Within a short drive from the town are the restored Stone Forts of Cahergal and Leacanabuaile – these date from the 9th Century – originally constructed as a Celtic tribal centre where communal gatherings and rituals took place. Nearby are the well preserved ruins of Ballycarbery Castle long associated with the McCarthy family – some form of residence appears to have stood here in 1398 when Tadgh McCarthy’s death was recorded but the existing ruins date to a later time probably 1569.

This region also abounds in Early Celtic Monasteries founded by wandering monks and saints from the fifth century onwards. Church Island in Valentia Harbour, for instance, with its Oratory, enclosure and cell is well worth a visit – a guide and boat can be hired to take you there.

The zenith of early monasticism, however, in terms of its pure spiritual asceticism, is represented by the famous Skellig Michael. On this remote Rock, which is located some 8 miles out in the Atlantic, is a remarkable complex of oratories, beehive huts, and carved cross-slabs. Perched on a narrow plateau over six hundred feet above the sea, the Celtic monks who inhabited Skellig Michael from the 6th Century were renowned throughout Europe for their austerity and piety. Today, as the modern visitor sails towards the island, he can only wonder in awe at the heroic endurance of the Celtic Monks who devoted their lives to God on this inhospitable rock. The rock, which has been uninhabited since the 12th century, is home to a wide variety of sea birds including the Puffin.

The Irish poet, George Bernard Shaw, wrote of Skellig Michael: “An incredible, impossible, mad place. I tell you, the thing does not belong to any world that you and I have lived and worked in: it is part of our dream world”

The boat trip to visit Skellig Rock is a real adventure with its incomparable feeling of sailing into the past – we organise those boat trips for our Guests and since it is a day trip a 2 night stay in the area should be factored into your itinerary so that you can devote a full day to this spiritual experience.