Little Skellig (

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

: ''Sceilig Bheag'') is an unhabitable island in the Atlantic Ocean, 11 km south-west of

Valentia Island Valentia Island () is one of Ireland's most westerly points. It lies off the Iveragh Peninsula in the southwest of County Kerry. It is linked to the mainland by the Maurice O'Neill Memorial Bridge at Portmagee. A car ferry also departs from ...

in County Kerry,

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. It is small than

Skellig Michael Skellig Michael ( ga, Sceilg Mhichíl ), also called Great Skellig ( ga, link=no, Sceilig Mhór ), is a twin-pinnacled crag west of the Iveragh Peninsula in County Kerry, Ireland. The island is named after the archangel Michael, with "Skellig ...

(54 acres)) its twin island. The two islands rose c. 374–360 million years ago during a period of

mountain formation Mountain formation refers to the geological processes that underlie the formation of mountains. These processes are associated with large-scale movements of the Earth's crust (List of tectonic plates, tectonic plates). Fold (geology), Folding, ...

, along with the

MacGillycuddy's Reeks , photo=MacGuillycuddy's Reeks.jpg , photo_caption= , country=Ireland , country1= , location = County Kerry , region = Munster , region_type = Provinces of Ireland , parent= , border= , length_km=19 , length_orientation=East–West ...

mountain range. Later, they were separated from the mainland by rising water levels.

Geography

Little Skellig is the smaller of the two

Skellig Islands The Skellig Islands ( ga, Na Scealaga), once known as "the Skellocks", are two small, steep, and rocky islands lying about west of Bolus Head on the Iveragh Peninsula in County Kerry, Ireland. The larger of the two is Skellig Michael (also kn ...

, the other being

, 1 km to the south-west. The island has a large bird population, including a colony of

northern gannet The northern gannet (''Morus bassanus'') is a seabird, the largest species of the gannet family, Sulidae. It is native to the coasts of the Atlantic Ocean, breeding in Western Europe and Northeastern North America. It is the largest seabird in t ...

s which is the largest in Ireland, and one of the largest in the world. The island, together with Skellig Michael, is the centre of a 364 ha Important Bird Area established by BirdWatch Ireland in 2000.

Access

Landing on Little Skellig is not permitted. BirdWatch Ireland has designated Little Skellig as a nature preserve. It houses over 35,000 colonies of Gannets.

Popular culture

The "Skellige Isles" or "Skellige" in the series ''

The Witcher ''The Witcher'' ( pl, Wiedźmin ) is a series of six fantasy novels and 15 short stories written by Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski. The series revolves around the eponymous "witcher", Geralt of Rivia. In Sapkowski's works, "witchers" are be ...

'' is based on the Skellig Islands. The word Skellig(e) derives from the Irish (Gaeilge) "Sceilg", which can be translated into "Rock" or "Cliff".

References

Sources

* * Skellig Islands Uninhabited islands of Ireland Important Bird Areas of the Republic of Ireland Nature reserves in the Republic of Ireland Protected areas of County Kerry Seabird colonies {{Kerry-geo-stub