This island lies only a few hundred metres off the Kerry coast, yet is virtually inaccessible to the casual visitor. There are a few reasons why this island remains so elusive, and as a result, so mysterious.
It is owned by Birdwatch Ireland (B.I), and they have a vested interest in protecting the colonies of precious seabirds that reside there, including the comical puffins and rare choughs. B.I understandably don’t want to encourage hoards of day trippers who might damage this pristine and untouched place. Be warned – even if you decided to organise a clandestine visit there are only a couple of boatmen who could take you out, and they will want proof that you have BI’s permission before undertaking the trip. Having said that, B.I may be happy to accommodate reasonable requests. We went with B.I’s cooperation and support, and this is the only real way to do it
Secondly, even if you do somehow make it to the island you will be hard pressed to find a place to land safely. ‘Land’ is the wrong word, as your boat will have to bob about in the water while you literally jump onto the rocks. There are only a couple of places where this is possible which B.I-approved boatmen will know. Again, only Birdwatch Ireland approved visitors will find these spots by travelling out with knowledgeable sailors.
The motive behind blocking open access is simple – to protect one of Ireland’s most remarkable and precious habitats for seabirds. The lack of human contact is obvious – the only man-made thing on the island is a half-built bee-hive hut from centuries ago. Other than a few carefully hidden pieces of B.I apparatus which you wouldn’t find, the island is as close to untouched as possible. The island consists of short grass and moss with absolutely no shrubs or trees. It is immaculate.
A group of MountainViewers finally reached and climbed this beautiful island on Saturday 23rd July. We then spent a delightful 3 hours combing and exploring the island, knowing that we were the first modern dedicated hillwalkers to take in each new emerging view and vista. Thousands of seabirds - puffins, gulls, coughs, petrels - wheeled and dived about as we roamed and explored this wild place. The north-west facing side of the island is sheer cliffs, and the island slopes steeply to the south, and more gently to the east. There are two peaks; the higher at 159 metres is actually easily reached. The second, lower peak, involves very steep ground leading to a rugged ridge. There are dramatic cliffs and rock falls, sheer drops and wonderful views of the Kerry coast. The sheer abundance of seabirds, particularly the unusual puffins, overawed us all for those few precious hours.
Our thanks go to Birdwatch Ireland for their permission and support in achieving our dream, particularly to Stephen O‘Leary who accompanied us and provided such valuable information and interpretation of all that we saw.
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