Small Skellig is long, low and craggy: from a distance it looks as if it's shrouded in a swirling snowstorm. Close up you realise you're looking at a colony of over 23,000 pairs of breeding gannets, the second-largest breeding colony in the world. Most boats circle the island so you can see the gannets and you may see basking seals as well. Small Skellig is a bird sanctuary; no landing is permitted.
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
1.45 MILES
The jagged, 217m-high rock of Skellig Michael (Michael's Rock; like St Michael's Mount in Cornwall and Mont St Michel in Normandy) is the larger of the…
24.17 MILES
Opened in 1837 as a hunting lodge, this magnificent estate sprawls over 17 hectares incorporating a waterfall, beach and six different gardens, ranging…
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Derrynane National Historic Park
16.27 MILES
Derrynane House was the home of Maurice 'Hunting Cap' O'Connell, a notorious local smuggler who grew rich on trade with France and Spain. He was the uncle…
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27.88 MILES
Gallarus Oratory is one of Ireland's most beautiful ancient buildings, its smoothly constructed dry-stone walls in the shape of an upturned boat. It has…
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28.82 MILES
The Dingle Peninsula's most important Christian site, Kilmalkedar has a beautiful setting with sweeping views over Smerwick Harbour. Built in the 12th…
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16.01 MILES
Some 3km northwest of Cahersiveen, two extraordinary stone ring forts situated 600m apart are reached from a shared parking area. Cahergal, the larger and…
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21.92 MILES
The Blasket Islands (Na Blascaodaí), 5km offshore, are the most westerly part of Ireland. At 6km by 1.2km, Great Blasket (An Blascaod Mór) is the largest…
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27.12 MILES
The ruins of this 15th-century castle, a former stronghold of the O'Sullivan Beare clan, sit on a promontory overlooking the southern entrance to the…
Nearby Skellig Ring attractions
1.45 MILES
The jagged, 217m-high rock of Skellig Michael (Michael's Rock; like St Michael's Mount in Cornwall and Mont St Michel in Normandy) is the larger of the…
2. Kerry's Most Spectacular Cliffs
8.22 MILES
Its hyperbolic name – and recreated dry-stone clochán with fake birds perched on top – aside, the view is indeed spectacular from this privately owned…
8.71 MILES
At these gleaming open-plan premises, you can get an overview of chocolate production and taste the wares too. Samples are free, and chocolates are sold…
9.22 MILES
Valentia Island was chosen as the eastern terminus of the first transatlantic telegraph cable, from Heart's Content, Newfoundland. A monument at Telegraph…
9.6 MILES
Immediately across the bridge from Portmagee, this distinctive building with a turf-covered roof contains exhibitions on the life of the Skellig Michael…
10.41 MILES
The sea and salty air are eating away at the atmospheric ruins of this medieval priory, a monastic settlement that was probably built by the Skellig…
10.55 MILES
Directly opposite the Ballinskelligs Beach car park are the last crumbling remnants of the 16th-century castle stronghold of the McCarthys, built on the…
10.96 MILES
At the northern end of Ballinskelligs on the site of a village abandoned during the Famine, this contemporary art gallery with a circular, thatched roof…