asceticism

Gallarus looking towards Smerwick bay

Homage to Gallarus Oratory

Fifty years ago, one of the most daring expeditions in modern times left Ireland’s Dingle Peninsula. Tim Severin set out with a crew of three in a curragh – a skin-boat shaped like a banana – from Brandon Creek to…

Right The 1820s road and two lighthouses were the first structures to be built on the island since a permanent monastic presence ceased in the 13th century. The upper lighthouse (to the left) was decommissioned in 1870 and is now a ruin. It is linked by a meandering path to the lower lighthouse, which is now fully automated and requires only occasional maintenance visits. Both lighthouses and the adjacent accommodation for the keepers and their families were built from rock excavated to build the lighthouse road to the right of the picture.

At the edge of the world: exploring early medieval asceticism on the Skelligs

Skellig Michael – the larger of two rocky islets that lie 8 miles (13km) west of the Iveragh Peninsula in County Kerry, Ireland – was the favoured retreat of early medieval monks seeking an escape from worldly temptations. Reading the newly published Book of the Skelligs, Chris Catling gains some insights into the conditions those hermits endured and the reasons why the islands were added to the list of World Heritage Sites in 1996.