Minister of State at the Office of Public Works (OPW) has confirmed that Skellig Michael, the famous UNESCO World Heritage Site located off the Kerry coast, will open to visitors from Sunday, 14th May 2017.

The opening date had been jeopardised in recent weeks when maintenance staff discovered that a major rockfall had taken place at a location close to the OPW base at the Island.

“A considerable amount of rock and other material had descended onto the Lighthouse Road in a location close to the accommodation and stores huts maintained there for the OPW works staff and there were significant safety concerns that further unstable material still on the higher slopes could pose a direct threat,” said Minister Canney.
“OPW staff and their safety contractor have worked in the last number of weeks to resolve these issues and following a final inspection by the OPW’s structural engineer this morning (10th May), the go-ahead has been given to allow the site to open this coming weekend.”
Assuming there are no further incidents, the OPW expect that the site will remain open to the public until the scheduled closing date on 2nd October 2017.
The Minister also reminds all intending visitors to Skellig Michael to familiarise themselves fully in advance with the challenge and the risks involved. A Safety film has been prepared and is available to view at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EuJ8Dw_iNwU. All visitors planning to travel to the site are strongly advised to view it.