1 00:00:02,440 --> 00:00:05,680 Speaker 1: Happy Saturday, everybody. Uh St Patrick's Day is just around 2 00:00:05,680 --> 00:00:08,880 Speaker 1: the corner. We always get requests for Irish history, so 3 00:00:08,960 --> 00:00:11,520 Speaker 1: we've decided to pull a little bit out of the archive. 4 00:00:11,960 --> 00:00:15,000 Speaker 1: This is our episode on Skelling Michael. And although we 5 00:00:15,080 --> 00:00:17,759 Speaker 1: chose this episode because of Skelling Michael's use as a 6 00:00:17,840 --> 00:00:21,159 Speaker 1: Star Wars filming location, it is also the site of 7 00:00:21,200 --> 00:00:25,760 Speaker 1: one of Ireland's early Christian monastic sites. This episode originally 8 00:00:25,800 --> 00:00:34,519 Speaker 1: came out December six, so enjoy Welcome to Stuff You 9 00:00:34,520 --> 00:00:44,440 Speaker 1: missed in History Class, a production of I Heart Radio. Hello, 10 00:00:44,479 --> 00:00:47,040 Speaker 1: and welcome to the podcast. I'm Holly Frying and I'm 11 00:00:47,120 --> 00:00:50,839 Speaker 1: Tracy Wilson. If you're a Star Wars fan, and frankly 12 00:00:50,880 --> 00:00:54,320 Speaker 1: even if you're not, you have probably seen scenes of 13 00:00:54,440 --> 00:00:57,800 Speaker 1: Luke Skywalker in The Force Awakens and in promotional materials 14 00:00:57,800 --> 00:01:00,720 Speaker 1: for The Last Jedi where he and visually Ray are 15 00:01:00,800 --> 00:01:04,040 Speaker 1: standing on an island with ancient looking structures on it. 16 00:01:04,760 --> 00:01:08,200 Speaker 1: That is a real island, that's not a set, and 17 00:01:08,240 --> 00:01:10,800 Speaker 1: those structures are also not sets that were built for 18 00:01:10,800 --> 00:01:13,640 Speaker 1: the film. They are part of a real thing that 19 00:01:13,800 --> 00:01:17,080 Speaker 1: is ancient Skelling Michael. The island where those scenes were 20 00:01:17,080 --> 00:01:20,080 Speaker 1: shot is a historic site with a fascinating history all 21 00:01:20,080 --> 00:01:22,760 Speaker 1: its own. It's also got kind of a nice juxtaposition 22 00:01:22,800 --> 00:01:25,520 Speaker 1: because a big chunk of its history is is much older, 23 00:01:25,560 --> 00:01:27,200 Speaker 1: and then there's a newer history of some of the 24 00:01:27,240 --> 00:01:30,360 Speaker 1: more modern things that have been built on the island. 25 00:01:30,959 --> 00:01:34,399 Speaker 1: Um So, since I have Star Wars rabies and I 26 00:01:34,400 --> 00:01:36,680 Speaker 1: can barely manage to contain myself while I wait for 27 00:01:36,720 --> 00:01:39,319 Speaker 1: the Last Jedita premiere, uh, and because this really is 28 00:01:39,360 --> 00:01:43,600 Speaker 1: a legitimately very very interesting uh historical site, I thought 29 00:01:43,640 --> 00:01:45,720 Speaker 1: it might be fund to delve into this location in 30 00:01:45,760 --> 00:01:49,040 Speaker 1: its rich history for the podcast. Yeah, if you were 31 00:01:49,160 --> 00:01:52,200 Speaker 1: concerned based on the number of times that we said 32 00:01:52,240 --> 00:01:54,600 Speaker 1: the Last Jedi, we're not going to be talking about 33 00:01:54,640 --> 00:01:57,800 Speaker 1: anything in the movie at all on the island at all. 34 00:01:58,240 --> 00:02:01,000 Speaker 1: That's pretty much all the Star Worst talk except a 35 00:02:01,040 --> 00:02:04,080 Speaker 1: story about filming at the end, and even that has 36 00:02:04,240 --> 00:02:06,639 Speaker 1: nothing to do. So we're not going to spoil anyone 37 00:02:06,720 --> 00:02:11,160 Speaker 1: or anything related or no Star Wars. You would have 38 00:02:11,200 --> 00:02:13,239 Speaker 1: had to have not gone to see The Force Awakens 39 00:02:13,320 --> 00:02:16,560 Speaker 1: yet for that to have been a spoiler, which I 40 00:02:16,639 --> 00:02:19,120 Speaker 1: don't know, maybe you didn't, but at this point, if 41 00:02:19,200 --> 00:02:22,080 Speaker 1: you haven't gone to see The Force Awakens. Then I 42 00:02:22,120 --> 00:02:24,160 Speaker 1: think you would have to have been in media blackout 43 00:02:24,200 --> 00:02:31,399 Speaker 1: because it's appeared on so many like magazine covers, television promos. Um. 44 00:02:31,440 --> 00:02:34,440 Speaker 1: You know, interviews are often inter cut if you see 45 00:02:34,480 --> 00:02:38,280 Speaker 1: them on television with shots of this island. So it's 46 00:02:38,680 --> 00:02:40,720 Speaker 1: I don't think we're giving anything away. I feel confident 47 00:02:40,800 --> 00:02:45,760 Speaker 1: that we have skirted any territory. Well, I think if 48 00:02:45,800 --> 00:02:50,440 Speaker 1: you have not yet seen Force Awakens, you probably don't 49 00:02:50,480 --> 00:02:54,960 Speaker 1: care about Star Wars spoilers, right, none of which are 50 00:02:54,960 --> 00:02:57,000 Speaker 1: in here anyway. We are literally just talking about the 51 00:02:57,040 --> 00:02:59,640 Speaker 1: history of this. I want to be very clear, Okay. 52 00:03:00,000 --> 00:03:02,800 Speaker 1: Skelling Michael is one of two islands that make up 53 00:03:02,800 --> 00:03:07,240 Speaker 1: the Skellic Islands. The word skelling derives from the Irish 54 00:03:07,320 --> 00:03:10,640 Speaker 1: word for steep rock. And then the other island is 55 00:03:10,639 --> 00:03:12,720 Speaker 1: the smaller one of the two. It's called Little Island 56 00:03:13,040 --> 00:03:16,120 Speaker 1: and it's closed to visitors. Sometimes you'll also see Skelling 57 00:03:16,160 --> 00:03:19,919 Speaker 1: Michael called the Great Skelling Yep. Also you'll see it 58 00:03:19,960 --> 00:03:22,360 Speaker 1: spelled in various different ways. We're going with kind of 59 00:03:22,360 --> 00:03:27,440 Speaker 1: the most basic, uh globally facing spelling that gets used 60 00:03:27,480 --> 00:03:31,679 Speaker 1: a lot. It's probably the americanized spelling that's just the 61 00:03:31,720 --> 00:03:33,440 Speaker 1: scoop on that. If you see it spelled a different way, 62 00:03:33,480 --> 00:03:37,680 Speaker 1: that's why. And Skelling Michael is uh seven miles that's 63 00:03:37,720 --> 00:03:40,720 Speaker 1: eleven point six kilometers west of the edge of Ireland's 64 00:03:40,720 --> 00:03:44,880 Speaker 1: Eva Peninsula in County Kerry, and the highest elevation of 65 00:03:44,880 --> 00:03:47,640 Speaker 1: the island is seven hundred and fifteen feet that's about 66 00:03:47,640 --> 00:03:50,840 Speaker 1: two hundred and eighteen meters And this island is tiny. 67 00:03:51,160 --> 00:03:53,720 Speaker 1: It is less than a square mile in area, so 68 00:03:54,040 --> 00:03:59,200 Speaker 1: if you do hectares, that's nine hectares. The Minister for 69 00:03:59,440 --> 00:04:02,840 Speaker 1: Art hair Ritage and the Geltacht owned Skelling Michael on 70 00:04:02,920 --> 00:04:06,280 Speaker 1: behalf of the Irish people. And there's also a lighthouse 71 00:04:06,320 --> 00:04:08,680 Speaker 1: and support buildings for the lighthouse on the southern end 72 00:04:08,680 --> 00:04:10,920 Speaker 1: of the island, as well as a helipad, and this 73 00:04:11,000 --> 00:04:13,640 Speaker 1: portion of the island falls outside of the ownership arrangement 74 00:04:13,640 --> 00:04:15,720 Speaker 1: mentioned above. We'll get a little bit more into that 75 00:04:15,760 --> 00:04:19,279 Speaker 1: in a bit. The geological makeup of Skelling Michael is 76 00:04:19,320 --> 00:04:23,359 Speaker 1: what's called old red sandstone, sedimentary layers of rock deposited 77 00:04:23,440 --> 00:04:26,560 Speaker 1: somewhere between three hundred sixty and three hundred seventy four 78 00:04:26,560 --> 00:04:29,880 Speaker 1: million years ago during the Devonian period. When Ireland was 79 00:04:29,960 --> 00:04:34,120 Speaker 1: part of a much larger continent. It's the westernmost European 80 00:04:34,240 --> 00:04:38,200 Speaker 1: instance of Devonian sandstone, which can be found throughout Britain 81 00:04:38,200 --> 00:04:42,680 Speaker 1: and Ireland, Scandinavia and Greenland. It's also in portions of Canada. 82 00:04:43,760 --> 00:04:47,680 Speaker 1: Skelling Michael also has to twin peaks with a valley 83 00:04:47,760 --> 00:04:49,560 Speaker 1: in the middle, which has come to be known as 84 00:04:49,640 --> 00:04:54,159 Speaker 1: Christ's Saddle. Uh. And that helipad that we mentioned briefly 85 00:04:54,279 --> 00:04:56,960 Speaker 1: is for emergencies only. That's not a standard way to 86 00:04:56,960 --> 00:05:00,320 Speaker 1: get on and off the island or special cases. Um. 87 00:05:00,480 --> 00:05:03,520 Speaker 1: So from the middle of May to September, visitors may 88 00:05:03,560 --> 00:05:06,560 Speaker 1: travel to Skelling Michael, but only by boat, and it 89 00:05:06,680 --> 00:05:09,719 Speaker 1: is for davisits exclusively. And I should also mention that 90 00:05:09,800 --> 00:05:11,680 Speaker 1: sometimes if they have had damage in the winter, they 91 00:05:11,680 --> 00:05:15,920 Speaker 1: will shorten that window that visitors can come. Tourists also 92 00:05:16,000 --> 00:05:20,040 Speaker 1: cannot stay overnight on the island and there are no amenities. Basically, 93 00:05:20,120 --> 00:05:22,040 Speaker 1: you you go for a little while and you get 94 00:05:22,040 --> 00:05:24,279 Speaker 1: back on the boat and you leave. Uh. The island 95 00:05:24,320 --> 00:05:28,279 Speaker 1: is also designated a statutory nature reserve, so no animal 96 00:05:28,360 --> 00:05:31,360 Speaker 1: visitors are allowed and no trash can be left behind. 97 00:05:32,080 --> 00:05:35,359 Speaker 1: The animals that most commonly benefit from the islands reserve 98 00:05:35,480 --> 00:05:39,440 Speaker 1: status are birds. Seabirds often nest there during their respective 99 00:05:39,480 --> 00:05:42,680 Speaker 1: breeding seasons. Skelling Michael is considered one of the most 100 00:05:42,720 --> 00:05:45,840 Speaker 1: important breeding grounds for birds in Ireland, and for some 101 00:05:45,880 --> 00:05:48,599 Speaker 1: species it's one of the most important places in the world. 102 00:05:49,200 --> 00:05:52,320 Speaker 1: The storm Petrol and makes Sheerwater have some of their 103 00:05:52,440 --> 00:05:55,159 Speaker 1: largest breeding groups on the island, and it's also home 104 00:05:55,240 --> 00:06:00,000 Speaker 1: to puffins which I love and Kitty Wake among others. 105 00:06:00,400 --> 00:06:04,080 Speaker 1: Paragram falcons also nest there, although not every year, and 106 00:06:04,120 --> 00:06:07,360 Speaker 1: there are a few mammals on the island as well, 107 00:06:07,400 --> 00:06:12,600 Speaker 1: including gray seals, house mice and rabbits. Also of interest 108 00:06:12,720 --> 00:06:15,800 Speaker 1: in terms of its natural makeup is the lichen that 109 00:06:15,839 --> 00:06:18,680 Speaker 1: grows on Skelling Michael. There are actually one hundred and 110 00:06:18,720 --> 00:06:22,080 Speaker 1: twenty eight different species of lichen found on this tiny 111 00:06:22,160 --> 00:06:25,520 Speaker 1: rocky island and to like in a Colis fungi, that's 112 00:06:25,600 --> 00:06:28,760 Speaker 1: enough to classify it as a nationally important site for 113 00:06:28,880 --> 00:06:31,560 Speaker 1: like in growth based on a conservation study that was 114 00:06:31,600 --> 00:06:34,840 Speaker 1: conducted in two thousand nine to get to more of 115 00:06:34,880 --> 00:06:39,839 Speaker 1: the human made structures. Skelling Michael is also home to 116 00:06:39,920 --> 00:06:42,599 Speaker 1: a monastery that was built hundreds of years ago and 117 00:06:42,600 --> 00:06:44,400 Speaker 1: we're going to get into the history of that in 118 00:06:44,480 --> 00:06:47,240 Speaker 1: more detailed descriptions of the monastery and just a bit 119 00:06:47,880 --> 00:06:50,640 Speaker 1: but at first. But first we're going to talk about 120 00:06:50,960 --> 00:06:55,479 Speaker 1: how it exists there today. The settlement has two different segments, 121 00:06:55,480 --> 00:06:58,040 Speaker 1: and the first is the monastery itself, which is built 122 00:06:58,040 --> 00:07:01,320 Speaker 1: on the island's east side, high up on sloping areas 123 00:07:01,320 --> 00:07:04,919 Speaker 1: of rock. The monastery has three access points, all of 124 00:07:04,920 --> 00:07:09,640 Speaker 1: which involve navigating a lot of steps, a lot of steps, 125 00:07:09,680 --> 00:07:12,200 Speaker 1: like they actually say in the visit any of the 126 00:07:12,280 --> 00:07:15,440 Speaker 1: visitors stuff that you may read, like the visitors advisories 127 00:07:15,560 --> 00:07:17,880 Speaker 1: like please don't come if you're not ready to take 128 00:07:17,920 --> 00:07:21,800 Speaker 1: on like six hundred steps, because it is vigorous work, 129 00:07:22,760 --> 00:07:25,320 Speaker 1: and it's not there's not an easy way up. There's 130 00:07:25,320 --> 00:07:27,840 Speaker 1: like I said, there are no amenities, there's no elevator, 131 00:07:28,200 --> 00:07:30,760 Speaker 1: there are no chair lifts. You have to handle it yourself. 132 00:07:31,400 --> 00:07:34,200 Speaker 1: And those steps are really amazing because they're cut from 133 00:07:34,240 --> 00:07:36,960 Speaker 1: the rock of the island, from the landing point where 134 00:07:36,960 --> 00:07:38,840 Speaker 1: you would first step foot on the island up to 135 00:07:39,000 --> 00:07:42,160 Speaker 1: the highest point where water can possibly reach, and then 136 00:07:42,200 --> 00:07:44,840 Speaker 1: above that height the steps continue, but from then on 137 00:07:44,880 --> 00:07:48,400 Speaker 1: they're made of dry stone masonry. The structures within the 138 00:07:48,440 --> 00:07:55,000 Speaker 1: monastery included church, two oratories, seven beehive cells, water cisterns 139 00:07:55,040 --> 00:07:57,840 Speaker 1: and a cemetery and locked, which I have also heard 140 00:07:57,920 --> 00:08:02,960 Speaker 1: Irish people say locked Locked as a square or rectangular 141 00:08:03,000 --> 00:08:06,280 Speaker 1: structure built with layers of stones but no mortar. While 142 00:08:06,320 --> 00:08:08,520 Speaker 1: they have been found at a number of Irish Early 143 00:08:08,600 --> 00:08:12,360 Speaker 1: Christian monastic sites, their function isn't entirely clear. There have 144 00:08:12,400 --> 00:08:15,440 Speaker 1: been several theories, including that they may have marked graves 145 00:08:15,520 --> 00:08:18,760 Speaker 1: of important holy people, or were used to house relics, 146 00:08:18,920 --> 00:08:22,200 Speaker 1: or had some sort of social spiritual function. And there 147 00:08:22,240 --> 00:08:26,280 Speaker 1: are also two large garden terraces and retaining walls which 148 00:08:26,320 --> 00:08:29,640 Speaker 1: form the foundation of the entire site. The second area 149 00:08:29,680 --> 00:08:32,920 Speaker 1: of construction is separate from the monastery itself, on ledges 150 00:08:32,960 --> 00:08:36,080 Speaker 1: of the south Peak. It's composed of several structures and 151 00:08:36,360 --> 00:08:41,560 Speaker 1: including an oratory, altar, blocked and water cisterns. Steps cut 152 00:08:41,600 --> 00:08:44,080 Speaker 1: out of the rock provide access to these structures, which 153 00:08:44,080 --> 00:08:48,320 Speaker 1: are described in archaeological stratigraphic report written in twenty eleven 154 00:08:48,440 --> 00:08:52,680 Speaker 1: as daringly constructed. I sort of feel that way about 155 00:08:52,760 --> 00:08:55,959 Speaker 1: everything on Skellic Michael. It's so beautiful, but I don't 156 00:08:56,000 --> 00:08:58,440 Speaker 1: know that I am its target visitor, because I think 157 00:08:58,480 --> 00:09:00,319 Speaker 1: I would spend the whole time screaming in figared that 158 00:09:00,320 --> 00:09:02,840 Speaker 1: I would just fall. It's all very steep. That name 159 00:09:02,880 --> 00:09:05,439 Speaker 1: is apt uh And we're gonna go a little bit 160 00:09:05,440 --> 00:09:08,120 Speaker 1: deeper into talking about those daring structures that Tracy just 161 00:09:08,200 --> 00:09:11,000 Speaker 1: mentioned uh and where they fit into the island's history. 162 00:09:11,000 --> 00:09:18,440 Speaker 1: But first we're gonna pause for a quick sponsor break. 163 00:09:23,480 --> 00:09:26,320 Speaker 1: The first known reference to skelling Michael goes all the 164 00:09:26,320 --> 00:09:30,400 Speaker 1: way back to se b c. It's referenced is the 165 00:09:30,440 --> 00:09:34,080 Speaker 1: place where the Prince Ire, fifth son of Milicius, died 166 00:09:34,120 --> 00:09:36,240 Speaker 1: when his ship was separated from the rest of his 167 00:09:36,280 --> 00:09:39,520 Speaker 1: fleet during a storm, crashed upon a rock and sank. 168 00:09:40,240 --> 00:09:43,559 Speaker 1: This is, however, a folkloric accounts, so it remains unverified. 169 00:09:44,160 --> 00:09:47,200 Speaker 1: There's another unverified story of scaling Michael set in the 170 00:09:47,280 --> 00:09:50,679 Speaker 1: fifth century. In this instance, after a conflict between the 171 00:09:50,760 --> 00:09:53,400 Speaker 1: Kings of Castle and the Kings of Munster, the King 172 00:09:53,480 --> 00:09:57,040 Speaker 1: of West Munster named Duach said to have fled to 173 00:09:57,120 --> 00:10:00,840 Speaker 1: Skellic Michael. And while this event is written as having 174 00:10:00,880 --> 00:10:03,719 Speaker 1: happened in the fifth century, that account was recorded in 175 00:10:03,760 --> 00:10:06,480 Speaker 1: either the eighth or the ninth century, so it's it's 176 00:10:06,520 --> 00:10:09,839 Speaker 1: accuracy is hard to gauge. We know for certain, based 177 00:10:09,840 --> 00:10:12,720 Speaker 1: on the structures that we talked about earlier, that monks 178 00:10:12,880 --> 00:10:15,560 Speaker 1: moved into the island at some point, but exactly when 179 00:10:15,600 --> 00:10:19,520 Speaker 1: that happened also isn't clear. The earliest estimates place at 180 00:10:19,559 --> 00:10:22,080 Speaker 1: at the place the start of the monastery somewhere in 181 00:10:22,120 --> 00:10:25,360 Speaker 1: the sixth century, although it could have been built as 182 00:10:25,480 --> 00:10:28,360 Speaker 1: late as the eighth century. And then the earliest known 183 00:10:28,559 --> 00:10:31,520 Speaker 1: reference to the monastery is in an annal entry from 184 00:10:31,559 --> 00:10:34,760 Speaker 1: the year eight d twenty four which describes a Norse 185 00:10:35,000 --> 00:10:38,439 Speaker 1: raid on Skellig Michael. Yeah, there's a lot of disparate 186 00:10:38,760 --> 00:10:43,160 Speaker 1: accounts that the place that at different times, but it's 187 00:10:43,200 --> 00:10:45,600 Speaker 1: somewhere in there. I think most people tend to favor 188 00:10:45,640 --> 00:10:47,760 Speaker 1: the earlier thing, because a lot of the accounts that 189 00:10:47,760 --> 00:10:49,840 Speaker 1: happened later on, and we'll talk about it in a minute, 190 00:10:49,880 --> 00:10:53,120 Speaker 1: suggests that it was already functioning. The position of this 191 00:10:53,160 --> 00:10:56,240 Speaker 1: monastery is actually quite well chosen. It's six dred feet 192 00:10:56,280 --> 00:10:59,720 Speaker 1: above sea level, and where it sits on the island 193 00:10:59,720 --> 00:11:02,880 Speaker 1: in and in relation to its peaks offers some natural shelter, 194 00:11:03,360 --> 00:11:05,679 Speaker 1: and it has plenty of stones to use in building. 195 00:11:06,120 --> 00:11:08,520 Speaker 1: So the monks could access stone from right there on 196 00:11:08,559 --> 00:11:11,959 Speaker 1: the island to build these structures, and it enabled relatively 197 00:11:12,000 --> 00:11:16,160 Speaker 1: easy water collection. So channels were cut into sloping stone 198 00:11:16,280 --> 00:11:19,680 Speaker 1: to direct water right into cisterns that they had placed, 199 00:11:19,840 --> 00:11:22,440 Speaker 1: and the two primary cisterns that were used were built 200 00:11:22,480 --> 00:11:24,880 Speaker 1: to hold roughly a hundred and twenty gallons that's about 201 00:11:24,880 --> 00:11:28,040 Speaker 1: four dred and fifty liters of water. One of the 202 00:11:28,120 --> 00:11:31,280 Speaker 1: unique aspects of the monastery is the cell structures that 203 00:11:31,280 --> 00:11:35,079 Speaker 1: are sometimes described as as bee hives. These hives are 204 00:11:35,080 --> 00:11:40,800 Speaker 1: shaped like inverted elliptic paraboloids, so not not bee hives 205 00:11:41,000 --> 00:11:45,480 Speaker 1: like the flat ones in boxes that are manufactured, but 206 00:11:45,760 --> 00:11:49,560 Speaker 1: the domed ones the bees would actually build on their 207 00:11:49,600 --> 00:11:52,800 Speaker 1: own or that you know. Sometimes people keep bees in 208 00:11:52,920 --> 00:11:57,200 Speaker 1: baskets that are that shaped like an inverted semi dome 209 00:11:57,240 --> 00:12:00,760 Speaker 1: sort of structure. They have a doorway into the front 210 00:12:00,800 --> 00:12:02,800 Speaker 1: of each of them and steps that lead in and 211 00:12:02,800 --> 00:12:06,000 Speaker 1: out of the doors. The beehive cells are all arranged 212 00:12:06,040 --> 00:12:09,120 Speaker 1: along the monastery's large oratory, but there are some differences 213 00:12:09,160 --> 00:12:13,440 Speaker 1: among them, and the cells are lettered for identification. Yeah, 214 00:12:13,440 --> 00:12:17,280 Speaker 1: and just for clarity, um. The cell letter order does 215 00:12:17,280 --> 00:12:21,439 Speaker 1: not in any way pertain to their age order, which 216 00:12:22,040 --> 00:12:24,240 Speaker 1: I was trying to explain this to to a friend 217 00:12:24,280 --> 00:12:26,000 Speaker 1: and they got a little thrown by that. So just 218 00:12:26,080 --> 00:12:30,840 Speaker 1: know that this the A through um G does not 219 00:12:30,920 --> 00:12:34,320 Speaker 1: in any way suggest that A came first and GE 220 00:12:34,520 --> 00:12:39,160 Speaker 1: was at the end. There completely separate um naming systems. 221 00:12:39,200 --> 00:12:42,400 Speaker 1: So cell A is the largest one. It actually has 222 00:12:42,400 --> 00:12:44,840 Speaker 1: a second interior level, and it's believed to have been 223 00:12:44,840 --> 00:12:48,120 Speaker 1: a communal space, and it's quite large. At the base 224 00:12:48,160 --> 00:12:50,920 Speaker 1: of the structure. The walls of Cell A are one 225 00:12:50,960 --> 00:12:53,960 Speaker 1: point eight meters six so that's almost six ft, and 226 00:12:54,000 --> 00:12:57,240 Speaker 1: the interior space is about fifteen by twelve point five 227 00:12:57,280 --> 00:12:59,800 Speaker 1: feet that's about four point six by three point eight meters, 228 00:13:00,360 --> 00:13:03,600 Speaker 1: and there's an interior height of sixteen feet. It's about 229 00:13:03,640 --> 00:13:07,080 Speaker 1: five ms. Cells B and C are smaller, they're about 230 00:13:07,080 --> 00:13:10,439 Speaker 1: two thirds the size of Cell A. Cell D is 231 00:13:10,480 --> 00:13:13,400 Speaker 1: actually no longer intact, but it was probably the oldest 232 00:13:13,520 --> 00:13:17,160 Speaker 1: cell on the site. Probably it collapsed before Cells C 233 00:13:17,640 --> 00:13:21,719 Speaker 1: was completed. Cell E is bigger than B and C, 234 00:13:22,160 --> 00:13:25,760 Speaker 1: but smaller than A. It's it's like a word problem 235 00:13:26,440 --> 00:13:29,880 Speaker 1: in the S A T S. Cell F is smaller 236 00:13:29,880 --> 00:13:31,960 Speaker 1: in size to B and C, and it has these 237 00:13:32,000 --> 00:13:35,000 Speaker 1: interior slabs that are arranged in a manner that suggests 238 00:13:35,040 --> 00:13:38,240 Speaker 1: it might have been a sleeping area. These cells were 239 00:13:38,320 --> 00:13:41,760 Speaker 1: built at various points in time, and they aren't homogeneous 240 00:13:41,760 --> 00:13:43,840 Speaker 1: in their size as noted or in the way the 241 00:13:43,920 --> 00:13:47,840 Speaker 1: stone work is done. Yeah, it's pretty clear evidence that 242 00:13:48,320 --> 00:13:52,520 Speaker 1: they were worked on at various points in time. So, uh, 243 00:13:52,679 --> 00:13:56,000 Speaker 1: it's it spans some number of years. There is a 244 00:13:56,040 --> 00:13:59,520 Speaker 1: central church at the monastery that is St. Michael's, and 245 00:13:59,520 --> 00:14:02,360 Speaker 1: it's part really collapsed and what would have been its roof, 246 00:14:02,360 --> 00:14:04,199 Speaker 1: which would have been made of wood, is long gone. 247 00:14:04,920 --> 00:14:07,840 Speaker 1: The church appears also to have not been built all 248 00:14:07,880 --> 00:14:10,200 Speaker 1: at the same time, but in two different stages, the 249 00:14:10,240 --> 00:14:13,760 Speaker 1: second one to expand on what was a fairly small 250 00:14:13,880 --> 00:14:16,640 Speaker 1: church that was built in the first phase. While a 251 00:14:16,720 --> 00:14:21,040 Speaker 1: prominent and impressive aspect of the monastery's design is its 252 00:14:21,040 --> 00:14:25,640 Speaker 1: retaining walls, they have experienced multiple structural failures throughout the 253 00:14:25,680 --> 00:14:28,359 Speaker 1: life of the site and beginning when it was still occupied. 254 00:14:28,960 --> 00:14:30,760 Speaker 1: The walls have been the focus of a lot of 255 00:14:30,800 --> 00:14:34,880 Speaker 1: conservation and preservation work over the years. Yeah, they're amazing 256 00:14:34,920 --> 00:14:38,400 Speaker 1: and that they really are, you know, holding up all 257 00:14:38,480 --> 00:14:41,800 Speaker 1: of this man made structure. But they definitely are bearing 258 00:14:42,480 --> 00:14:45,120 Speaker 1: the weight of that man made structure, and as a consequence, 259 00:14:45,520 --> 00:14:48,960 Speaker 1: sometimes they get tired and they break up. Cells don't 260 00:14:48,960 --> 00:14:51,680 Speaker 1: really get walls don't really get tired. I know, nobody 261 00:14:51,720 --> 00:14:56,120 Speaker 1: needs to tell me, but they get on it. Um. 262 00:14:56,160 --> 00:14:58,960 Speaker 1: So the daring structures that we referenced a little while 263 00:14:58,960 --> 00:15:02,000 Speaker 1: ago make up what's come to be called the Hermitage, 264 00:15:02,120 --> 00:15:05,600 Speaker 1: and so in the modern era. Um these man made 265 00:15:05,640 --> 00:15:08,360 Speaker 1: structures on Skelling Michael South Peaks, they're a little bit 266 00:15:08,360 --> 00:15:11,160 Speaker 1: away from the others, were first referenced in an eighteen 267 00:15:11,160 --> 00:15:14,560 Speaker 1: forty one mapping survey, and then they made another appearance 268 00:15:14,560 --> 00:15:17,800 Speaker 1: on record in the eighteen fifties when Lord Dunraven visited 269 00:15:17,800 --> 00:15:20,040 Speaker 1: the island and wrote of having seen the ruins of 270 00:15:20,080 --> 00:15:24,080 Speaker 1: a quadrangular building there. The South Peak ruins were noted 271 00:15:24,080 --> 00:15:26,840 Speaker 1: again by visiting scholars in the nineteen fifties, but it 272 00:15:26,880 --> 00:15:29,840 Speaker 1: actually wasn't until the nineteen eighties that a study of 273 00:15:29,880 --> 00:15:32,440 Speaker 1: the site was ordered by the Office of Public Works. 274 00:15:33,080 --> 00:15:36,240 Speaker 1: There are three terraces that make up the Hermitage. There's 275 00:15:36,280 --> 00:15:39,600 Speaker 1: a garden and dwelling terrace that's forty three ft that's 276 00:15:39,640 --> 00:15:43,280 Speaker 1: about thirteen meters long. It ranges in width from six 277 00:15:43,320 --> 00:15:46,040 Speaker 1: point five to thirteen feet, which is two to four meters. 278 00:15:46,840 --> 00:15:49,440 Speaker 1: One end of the terrace, which includes a section of 279 00:15:49,440 --> 00:15:52,200 Speaker 1: the attaining wall, it was about five ft or one 280 00:15:52,240 --> 00:15:55,000 Speaker 1: and a half meters high, and that remains intact. The 281 00:15:55,040 --> 00:15:59,520 Speaker 1: other end of it, though, has collapsed. The Oratory Terrorists 282 00:15:59,560 --> 00:16:02,760 Speaker 1: sits at a right angle to the garden and dwelling terraces, 283 00:16:02,760 --> 00:16:05,960 Speaker 1: and it's about thirteen feet that's four meters higher up 284 00:16:05,960 --> 00:16:09,320 Speaker 1: on the peak on this terrace is a small oratory 285 00:16:09,440 --> 00:16:12,640 Speaker 1: with an interior space of seven point five by six 286 00:16:12,680 --> 00:16:15,880 Speaker 1: point five feet that's about two point three by two meters, 287 00:16:15,920 --> 00:16:19,400 Speaker 1: and this terrace extends far past the oratory to the east, 288 00:16:19,440 --> 00:16:22,480 Speaker 1: although it is quite a narrow sort of Terrorists that 289 00:16:22,560 --> 00:16:25,520 Speaker 1: you're you're on at that point from the Oratory Terrorists. 290 00:16:25,560 --> 00:16:28,880 Speaker 1: The outer terraces used to be reachable via a traverse 291 00:16:28,960 --> 00:16:31,600 Speaker 1: that was chiseled from the stone by the monks, but 292 00:16:31,680 --> 00:16:34,920 Speaker 1: in modern times it's a place that's really best visited 293 00:16:34,920 --> 00:16:37,920 Speaker 1: by skilled climbers and no one else. It's treacherous to 294 00:16:38,040 --> 00:16:40,400 Speaker 1: navigate the ledges that you have to move across. It's 295 00:16:40,440 --> 00:16:43,800 Speaker 1: not clear if that outer terrace was ever completed, and 296 00:16:43,920 --> 00:16:46,800 Speaker 1: it's also not clear what its function was. Yeah, I 297 00:16:46,800 --> 00:16:49,720 Speaker 1: watched a brief like newsreel of a team that was 298 00:16:49,800 --> 00:16:54,080 Speaker 1: going up when they were doing some preservation investigation, and 299 00:16:54,080 --> 00:16:58,640 Speaker 1: it's like, look, we found handhelds. Like they're literally basically 300 00:16:58,680 --> 00:17:01,800 Speaker 1: just scaling up the rock face until they actually found 301 00:17:01,840 --> 00:17:04,560 Speaker 1: something that a human could stand on. So it is 302 00:17:04,600 --> 00:17:06,520 Speaker 1: not just something you would go, hey, I'd like to 303 00:17:06,520 --> 00:17:11,280 Speaker 1: go up there. It's a again, not a place that 304 00:17:11,480 --> 00:17:15,399 Speaker 1: I should maybe visit because it looks terrifying. Um. Sometime 305 00:17:15,600 --> 00:17:19,080 Speaker 1: before the early eleventh century, the island monastery was dedicated 306 00:17:19,119 --> 00:17:22,399 Speaker 1: to St. Michael. St. Piannon is also closely tied to 307 00:17:22,440 --> 00:17:25,199 Speaker 1: the history of the monastery and may have been its founder. 308 00:17:25,240 --> 00:17:27,840 Speaker 1: He's often referenced as the founder, but again it's all 309 00:17:27,880 --> 00:17:31,560 Speaker 1: a little unclear. Records of the late twelfth century indicates 310 00:17:31,560 --> 00:17:34,600 Speaker 1: that the settlement was occupied and having regular mass at 311 00:17:34,600 --> 00:17:38,240 Speaker 1: that point, but soon after in the thirteenth century, shifting 312 00:17:38,359 --> 00:17:42,520 Speaker 1: church structure in Ireland and increased instances of inclement weather 313 00:17:42,640 --> 00:17:46,840 Speaker 1: on and around the island lad the monastery to be abandoned. 314 00:17:47,640 --> 00:17:49,520 Speaker 1: The monks who had been living there moved to the 315 00:17:49,560 --> 00:17:53,040 Speaker 1: mainland village of Balance Skelligs, and after that point, the 316 00:17:53,040 --> 00:17:56,680 Speaker 1: monastery at Skelling Michael was considered part of the Balance 317 00:17:56,720 --> 00:18:00,720 Speaker 1: Skellings Monastery. Yeah, but it wasn't really it's not believed 318 00:18:00,720 --> 00:18:02,760 Speaker 1: to have been occupied after that point. It just kind 319 00:18:02,760 --> 00:18:05,919 Speaker 1: of was was notated as part of their their larger 320 00:18:06,200 --> 00:18:10,200 Speaker 1: um kind of organizational structure. But again, like there had 321 00:18:10,200 --> 00:18:13,040 Speaker 1: been a shift in climate and they it really was 322 00:18:13,080 --> 00:18:15,760 Speaker 1: not easy or safe to occupy that area any longer. 323 00:18:16,480 --> 00:18:19,480 Speaker 1: From the fourteenth to the sixteenth centuries, the island appears 324 00:18:19,480 --> 00:18:22,280 Speaker 1: on navigational charts that were used by both Italian and 325 00:18:22,320 --> 00:18:26,640 Speaker 1: Iberian seafarers. The monastery was officially closed in the sixteenth 326 00:18:26,680 --> 00:18:30,080 Speaker 1: century with Henry the Eighths dissolution of monasteries, and it 327 00:18:30,119 --> 00:18:33,760 Speaker 1: passed into private ownership by a family named Butler. The 328 00:18:33,800 --> 00:18:37,400 Speaker 1: Butler family retained ownership of the island until eight one. 329 00:18:38,080 --> 00:18:41,080 Speaker 1: In November of eighteen twenty, Jay Butler was approached by 330 00:18:41,119 --> 00:18:44,199 Speaker 1: the government's Board of Works about a permanent lease on 331 00:18:44,240 --> 00:18:47,240 Speaker 1: the island so that two lighthouses could be built there, 332 00:18:47,600 --> 00:18:50,600 Speaker 1: and after some back and forth, legal experts investigating the 333 00:18:50,640 --> 00:18:54,040 Speaker 1: situation determined that Butler's legal ownership of the land was 334 00:18:54,119 --> 00:18:57,919 Speaker 1: not clearly documented. After an appraisal of the property. The 335 00:18:57,960 --> 00:19:01,359 Speaker 1: Butler Estate was paid seven pounds for Skelling Michael, and 336 00:19:01,400 --> 00:19:04,600 Speaker 1: the Commissioners of Irish Lights assumed ownership of it. We're 337 00:19:04,600 --> 00:19:06,760 Speaker 1: gonna talk about the lighthouses in just a moment, but 338 00:19:06,840 --> 00:19:14,520 Speaker 1: first we're gonna pause and have another short sponsor break. 339 00:19:19,520 --> 00:19:22,720 Speaker 1: Construction of the two lighthouses at Skelling Michael began in 340 00:19:22,800 --> 00:19:27,520 Speaker 1: August of eighty one. Inspector George Holpin designed the buildings 341 00:19:27,520 --> 00:19:33,040 Speaker 1: in roadway and oversaw initial construction. The lighthouse road runs 342 00:19:33,080 --> 00:19:38,160 Speaker 1: from the upper lighthouse site, which is on the western 343 00:19:38,240 --> 00:19:41,160 Speaker 1: side of the islands, south to the coast, and then 344 00:19:41,200 --> 00:19:44,280 Speaker 1: around the islands south and east edges to the east landing. 345 00:19:44,400 --> 00:19:47,200 Speaker 1: There is no road along the northern shore of the island. 346 00:19:47,480 --> 00:19:50,520 Speaker 1: There aren't many records of the actual construction process, but 347 00:19:50,680 --> 00:19:53,920 Speaker 1: both lighthouses were completed and in use by the end 348 00:19:53,920 --> 00:19:57,760 Speaker 1: of The taller of the two lights was nearly four 349 00:19:57,840 --> 00:20:00,880 Speaker 1: hundred feet that's a hu of the high water mark, 350 00:20:01,200 --> 00:20:04,520 Speaker 1: with a visibility range of twenty five miles or forty kilometers. 351 00:20:05,080 --> 00:20:07,639 Speaker 1: The lower light was a hundred seventy five ft or 352 00:20:07,680 --> 00:20:10,280 Speaker 1: fifty three point three meters above the high water mark. 353 00:20:10,400 --> 00:20:14,320 Speaker 1: With a visibility range of eighteen miles or twenty nine kilometers. 354 00:20:14,359 --> 00:20:17,800 Speaker 1: Both were non moving lights. Uh in a sad note 355 00:20:17,880 --> 00:20:21,280 Speaker 1: in eighteen sixty nine, so more than forty years into 356 00:20:21,320 --> 00:20:24,879 Speaker 1: the lighthouses life, a small modern grave was added to 357 00:20:24,920 --> 00:20:28,520 Speaker 1: the chapel at Skelling Michael. At that point lighthouse keeper W. 358 00:20:28,720 --> 00:20:32,120 Speaker 1: Callahan buried two of his small children there after both 359 00:20:32,119 --> 00:20:35,480 Speaker 1: had died of an illness. He then requested and was 360 00:20:35,520 --> 00:20:38,159 Speaker 1: granted a transfer elsewhere as he was concerned for the 361 00:20:38,200 --> 00:20:41,520 Speaker 1: health of his remaining child. So there is one instance 362 00:20:41,560 --> 00:20:43,520 Speaker 1: of a modern I'm using the air quotes since it 363 00:20:43,560 --> 00:20:45,680 Speaker 1: was in the eighteen hundreds, but a modern grave there 364 00:20:45,680 --> 00:20:48,280 Speaker 1: at the site. The upper light was in service for 365 00:20:48,280 --> 00:20:51,720 Speaker 1: forty four years until it was planted by another lighthouse 366 00:20:51,760 --> 00:20:55,119 Speaker 1: north of the Skellic Islands in eighteen seventy. The lower 367 00:20:55,240 --> 00:20:58,399 Speaker 1: lighthouse has remained in use. That's still in use today, 368 00:20:58,720 --> 00:21:00,680 Speaker 1: although there's been an update to it that we'll talk 369 00:21:00,680 --> 00:21:02,760 Speaker 1: about in a moment. Yeah, there's actually been a couple 370 00:21:02,800 --> 00:21:06,200 Speaker 1: of updates. But the Office of Public Works took possession 371 00:21:06,240 --> 00:21:09,600 Speaker 1: of the monastery as a state guardianship in eighteen eighty 372 00:21:09,680 --> 00:21:13,040 Speaker 1: with the intent to repair the crumbling structures and establish 373 00:21:13,119 --> 00:21:16,440 Speaker 1: an ongoing plan for conservation of the site. In nineteen 374 00:21:16,440 --> 00:21:19,720 Speaker 1: o nine, the lower lighthouse was renovated and updated with 375 00:21:19,760 --> 00:21:22,960 Speaker 1: a rotating, more powerful light. The lower light in the 376 00:21:23,000 --> 00:21:26,480 Speaker 1: original rubble masonry tower remained in use for a hundred 377 00:21:26,560 --> 00:21:30,600 Speaker 1: forty six years. It was extinguished in nineteen sixty six 378 00:21:30,640 --> 00:21:34,560 Speaker 1: and a temporary lantern was erected, while an entirely new 379 00:21:34,600 --> 00:21:38,080 Speaker 1: tower was built. The following year, the new lighthouse was online, 380 00:21:38,160 --> 00:21:41,760 Speaker 1: boasting another upgrade to one point eight million candles light. 381 00:21:42,359 --> 00:21:46,199 Speaker 1: In nineteen sixty nine, Skelling Michael's helipad was constructed on 382 00:21:46,280 --> 00:21:50,400 Speaker 1: the eastern coast of the island. That helipad is made 383 00:21:50,400 --> 00:21:54,320 Speaker 1: of reinforced concrete and three very thick columns supported off 384 00:21:54,359 --> 00:21:57,879 Speaker 1: the cliff face. It is terrifying as everything else to 385 00:21:57,960 --> 00:22:01,199 Speaker 1: me to look at on the the cliff side the 386 00:22:01,240 --> 00:22:04,119 Speaker 1: open side of the helipad, it is a one twenty 387 00:22:04,119 --> 00:22:07,200 Speaker 1: one ft or thirty seven meter dropped directly into the ocean. 388 00:22:07,680 --> 00:22:10,760 Speaker 1: In nineteen seventy eight, Skellig Michael became the focus of 389 00:22:10,760 --> 00:22:14,400 Speaker 1: a long term conservation project. At that point, a retaining 390 00:22:14,440 --> 00:22:16,880 Speaker 1: wall near the church that's part of the monastery St. 391 00:22:16,880 --> 00:22:20,680 Speaker 1: Michael's had experienced a structural failure and it was prioritized 392 00:22:20,720 --> 00:22:24,840 Speaker 1: as the project's first order of business. UH. And additionally, 393 00:22:25,040 --> 00:22:27,159 Speaker 1: steps that were leading up to the main entrance of 394 00:22:27,200 --> 00:22:31,800 Speaker 1: the monastery also needed restoration. Natural water erosion had claimed 395 00:22:31,840 --> 00:22:34,800 Speaker 1: some of the lower sections that reach into the waterline, 396 00:22:35,000 --> 00:22:38,320 Speaker 1: and heavy use of these stairways during periods of lighthouse 397 00:22:38,359 --> 00:22:42,480 Speaker 1: construction had also really damaged some of the masonry. Only 398 00:22:42,600 --> 00:22:45,320 Speaker 1: one of the three stairways leading to the main monastery 399 00:22:45,480 --> 00:22:49,520 Speaker 1: is currently accessible to visitors. In nine eight, excavation work 400 00:22:49,560 --> 00:22:52,280 Speaker 1: began at the site of that work has continued for decades. 401 00:22:52,800 --> 00:22:57,040 Speaker 1: The National Monument Service of Ireland was responsible for these efforts. 402 00:22:57,080 --> 00:23:00,200 Speaker 1: That organization has been part of various government departments over 403 00:23:00,200 --> 00:23:02,840 Speaker 1: the years, but it's work at Skelling Michael has continued 404 00:23:02,920 --> 00:23:07,280 Speaker 1: seasonally throughout all those re organizations. Yeah, there's a narrow 405 00:23:07,320 --> 00:23:09,840 Speaker 1: window winter you can't really go there and do any 406 00:23:09,880 --> 00:23:13,640 Speaker 1: sort of excavation UH to examine the ruins because it's 407 00:23:13,680 --> 00:23:17,200 Speaker 1: just too cold. UH. In nine eighty one, a project 408 00:23:17,240 --> 00:23:20,040 Speaker 1: was completed that had begun in nineteen eight to finally 409 00:23:20,119 --> 00:23:24,040 Speaker 1: automate the lighthouse. In nineteen eighty nine, the Commissioners of 410 00:23:24,080 --> 00:23:27,440 Speaker 1: Irish Lights sold the island Skelling Michael to the State, 411 00:23:27,640 --> 00:23:30,639 Speaker 1: which was already the guardian of the monastery, with the 412 00:23:30,720 --> 00:23:34,359 Speaker 1: exception of the remaining active lighthouse and its related structures. 413 00:23:34,800 --> 00:23:37,720 Speaker 1: Yeah the Commissioners of Irish Lights still retained that lighthouse 414 00:23:37,760 --> 00:23:42,600 Speaker 1: area and then in n Skelling Michael became a UNESCO 415 00:23:42,680 --> 00:23:46,960 Speaker 1: World Heritage Site. On October twenty two, two thousand one, 416 00:23:47,080 --> 00:23:50,879 Speaker 1: that lighthouse was converted to solar power. A lamp change 417 00:23:50,920 --> 00:23:53,280 Speaker 1: which was done at the same time, reduced the lights 418 00:23:53,320 --> 00:23:56,640 Speaker 1: reached to nineteen miles. Diesel generators are still on hand 419 00:23:56,680 --> 00:24:01,840 Speaker 1: for backup power. In the focus of archaeological effort shifted 420 00:24:01,880 --> 00:24:06,959 Speaker 1: to the lighthouse road and in seven tons of stone 421 00:24:07,000 --> 00:24:09,760 Speaker 1: were brought to the island via military airlift to be 422 00:24:09,880 --> 00:24:13,560 Speaker 1: used in the roads restoration. There have been two rescue 423 00:24:13,600 --> 00:24:18,520 Speaker 1: operations launched from Skelling Michael to date. On October sixteen, 424 00:24:18,600 --> 00:24:22,399 Speaker 1: three of its lighthousekeepers helped rescue two boatloads of survivors 425 00:24:22,440 --> 00:24:25,160 Speaker 1: from the S S. Marina, which was a British cargo 426 00:24:25,240 --> 00:24:27,960 Speaker 1: ship that had been torpedoed by a German U boat. 427 00:24:28,480 --> 00:24:31,199 Speaker 1: While eighteen men died in the attack, more than a 428 00:24:31,280 --> 00:24:35,080 Speaker 1: hundred were saved. The three keepers were awarded one pound 429 00:24:35,320 --> 00:24:37,960 Speaker 1: from the Board of Trade and an additional guinea from 430 00:24:37,960 --> 00:24:41,280 Speaker 1: the S S. Marina's owner, the Donaldson Line YEP. They 431 00:24:41,280 --> 00:24:47,240 Speaker 1: each got that award. On February ninety four, an aircraft 432 00:24:47,280 --> 00:24:50,200 Speaker 1: exploded in mid air after colliding with the highest peak 433 00:24:50,240 --> 00:24:52,680 Speaker 1: of the island and falling in pieces into the water, 434 00:24:53,440 --> 00:24:56,520 Speaker 1: and British aircraft and the lighthouse keepers of Scaling Michael 435 00:24:56,560 --> 00:24:59,879 Speaker 1: executed a search, but neither the wreckage nor any survive 436 00:25:00,200 --> 00:25:04,199 Speaker 1: were ever found. Unfortunately, the use of Scaling Michael as 437 00:25:04,200 --> 00:25:07,160 Speaker 1: a filming location has been the source of some friction. 438 00:25:07,920 --> 00:25:11,959 Speaker 1: Archaeology specialist voiced concerns about the safety of the monastery, 439 00:25:12,040 --> 00:25:15,320 Speaker 1: and Bird Watched Ireland, which is an independent conservation group, 440 00:25:15,400 --> 00:25:18,879 Speaker 1: criticized Ireland's Minister of Arts for approving the use of 441 00:25:18,880 --> 00:25:22,399 Speaker 1: the island as a location without involving a third party 442 00:25:22,520 --> 00:25:27,600 Speaker 1: specializing in conservation and bird habitat assessment and unfortunately, those 443 00:25:27,640 --> 00:25:31,320 Speaker 1: concerns were brought into sharp focus in when a helicopter 444 00:25:31,440 --> 00:25:34,200 Speaker 1: on a site scouting flight caused a number of kittywake 445 00:25:34,280 --> 00:25:37,720 Speaker 1: nests to be disturbed. The down draft from the chopper's 446 00:25:37,720 --> 00:25:40,680 Speaker 1: propeller caused some of the chicks to be swept into 447 00:25:40,720 --> 00:25:44,360 Speaker 1: the sea and they were killed by seagulls. After this incident, 448 00:25:44,560 --> 00:25:49,600 Speaker 1: everyone involved reassessed the situation. Additional flights were canceled, the 449 00:25:49,680 --> 00:25:54,600 Speaker 1: filming schedule was was reviewed to avoid the primary breading season, 450 00:25:54,800 --> 00:25:58,399 Speaker 1: although other birds still nesting on the island caused continued 451 00:25:58,440 --> 00:26:01,560 Speaker 1: concern on the part of bird Watch Ireland. Bird Watched 452 00:26:01,600 --> 00:26:03,800 Speaker 1: Ireland's point of view is that there was a breach 453 00:26:03,880 --> 00:26:07,119 Speaker 1: and established a protocol by doing it this way. The 454 00:26:07,200 --> 00:26:11,119 Speaker 1: Office of the Minister of Arts remained insistent though that 455 00:26:11,200 --> 00:26:14,800 Speaker 1: the European Union Habitats Directive was upheld, so there's some 456 00:26:14,920 --> 00:26:18,399 Speaker 1: disagreement on that point. Yeah, I did notice there are 457 00:26:18,400 --> 00:26:22,639 Speaker 1: a few instances regarding scaling Michael, outside of this where 458 00:26:22,680 --> 00:26:28,359 Speaker 1: there is disagreement about how restoration has been handled or whether, um, 459 00:26:28,400 --> 00:26:31,560 Speaker 1: you know, everything has been executed in the proper way 460 00:26:31,600 --> 00:26:34,280 Speaker 1: into the letter of the law. And it usually everything 461 00:26:34,280 --> 00:26:36,120 Speaker 1: I found just turns out to be a very similar 462 00:26:36,160 --> 00:26:38,600 Speaker 1: back and forth of you did it wrong, no, we didn't, 463 00:26:38,640 --> 00:26:41,439 Speaker 1: we did everything like this, we don't agree with you, 464 00:26:41,480 --> 00:26:43,040 Speaker 1: we think you're lying, like that just goes on and 465 00:26:43,080 --> 00:26:45,000 Speaker 1: on and on. So it's a little hard to parse 466 00:26:45,040 --> 00:26:48,080 Speaker 1: out um scaling Michael i'm a notes to me the 467 00:26:48,119 --> 00:26:50,879 Speaker 1: site of much disagreement. But to end all of this 468 00:26:51,000 --> 00:26:53,879 Speaker 1: on a more poetic note, it seems fitting to mention 469 00:26:53,920 --> 00:26:55,800 Speaker 1: the island as it was seen through the eyes of 470 00:26:55,800 --> 00:27:00,159 Speaker 1: one of Ireland's most famous creative minds. In the Hi 471 00:27:00,280 --> 00:27:03,240 Speaker 1: writer George Bernard Shaw visited skelling Michael and it made 472 00:27:03,240 --> 00:27:07,000 Speaker 1: a very strong impression. He later wrote the following quote, 473 00:27:07,320 --> 00:27:09,840 Speaker 1: But for the magic that takes you out far out 474 00:27:09,840 --> 00:27:12,280 Speaker 1: of this time, in this world, there is skelling Michael, 475 00:27:12,720 --> 00:27:16,359 Speaker 1: ten miles off Carrey Coast, shooting straight up seven hundred 476 00:27:16,400 --> 00:27:19,679 Speaker 1: feet sheer out of the Atlantic. Whoever has not stood 477 00:27:19,680 --> 00:27:22,800 Speaker 1: in the graveyard and their beehive oratory does not know 478 00:27:22,880 --> 00:27:26,800 Speaker 1: Ireland through and through. That's lovely, It is very lovely. 479 00:27:28,119 --> 00:27:37,439 Speaker 1: Thanks George Bernard Shaw, Thanks so much for joining us 480 00:27:37,480 --> 00:27:40,520 Speaker 1: on this Saturday. Since this episode is out of the archive, 481 00:27:40,600 --> 00:27:42,720 Speaker 1: if you heard an email address or Facebook U r 482 00:27:42,840 --> 00:27:44,879 Speaker 1: L or something similar over the course of the show 483 00:27:45,080 --> 00:27:48,919 Speaker 1: that could be obsolete. Now. Our current email address is 484 00:27:49,080 --> 00:27:53,560 Speaker 1: History Podcast at I Heart radio dot com. Our old 485 00:27:53,560 --> 00:27:56,800 Speaker 1: house stuff works email address no longer works, and you 486 00:27:56,800 --> 00:28:00,119 Speaker 1: can find us all over social media at Missed in History, 487 00:28:00,359 --> 00:28:03,400 Speaker 1: and you can subscribe to our show on Apple podcasts, 488 00:28:03,400 --> 00:28:06,600 Speaker 1: Google podcast the I heart Radio app, and wherever else 489 00:28:06,680 --> 00:28:12,679 Speaker 1: you listen to podcasts. Stuff you Missed in History Class 490 00:28:12,680 --> 00:28:15,760 Speaker 1: is a production of I heart Radio. For more podcasts 491 00:28:15,800 --> 00:28:18,200 Speaker 1: from I heart Radio, visit the I heart Radio app, 492 00:28:18,280 --> 00:28:21,479 Speaker 1: Apple podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.