1: granted a transfer elsewhere as he was concerned for the 354 00:19:58,520 --> 00:20:01,840 Speaker 1: health of his remaining child. So there is one instance 355 00:20:01,880 --> 00:20:03,840 Speaker 1: of a modern I'm using the air quotes since it 356 00:20:03,880 --> 00:20:06,000 Speaker 1: was in the eighteen hundreds, but a modern grave there 357 00:20:06,000 --> 00:20:08,600 Speaker 1: at the site. The upper light was in service for 358 00:20:08,600 --> 00:20:12,040 Speaker 1: forty four years until it was supplanted by another lighthouse 359 00:20:12,080 --> 00:20:15,439 Speaker 1: north of the Skellic Islands in eighteen seventy. The lower 360 00:20:15,560 --> 00:20:18,760 Speaker 1: lighthouse has remained in use. That's still in use today, 361 00:20:19,040 --> 00:20:21,000 Speaker 1: although there's been an update to it that we'll talk 362 00:20:21,000 --> 00:20:23,120 Speaker 1: about in a moment. Yeah, there's actually been a couple 363 00:20:23,160 --> 00:20:26,560 Speaker 1: of updates. But the Office of Public Works took possession 364 00:20:26,560 --> 00:20:29,960 Speaker 1: of the monastery as a state guardianship in eighteen eighty 365 00:20:30,000 --> 00:20:33,400 Speaker 1: with the intent to repair the crumbling structures and establish 366 00:20:33,440 --> 00:20:36,760 Speaker 1: an ongoing plan for conservation of the site. In nineteen 367 00:20:36,800 --> 00:20:40,040 Speaker 1: o nine, the lower lighthouse was renovated and updated with 368 00:20:40,080 --> 00:20:43,280 Speaker 1: a rotating, more powerful light. The lower light in the 369 00:20:43,320 --> 00:20:46,840 Speaker 1: original rubble masonry tower remained in use for a hundred 370 00:20:46,920 --> 00:20:50,960 Speaker 1: forty six years. It was extinguished in nineteen sixty six 371 00:20:50,960 --> 00:20:54,879 Speaker 1: and a temporary lantern was erected, while an entirely new 372 00:20:54,920 --> 00:20:57,879 Speaker 1: tower was built the following year. The new lighthouse was 373 00:20:57,960 --> 00:21:02,080 Speaker 1: online boasting another upgrade you one point eight million candles light. 374 00:21:02,680 --> 00:21:06,560 Speaker 1: In nineteen sixty nine, Skelling Michael's helipad was constructed on 375 00:21:06,600 --> 00:21:10,720 Speaker 1: the eastern coast of the island. That helipad is made 376 00:21:10,760 --> 00:21:14,680 Speaker 1: of reinforced concrete and three very thick columns supported off 377 00:21:14,680 --> 00:21:18,199 Speaker 1: the cliff face. It is terrifying as everything else to 378 00:21:18,280 --> 00:21:21,840 Speaker 1: me to look at on the cliff side. The open 379 00:21:21,880 --> 00:21:24,600 Speaker 1: side of the helipad, it is a one twenty one 380 00:21:24,640 --> 00:21:27,520 Speaker 1: ft or thirty seven meter dropped directly into the ocean. 381 00:21:28,000 --> 00:21:31,080 Speaker 1: In nineteen seventy eight, Skelling michael became the focus of 382 00:21:31,119 --> 00:21:34,720 Speaker 1: a long term conservation project. At that point, a retaining 383 00:21:34,760 --> 00:21:37,200 Speaker 1: wall near the church that's part of the monastery St. 384 00:21:37,200 --> 00:21:41,000 Speaker 1: Michael's had experienced a structural failure and it was prioritized 385 00:21:41,040 --> 00:21:45,200 Speaker 1: as the project's first order of business. UH And additionally, 386 00:21:45,359 --> 00:21:47,520 Speaker 1: steps that were leading up to the main entrance of 387 00:21:47,520 --> 00:21:52,119 Speaker 1: the monastery also needed restoration. Natural water erosion had claimed 388 00:21:52,160 --> 00:21:55,160 Speaker 1: some of the lower sections that reach into the waterline, 389 00:21:55,320 --> 00:21:58,680 Speaker 1: and heavy use of these stairways during periods of lighthouse 390 00:21:58,680 --> 00:22:01,560 Speaker 1: construction had all so really damaged some of the mason 391 00:22:01,640 --> 00:22:04,840 Speaker 1: rym Only one of the three stairways leading to the 392 00:22:04,840 --> 00:22:08,880 Speaker 1: main monastery is currently accessible to visitors. In nineteen eighty 393 00:22:09,000 --> 00:22:11,480 Speaker 1: excavation work began at the site of that work has 394 00:22:11,520 --> 00:22:15,480 Speaker 1: continued for decades. The National Monument Service of Ireland was 395 00:22:15,520 --> 00:22:18,919 Speaker 1: responsible for these efforts. That organization has been part of 396 00:22:19,000 --> 00:22:21,679 Speaker 1: various government departments over the years, but it's work at 397 00:22:21,680 --> 00:22:26,600 Speaker 1: Skelling Michael has continued seasonally throughout all those reorganizations. Yeah, 398 00:22:26,640 --> 00:22:29,360 Speaker 1: there's a narrow window winter you can't really go there 399 00:22:29,400 --> 00:22:33,520 Speaker 1: and do any sort of excavation, uh to examine the ruins, 400 00:22:33,560 --> 00:22:37,040 Speaker 1: because it's just too cold. Uh. In ninety one a 401 00:22:37,119 --> 00:22:40,400 Speaker 1: project was completed that had begun in nineteen to finally 402 00:22:40,440 --> 00:22:44,399 Speaker 1: automate the lighthouse. In nineteen eighty nine, the Commissioners of 403 00:22:44,440 --> 00:22:47,760 Speaker 1: Irish Lights sold the island Skelling Michael to the State, 404 00:22:47,960 --> 00:22:51,000 Speaker 1: which was already the guardian of the monastery, with the 405 00:22:51,040 --> 00:22:55,320 Speaker 1: exception of the remaining active lighthouse and its related structures. Yeah, 406 00:22:55,320 --> 00:22:59,119 Speaker 1: the Commissioners of Irish Lights still retained that lighthouse area 407 00:22:59,320 --> 00:23:03,359 Speaker 1: and then in ninete Skelling Michael became a UNESCO World 408 00:23:03,359 --> 00:23:07,520 Speaker 1: Heritage Site. On October twenty two, two thousand one, that 409 00:23:07,640 --> 00:23:11,480 Speaker 1: lighthouse was converted to solar power. A lamp change which 410 00:23:11,520 --> 00:23:13,920 Speaker 1: was done at the same time, reduced the lights reached 411 00:23:13,920 --> 00:23:17,080 Speaker 1: to nineteen miles. Diesel generators are still on hand for 412 00:23:17,160 --> 00:23:22,280 Speaker 1: backup power. In the focus of archaeological effort shifted to 413 00:23:22,359 --> 00:23:27,520 Speaker 1: the lighthouse road and in seven tons of stone were 414 00:23:27,560 --> 00:23:30,480 Speaker 1: brought to the island via military airlift to be used 415 00:23:30,480 --> 00:23:34,560 Speaker 1: in the roads restoration. There have been two rescue operations 416 00:23:34,680 --> 00:23:39,120 Speaker 1: launched from Skelling Michael to date. On October sixteen, three 417 00:23:39,160 --> 00:23:42,920 Speaker 1: of its lighthousekeepers helped rescue two boatloads of survivors from 418 00:23:42,920 --> 00:23:45,840 Speaker 1: the S S. Marina, which was a British cargo ship 419 00:23:45,920 --> 00:23:49,080 Speaker 1: that had been torpedoed by a German U boat. While 420 00:23:49,119 --> 00:23:52,000 Speaker 1: eighteen men died in the attack, more than a hundred 421 00:23:52,040 --> 00:23:55,800 Speaker 1: were saved. The three keepers were awarded one pound from 422 00:23:55,840 --> 00:23:58,760 Speaker 1: the Board of Trade and an additional guinea from the S. S. 423 00:23:58,760 --> 00:24:02,560 Speaker 1: Marina's owner, but Ulson Line Yep. They each got that award. 424 00:24:03,600 --> 00:24:09,679 Speaker 1: On February an aircraft exploded in midair after colliding with 425 00:24:09,720 --> 00:24:12,320 Speaker 1: the highest peak of the island and falling in pieces 426 00:24:12,359 --> 00:24:16,040 Speaker 1: into the water, and British aircraft and the lighthouse keepers 427 00:24:16,080 --> 00:24:19,280 Speaker 1: of Scaling Michael executed a search but neither the wreckage 428 00:24:19,359 --> 00:24:23,679 Speaker 1: nor any survivors were ever found. Unfortunately, the use of 429 00:24:23,680 --> 00:24:26,600 Speaker 1: Scaling Michael as a filming location has been the source 430 00:24:26,640 --> 00:24:31,160 Speaker 1: of some friction. Archaeology specialist voiced concerns about the safety 431 00:24:31,200 --> 00:24:34,119 Speaker 1: of the monastery, and bird Watched Ireland, which is an 432 00:24:34,160 --> 00:24:38,760 Speaker 1: independent conservation group, criticized Ireland's Minister of Arts for approving 433 00:24:38,800 --> 00:24:41,920 Speaker 1: the use of the island as a location without involving 434 00:24:41,960 --> 00:24:46,280 Speaker 1: a third party specializing in conservation and bird habitat assessment 435 00:24:46,640 --> 00:24:49,840 Speaker 1: and unfortunately, those concerns were brought into sharp focus in 436 00:24:50,720 --> 00:24:53,480 Speaker 1: when a helicopter on a site scouting flight caused a 437 00:24:53,560 --> 00:24:57,520 Speaker 1: number of kittywakeness to be disturbed. The down draft from 438 00:24:57,520 --> 00:25:00,280 Speaker 1: the chopper's propeller caused some of the chi x to 439 00:25:00,320 --> 00:25:02,960 Speaker 1: be swept into the sea and they were killed by seagulls. 440 00:25:03,480 --> 00:25:08,560 Speaker 1: After this incident, everyone involved reassessed the situation. Additional flights 441 00:25:08,600 --> 00:25:12,520 Speaker 1: were canceled, the filming schedule was was reviewed to avoid 442 00:25:12,560 --> 00:25:16,639 Speaker 1: the primary kitty wading breading season, although other birds still 443 00:25:16,720 --> 00:25:19,760 Speaker 1: nesting on the island caused continued concern on the part 444 00:25:19,760 --> 00:25:23,080 Speaker 1: of bird Watch Ireland. Bird Watch Ireland's point of view 445 00:25:23,200 --> 00:25:25,680 Speaker 1: is that there was a breach and established a protocol 446 00:25:25,720 --> 00:25:28,760 Speaker 1: by doing it this way. The Office of the Minister 447 00:25:28,840 --> 00:25:33,159 Speaker 1: of Arts remained insistent though, that the European Union Habitats 448 00:25:33,160 --> 00:25:37,720 Speaker 1: Directive was upheld, so there's some disagreement on that point. Yeah, 449 00:25:37,840 --> 00:25:41,160 Speaker 1: I did notice there are a few instances regarding scaling 450 00:25:41,200 --> 00:25:45,040 Speaker 1: Michael outside of this, where there is disagreement about how 451 00:25:45,320 --> 00:25:49,480 Speaker 1: restoration has been handled or whether, um, you know, everything 452 00:25:49,520 --> 00:25:52,560 Speaker 1: has been executed in the proper way into the letter 453 00:25:52,600 --> 00:25:55,119 Speaker 1: of the law. And it usually everything I found just 454 00:25:55,160 --> 00:25:57,080 Speaker 1: turned out to be a very similar back and forth 455 00:25:57,119 --> 00:25:59,240 Speaker 1: of you did it wrong, No, we didn't, we did 456 00:25:59,280 --> 00:26:02,080 Speaker 1: everything like this, we don't agree with you, we think 457 00:26:02,080 --> 00:26:03,800 Speaker 1: you're lying like that just goes on and on and on. 458 00:26:03,920 --> 00:26:07,480 Speaker 1: So it's a little hard to parse out. Um, Skelling Michael, 459 00:26:07,480 --> 00:26:09,639 Speaker 1: i'm a notes to me the site of much disagreement. 460 00:26:10,280 --> 00:26:12,480 Speaker 1: But to end all of this on a more poetic note, 461 00:26:13,040 --> 00:26:15,159 Speaker 1: it seems fitting to mention the island as it was 462 00:26:15,200 --> 00:26:17,439 Speaker 1: seen through the eyes of one of Ireland's most famous 463 00:26:17,520 --> 00:26:21,880 Speaker 1: creative minds. In the nineteen ten writer George Bernard Shaw 464 00:26:22,000 --> 00:26:24,840 Speaker 1: visited Skelling Michael and it made a very strong impression. 465 00:26:25,320 --> 00:26:28,479 Speaker 1: He later wrote the following quote. But for the magic 466 00:26:28,520 --> 00:26:30,919 Speaker 1: that takes you out far out of this time. In 467 00:26:30,920 --> 00:26:34,639 Speaker 1: this world, there is skelling Michael ten miles off Carry Coast, 468 00:26:34,960 --> 00:26:38,240 Speaker 1: shooting straight up seven hundred feet sheer out of the Atlantic. 469 00:26:38,800 --> 00:26:41,479 Speaker 1: Whoever has not stood in the graveyard and their beehive 470 00:26:41,560 --> 00:26:45,600 Speaker 1: oratory does not know Ireland through and through. That's lovely, 471 00:26:46,160 --> 00:26:51,080 Speaker 1: It is very lovely. Thanks George Bernard Shaw. Do you 472 00:26:51,119 --> 00:26:53,719 Speaker 1: also have a lovely listener mail? I do. I have 473 00:26:53,880 --> 00:26:58,160 Speaker 1: lovely mail, which involves gifts from our listener, Angie. She writes, 474 00:26:58,240 --> 00:27:00,880 Speaker 1: Dear Tracy and Holly. I'm a relative me new listener, 475 00:27:00,960 --> 00:27:03,760 Speaker 1: but my addiction to listening to your show daily has 476 00:27:03,800 --> 00:27:06,159 Speaker 1: caught me up quite a bit. I'm currently living in 477 00:27:06,160 --> 00:27:08,439 Speaker 1: South Korea with my family since my husband is in 478 00:27:08,440 --> 00:27:10,679 Speaker 1: the military, and listening to your show has helped with 479 00:27:10,720 --> 00:27:13,280 Speaker 1: the isolation that can come from living in a rural 480 00:27:13,320 --> 00:27:15,880 Speaker 1: area of a foreign country where I'm embarrassed to admit 481 00:27:15,960 --> 00:27:18,240 Speaker 1: I can barely speak any Korean. So I want to 482 00:27:18,280 --> 00:27:20,400 Speaker 1: thank you for being my friends every day while I'm 483 00:27:20,400 --> 00:27:22,720 Speaker 1: taking care of my two year old and my daily tasks. 484 00:27:23,320 --> 00:27:24,840 Speaker 1: The friends that I have made here are very much 485 00:27:24,880 --> 00:27:27,040 Speaker 1: aware of my fan girl status with your podcast, and 486 00:27:27,040 --> 00:27:28,960 Speaker 1: they will ask me what new and interesting topics I 487 00:27:29,000 --> 00:27:31,560 Speaker 1: have recently learned about. So it makes me happy knowing 488 00:27:31,560 --> 00:27:34,000 Speaker 1: that I'm sharing knowledge in a time where entertainment has 489 00:27:34,000 --> 00:27:36,600 Speaker 1: seemed more important than learning, and luckily for me, your 490 00:27:36,640 --> 00:27:41,720 Speaker 1: podcast is both entertaining and educational. Um. She mentions that 491 00:27:41,760 --> 00:27:46,160 Speaker 1: her physical therapist, who is Korean, asked about our podcast, 492 00:27:46,200 --> 00:27:49,200 Speaker 1: and she told him about our Prince Sotto episode uh, 493 00:27:49,240 --> 00:27:52,000 Speaker 1: and he said that he is a descendant of Prince Otto, 494 00:27:52,119 --> 00:27:54,240 Speaker 1: being able to trace back his family history since it 495 00:27:54,320 --> 00:27:56,879 Speaker 1: is very common for Korean families to have records of 496 00:27:56,920 --> 00:28:00,840 Speaker 1: their lineage dating back hundreds of years. Um. And she 497 00:28:00,960 --> 00:28:03,520 Speaker 1: talked about the Korean holiday that kind of is the 498 00:28:03,560 --> 00:28:07,919 Speaker 1: equivalent of Thanksgiving, where everyone travels home, eats traditional food, 499 00:28:07,960 --> 00:28:10,880 Speaker 1: and visits their ancestors burial sites to make food offerings, 500 00:28:10,920 --> 00:28:13,720 Speaker 1: and finally ending the holiday with a midnight dance under 501 00:28:13,760 --> 00:28:16,360 Speaker 1: the harvest moon. This is one of the holidays where 502 00:28:16,400 --> 00:28:19,320 Speaker 1: every store stocks up with expensive spam gift sets, which 503 00:28:19,320 --> 00:28:22,440 Speaker 1: you briefly mentioned during your spam podcast. I wanted to 504 00:28:22,480 --> 00:28:25,440 Speaker 1: send you some traditional treats that we enjoy, and then 505 00:28:25,480 --> 00:28:28,560 Speaker 1: she describes them there's the super yummy little confectioneries that 506 00:28:28,600 --> 00:28:31,200 Speaker 1: she sent. She said, we're moving next month to Oahu, 507 00:28:31,320 --> 00:28:33,000 Speaker 1: and I joke with my husband that the Army is 508 00:28:33,040 --> 00:28:36,000 Speaker 1: taking us on a worldwide tour of spam, first Korea 509 00:28:36,119 --> 00:28:38,959 Speaker 1: and now Hawaii, and lucky for us, we enjoy eating it. 510 00:28:39,080 --> 00:28:40,560 Speaker 1: I cannot wait to be able to strike up a 511 00:28:40,560 --> 00:28:43,200 Speaker 1: conversation with a local about the history of spam, the 512 00:28:43,240 --> 00:28:46,239 Speaker 1: pineapple industry, and or leprosy, although I might get some 513 00:28:46,280 --> 00:28:49,880 Speaker 1: suspicious looks from that last one. She also talks a 514 00:28:49,880 --> 00:28:52,760 Speaker 1: little bit about Tokyo, Disneyland and Disney Sea. But thank 515 00:28:52,760 --> 00:28:54,920 Speaker 1: you for this amazing parcel. She sent us a lot 516 00:28:54,920 --> 00:28:56,840 Speaker 1: of different stuff, so when you were in the office 517 00:28:56,880 --> 00:28:59,719 Speaker 1: next which is soon ish, we'll pick through it and 518 00:28:59,720 --> 00:29:03,800 Speaker 1: and taste everything. So Angie, thank you so much. What 519 00:29:03,920 --> 00:29:06,320 Speaker 1: a delightful treat like we get some of the best gifts. 520 00:29:06,360 --> 00:29:09,000 Speaker 1: I feel very spoiled by our listeners. Uh. If you 521 00:29:09,000 --> 00:29:10,560 Speaker 1: would like to write to us, still feel like you 522 00:29:10,600 --> 00:29:12,320 Speaker 1: have to send us a gift, you can just write 523 00:29:12,320 --> 00:29:15,360 Speaker 1: to us via email at History Podcast at how stuff 524 00:29:15,400 --> 00:29:17,520 Speaker 1: works dot com. You can also find us across the 525 00:29:17,560 --> 00:29:21,520 Speaker 1: spectrum of social media. As missed in History. Uh. We 526 00:29:21,560 --> 00:29:23,960 Speaker 1: are also at missed in History dot com, where you 527 00:29:23,960 --> 00:29:26,840 Speaker 1: can find every show that has ever existed of the podcast, 528 00:29:26,880 --> 00:29:29,800 Speaker 1: including those way before Tracy and I were ever involved 529 00:29:29,800 --> 00:29:31,760 Speaker 1: in it, and show notes for any of the ones 530 00:29:31,840 --> 00:29:34,440 Speaker 1: that Tracy and I have worked on. So come along 531 00:29:34,480 --> 00:29:37,480 Speaker 1: and listen to History with Us at missed in History 532 00:29:37,520 --> 00:29:45,680 Speaker 1: dot com for more on this and thousands of other topics. 533 00:29:45,840 --> 00:29:55,680 Speaker 1: Does It How stuff works dot com