Early Snow in Mayo

Wild Irish Scenery

Wild Rhubarb in Connemara, Co. Galway

Off Union Hall, Co. Cork

Stalactite in a Burren Cave, Co. Clare

Derelict Cottage, Co. Mayo

View from Great Skellig, Co. Kerry

Church on Croagh Patrick, Co. Mayo

Connemara Sunset, Co. Galway

Deserted Island, Connemara, Co. Galway

Old Cottage, Connemara, Co. Galway

Stranded Boat, Connemara, Co. Galway

Cliffs of Moher, Co. Clare

Clew Bay, Co. Mayo

Burren Moonscape, Co. Clare

Achill Beach, Co. Mayo

Aasleagh Falls, Co. Mayo

Aasleagh Falls

The Skellig Islands

Gannets over Little Skellig

I added another one of Ireland’s islands to my list this week. The Skellig Islands are two precipitous sea stacks composed of old red sandstone, lying 14km off the Kerry coast. They stand out on the horizon like two massive pyramids rising out of the Atlantic ocean. These remote islands are not only physically steep, with Great Skellig rising to 218m and the Little Skellig reaching 134m, they are also steeped in mystery.

Little Skellig with Great Skellig in the distance

On the Great Skellig are the remains of a 6th Century monastic settlement. Of course 6th Century monastic remains are as common as I don’t know what around these parts, but this one is different. I think the pictures describe the scene better than words but really you have to see it to believe it. Why monks would want to live on top of such a tortuously steep remote island is mystifying. I suppose it shows the extreme devotion these men had for their beliefs.

Monastic Settlement

I had hoped to get some pictures of the puffins (1,000 breeding pairs) but as luck would have it they were either out at sea or in their burrows hatching. Hundreds of burrows but only an odd glimpse of a puffin. The puffins return in the evening but the boat trips only give you three hours on the island from 11am to 2pm. In a few weeks time, when the young are bigger, the parents return more frequently, so I might make a return visit in June. The island is also home to over 2,000 pairs of manx shearwater and possibly 10,000 storm petrels. These birds are rarely seen on the island during daylight hours. The remains of quite a few storm petrels were scattered about the enclosures. Interestingly, the petrels nest in the monastic walls and beehive huts. Kittiwake, common guillemot, razorbill and fulmar also nest in significant numbers. However, due to the awkward terrain, getting close enough to get good pictures is near impossible. Islands such as the Great Saltee are much more hospitable for the photographer. Thrift, sea campion and sea spurrey were in full bloom. I also saw quite a few rabbits – I assume the monks brought them with them for food and they have managed to survive ever since.

Thrift

Little Skellig is no less impressive – it is a massive gannet city, with an estimated 26,000 breeding pairs. You have to see (and hear) it to believe it, thousands of these huge, elegant birds wheeling around the sky. Landing on the island is almost impossible, only in flat calm conditions. The whole vista is just awesome, like something out of a David Attenborough documentary. The mystery of nature!


Thrift

Sea Campion

Little Skellig in the distance

Little Skellig

Little Skellig





Cut Stone Stairway

Beehive Huts

The Beauty and Biodiversity of The Burren

The Burren, in north County Clare, is a magical place. The region is dotted with Neolithic tombs, vast underground cave networks and a unique assemblage of plants and animals. This limestone Karst region was formed at the bottom of a warm, shallow sea at the end of the Lower Carboniferous period around 340 million years ago, the many marine fossils scattered throughout the rocks bearing witness to this. From a distance the Burren looks barren and lifeless, almost lunar in appearance. However, this could not be further from the truth as the region has an incredibly species rich flora, of international importance. But the real draw of the region is the shear abundance of flowering plants and the vast feast of colour. The Burren is renowned for its unique assemblages of rare plants – Arctic/Alpine plants (spring gentians, mountain avens), growing alongside plants normally found in the Mediterranean (maidenhair fern). In association with these rare plants are equally rare insects such as the transparent burnet, a day flying moth, hundreds of which can be seen in a single field.


Transparent Burnet (Zygaena purpuralis)


Spring Gentian (Gentiana verna)


Wood White (Leptidea sinapsis)


Small Blue (Cupido minimus)


Mountain Avens (Dryas octopetala)


Hoary Rockrose (Helianthemum canum)


Fly Orchid (Ophrys insectifera)


Dingy Skipper (Erynnis tages)


Cowslip (Primula veris)


Common Milkwort (Polygala vulgaris)


Bloody Crane's Bill (Geranium sanguineum)