merrion street

The Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Josepha Madigan TD, and the Minister of State with responsibility for the OPW, Kevin Boxer Moran TD, have today launched a consultation period on a new 10-year Management Plan for the World Heritage Site of Sceilg Mhichíl.
The new 10 year Management Plan 2019-2029 will replace the current Plan dating from 2008 which has focused on protecting and preserving the outstanding universal value of the site while allowing it to be accessible to local communities and visitors to experience and enjoy its cultural and spiritual richness. The public consultation process is an important stage in developing the new Plan, recognising the responsibility of all stakeholders to work together to implement policies and deliver actions.
In announcing the commencement of the public consultation process, Minister Madigan spoke of the importance of hearing the views of communities and those with an interest in the site: “Of all our wonderful archaeological monuments, Sceilg Mhichíl sits at the highest level in terms of its visibility and prominence, rising majestically from the ocean and filling us with a sense of wonder at its natural beauty and historic isolation and spiritualism.
“It is the remit of my Department and of the OPW to preserve, conserve and manage this great site not only for the people of Ireland, but for the whole world. A new and comprehensive management plan will affirm our responsibilities to this magnificent place, and the views of our stakeholders are integral to our 10-year vision for the island.”
Minister Boxer Moran added: “I am happy to join today with Minister Madigan in encouraging people to contribute to the preparation of the management Plan for Sceilg Mhichíl which will guide us in how we manage the Island and its wonderful Monastic and Natural heritage over the next ten years.”
The new Management Plan will be submitted to UNESCO in 2019 and the public consultation process is open until 18 January 2019. This consultation will help to guide and inform the content and direction of the new Plan. Those with an interest in the management of the key heritage site are urged to make their views known to the Department of Culture Heritage and the Gaeltacht as soon as possible so that they can be fully considered before the new plan goes to UNESCO in the New Year.
Interested parties can review and download the current Management Plan, and find details of how to make submissions on its successor, on http://www.worldheritageireland.ie/news/news-single-view/article/skellig-michael-management-plan-public-consultation/

Notes for Editors:

1. Sceilg Mhichíl, also known as Skellig Michael, was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1996. Rising from the Atlantic Ocean some 12 km west of the lveragh Peninsula in County Kerry, it is a spectacularly-situated Early Medieval island monastic site, particularly the isolated hermitage which is on narrow, human-made terraces just below the South Peak.

2. At the time of its inscription on the UNESCO World Heritage List, it was noted that Sceilg Mhichíl is an outstanding, and in many respects unique, example of an early religious settlement deliberately sited on a pyramidal rock in the ocean, preserved because of a remarkable environment. It was further noted that the site illustrates, as no other property can, the extremes of a Christian monasticism characterizing much of North Africa, the Near East, and Europe. Sceilg Mhichíl is also one of Ireland’s most important sites for breeding seabirds, both for the diversity of the species and the size of the colonies it supports.

3. Submissions to the consultation process can be made by post to:

Department of Culture Heritage and the Gaeltacht
Skellig Michael Management Plan,
The Custom House,
Dublin 1. D01 W6XO

or by email to:
skelligmanagementplan@chg.gov.ie

All submissions should include full contact details so that a full acknowledgement and response can be issued.

4. Management Plan 2008-2018 is available to view at:
http://www.worldheritageireland.ie/fileadmin/user_upload/documents/FINALVERSIONSKELLIG090708.pdf

5. A separate public consultation process on a new National Heritage Plan for Ireland is also now open. Details at:
https://www.chg.gov.ie/heritage/heritageireland2030