Calls to extend Skellig Michael visitor season after washout summer

Wed, 06 Sep, 2023 - 17:30

Nick Bramhill

Calls are growing for the restricted visitor season to Skellig Michael to be extended, after the washout summer forced the cancellation of one-third of all crossings to the island.

A total of 32 out of 96 landings on the world-famous Unesco world heritage site were pulled between the start of the season in mid-May up to mid-August [May 13-Aug 17] due to bad weather, latest figures from the Office of Public Works show.

And with just more than three weeks remaining until the Co Kerry site is closed off by the OPW for a further seven-and-a-half months, the 15 boat operators who are licensed to transport visitors to and from the island are facing into their most dismal full season for years outside the two summers during the pandemic.

In 2020 the island was completely off limits because of covid-19, while the following year the landing season was significantly curtailed due to ongoing restrictions in place at the time.

With struggling boat operators relying on second jobs in the off-season, the Skellig Boatmen's Association insists the need to extend the short visitor season is greater than ever.

Donal McCrohan, chairman of the Skellig Boatmen's Association, said: "We had a good enough run in June, but since the start of July it's been bad, and we've been averaging about three or four days a week of crossings because of the awful weather.

"We've been talking to the OPW for many years about extending the season. We're not asking for a lot - even to start the season a week or 10 days earlier would make a huge difference to us.

"It costs a lot of money to maintain boats. There's always expenses, and we haven't had a good season for a long time, and we're still not back to pre-Covid levels. A longer season would really help us."

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Hotelier Gerard Kennedy, who runs the popular Moorings Guesthouse and Bridge Bar in Portmagee, said a lot of his guests had missed out on trips over to Skellig Michael since the island opened to visitors on May 13.

"We're crying out for the season to be extended. It's been a tough few months for the boatmen with so many cancellations. A longer season would help everyone out enormously."

However, in a statement, the OPW said the current season would end, as planned, on September 30, "with no possibility of an extension".

Meanwhile, ferry operators to the nearby Blasket islands also suffered a sharp drop-off in visitors over the summer, due to poor weather.

Sibéal Ní Lubhaíng, spokesperson for Blasket Island Ferries, said: "It's been a difficult season for us, perhaps the worst for 15 years. Because of the bad weather we had to cancel a lot of crossings to Great Blasket. There was a three-week period from late June when there were no landings at all."

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