The UNESCO World Heritage Site of Skellig Michael, featured in scenes from the sci-fi trilogy Star Wars, will not open to visitors in 2020 because of Covid-19 concerns.
The Office of Public Workers (OPW) today announced that the site, scheduled to open on May 15th, will now remain closed to visitors in light of continuing restrictions governing the reopening of tourism locations.
The OPW and the Department of Culture, Heritage and Gaeltacht have said it was “not feasible” to maintain visitor and staff safety at the site and that the Island, located 12km off the coast of Kerry, must remain closed to visitors this summer.
A spokesman for the OPW said the journey to Skellig Michael is “highly challenging when considering Covid-19 risks”. The island is only accessible to visitors by boat with vessels limited to 12 people and one trip per day only during the season.
“On a mobile, constantly-moving platform like a boat, there are multiple touch and clutch points which passengers will hold onto and of course they all need direct assistance to safely board the vessel and get off at the destination pier. In these circumstances, prevention of virus transmission is extremely difficult,” the spokesman added. He noted that social distancing of visitors on the island would also be difficult to maintain due to narrow traffic routes for people going to the Monastery.
Risks to on-island guide staff were also a concern due to limited accommodation facilities which require staff to share washing and toilet facilities. The likelihood of assisting and administering first aid to visitors who are unwell during their stay was also a concern.
Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Josepha Madigan, said: “We understand the disappointment it will cause but, in the context of public health, the particular access arrangements for the Skellig Michael World Heritage property mean that there is no alternative but to make this decision for the safety of boatmen, visitors and OPW guides.”
The Skellig Experience Centre, located in Portmagee, has been closed to business since March 26th and management have confirmed that the Centre will also remain closed for the foreseeable future.
Thousands of tourists visit Skellig Michael each year, with the number going beyond what is “environmentally sustainable” for the sixth-century site in recent years due to the island’s fame as a setting in Star Wars.
The decision to remain closed to visitors for the rest of the season was taken “extremely reluctantly” by the OPW. “We are acutely conscious of the value of Skellig Michael to so many, including as a tourism attraction to the immediate area and indeed the whole of South Kerry,” the spokesman said.
“Obviously, we are concerned at the economic impact that this will have but we have no other option but to interpret the public health guidelines as best we can to keep visitors and staff safe during this emergency.”