Back in the mists of time (well 1996 anyway, before there were any access restrictions) I did the same as Michael Foley and made the detour to the top of the Skellig. As far as I can remember it was easy as far as the hermit's hut (which had a brilliantly simple system for keeping grit out of the water supply), then it got much steeper and quite intimidating. I recall a steep chimney on big holds, then the exposure on the summit was absolutely gobsmacking. A knife edged spar of rock projects over the void and apparently there used to be a cross out on the end of it which pilgrims had to go out and kiss. The cross had gone by the time I visited but I couldn't resist edging out to the end - on my backside with one leg either side, no way was I doing it standing up! The descent seemed oddly easier than going up, then I tagged on to the talk and tour at the monastery before we had to make a rapid exit as the wind got up. The journey back was fairly bouncy, and several times I was thrown up into the air as I hung onto a rail. The whole island is an amazing place, stunning scenery and historically fascinating. Only St Kilda compares for me, and although the cliffs there are much bigger and the isolation greater it doesn't have the same "perched in the sky" feel. Linkback: https://mountainviews.ie/summit/1031/comment/18740/