merrion street

The Office of Public Works (OPW) today confirmed that Skellig Michael, the famous UNESCO World Heritage Site located off the Kerry coast, will open to visitors on Sunday 15th May 2016.

It was earlier hoped that the Island could open on the previous day, the 14th, but this date proved not to be feasible because of the additional work which had to be undertaken by OPW staff following a major rockfall on the Lighthouse Road, the main visitor access route, on Monday evening last.

The OPW have carried out engineering and technical assessments at the Island in vulnerable areas and have concluded that the main risk to visitors from further rockfalls has passed and the Island is now ready to open to the public. However, the OPW will continue to monitor the situation with their advisers and officials warned today that they may, if an identifiable risk arises, have to close the Island at short notice in the interests of safety of staff and public.

Assuming there is no further incidents, the OPW expect that the site will remain open to the public until the scheduled closing date on 2nd October next.