Sceilg Mhichíl withstands the storms of climate change, but continued risk assessment and collaboration needed to safeguard the UNESCO World Heritage Property

• Climate Vulnerability Assessment Report developed under National Geographic Preserving Legacies Project shows positive impact of State’s efforts to protect the site
• report identifies further steps to protect the site from the impacts of climate change

Climate change is the fastest growing global threat to heritage sites, many of which – natural, cultural, and mixed – are already being affected. This is the subject of a new Climate Vulnerability Assessment (CVA) report on one of Ireland’s UNESCO World Heritage Properties, Sceilg Mhichíl, published today. It outlines several potential future risks posed by a changing climate, along with outline adaptation measures to safeguard the natural and built heritage of the site. The assessment and report was developed by the National Monuments Service and the Office of Public Works (OPW) in partnership with National Geographic Society’s Preserving Legacies Project.

The assessment, undertaken throughout 2023/2024, involved contributions from both technical experts and the local community, through desk research, site visits and stakeholder workshops. It uses the best available data on climate change indicators around precipitation, wind and temperature change to understand the possible future risks to Sceilg Mhichíl in light of climate change. Such risks might include damage to monastic structures arising from extreme weather, erosion of built heritage and the island’s landscape, impacts on breeding birds due to higher ocean temperatures, and vegetation die-back leading to soil erosion. ​It is important to note that the report indicates that management measures to address the impacts of climate change – in particular those around rock fall – have so far helped to reduce risks and to improve ongoing access and conservation needs.

The report was launched locally in Valentia this evening, reflecting the importance of local community input into the continued protection of Sceilg Mhichíl.

Minister of State for Heritage, Nature and Biodiversity Christopher O’Sullivan said:

Some of the learnings and adaptation measures included in the report, in consultation with the local community, are:

Community access and engagement: Increased local involvement to maintain and bolster economic, social and cultural values related to the site, especially for younger generations.

Diversification of tourism offering: Development of a range of other tourism offerings and new markets.

Visitor management: Education on wildlife and heritage conservation issues for visitors to create behaviour change and continued access for all stakeholders.

Climate action: Use Sceilg Mhichíl and the Sceilg Coast as a model for the wider area on climate change, using the site as an educational tool on climate change impacts and adaptations.

Research and supports: Three potential projects identified to support decision-making:

• the improvement and protection of biodiversity using bioindicator monitoring
• the recording of oral histories from the older community in the event of loss
• drawing from exemplars of sustainable tourism

The report also recommends ongoing stakeholder discussions on capacity building, adaptation measures and resilience.

Minister of State at the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform with special responsibility for the Office of Public Works Kevin ‘Boxer’ Moran continued:

Sceilg Mhichíl was one of ten World Heritage Properties selected to be part of the first National Geographic-funded ‘Preserving Legacies’ Project, along with other iconic heritage sites such as Petra in Jordan, the Rice Terraces of the Philippine Cordilleras, and Angkor Archaeological Park in Cambodia.

Read the Climate Vulnerability Assessment.

Sceilg Mhichíl, also known as Skellig Michael, was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1996. It is a one of Ireland’s two World Heritage properties, with Brú na Bóinne in County Meath, inscribed in 1993, the other.

A World Heritage property is a place or area recognised by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) as being of Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) to all humanity.

The Skellig Rocks, Sceilg Mhichíl (also known as Great Skellig) and Little Skellig (Sceilg Beag), are towering sea crags rising from the Atlantic Ocean almost 12 kilometres west of the Ivereagh Peninsula in County Kerry. Located at the western edge of the European landmass, Sceilg Mhichíl was the chosen destination for a small group of ascetic monks who, in their pursuit of greater union with God, withdrew from civilisation to this remote and inaccessible place. Sometime between the sixth and eight centuries, a monastery was founded on this precipitous rock, giving rise to one of the most dramatic examples of the extremes of Christian monasticism – as identified for its OUV.

The monastic community appears to have moved to the mainland by the thirteenth century but the island continued to be venerated as a place of pilgrimage in the following centuries.

The well-preserved monastic remains have retained a strong spiritual after-life, which appeals strongly to the human psyche. Visitors cannot but be awestruck by the physical achievements of these early monks which, when combined with the sense of solitude, ocean and bird sounds evokes a quiet sense of magic. George Bernard Shaw who, following a visit in 1910, described this ‘incredible, impossible, mad place’ as ‘part of our dream world’ beautifully expresses this.

The island embodies the establishment of lighthouses on Ireland’s coast in the 1820s – a project that was particularly challenging along the Atlantic seaboard. Two lighthouses were constructed and linked by an extraordinary road cut into the rock along the southern edge of the island in the nineteenth century. This engineering achievement was quite remarkable for its time, establishing Sceilg Mhichíl’s importance in Ireland’s maritime history. Beginning at the Upper Lighthouse, the road snakes its way down passed the Lower Lighthouse and leads to the pier at the eastern extremity of the island.

Sceilg Mhichíl is internationally renowned as one of the most important sites for breeding seabirds in Ireland – also inscribed in the Sceilg’s OUV. The steep rocky slopes and cliffs provide nesting places for species such as fulmar, kittiwake and guillemot, while storm petrel, Manx shearwater and puffin nest in burrows and other holes throughout the island.

Launched in early 2023, the Preserving Legacies Project is a collaboration between the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) and the National Geographic Society.

Sceilg Mhichíl is one of ten World Heritage Properties that were selected to take part in the international ICOMOS-National Geographic Preserving Legacies: A Future for our Past project, and is the only European site selected. Other sites include Petra in Jordan, the Rice Terraces of the Philippine Cordilleras and Angkor Archaeological Park in Cambodia. The National Monuments Service (NMS) in partnership with the Office of Public Works (OPW) represent Ireland on the project.

The aim of the project is to empower every community to safeguard their cultural and natural heritage against climate change impacts. Led by National Geographic Explorer Dr Victoria Herrmann and with a team including Dr William Megarry (ICOMOS Climate Action Working Group) and Mr Andrew Potts (Climate Heritage Network), the project is hosted by the ICOMOS International Secretariat and is working closely with ICOMOS National and International Scientific Committees including Bangladesh, Ireland, Jordan, the Philippines, Tunisia and USA.

Preserving Legacies homepage.