Skellig Michael.

One of the sights we have had the chance to visit is Skellig Michael. Twelve miles off the southwest coast of Ireland there is an island, a mountain rising out of the sea. Known throughout Ireland as a “must-visit” spot, this island held a place of long awaited anticipation for the ’09 FISPers.
When we landed on the island we walked up a slanted path. I couldn’t help thinking about the supposed 700 steps to the top and was filled with a mixture of anticipation and truth be told, dread. We waited for our entire group to reach the bottom of the steps before starting the climb. The steps hug the outside of the mountain, sometimes making it possible to look several hundred feet down to the ocean. After climbing what seemed like innumerable steps, I reached a wall with a little door in it. I felt like I was being lulled into a false sense of security, because I was sure that I hadn’t climbed enough steps to be at the top, but I was. Apparently there are actually 582 steps according to the people who counted. Past the wall, we were in the middle of a small stone village.
This was the home of the monks that lived on the island for several hundred years. Standing on the top of the mountain you try to imagine what it would have been like to live in such an isolated but beautiful spot. As the guide described what life would probably have been like for the monastic community there, I found myself amazed by the radical devotion that drove people to this island, to serve God in what they thought was the most selfless way possible. It was amazing to see that the houses were still standing and to hear how they built them.
As we sailed back to the main land the aspect that I kept focusing on was the austere beauty of this place. Imagining the seclusion that the people who lived there would have had to endure makes you glad for fellowship, as well as making you rethink your priorities, and your own level of devotion to God. I think that this was one of the most impressive and moving sights that we have visited.



written by Ana Brown