A 77-YEAR-OLD American man lost his life yesterday when he fell on Skellig Michael, a Unesco world heritage site off the coast of Co Kerry.
It is understood the man, who was with members of his family, had completed the 600-step climb to the remains of the early medieval monastic settlement some 550ft above sea level on the island, 12km off the Kerry coast.
He was on his way down when he fell. He would have arrived on the island from the mainland at about 11am yesterday.
Valentia Coastguard, who co-ordinated the recovery, received an emergency call shortly after 1pm. The Shannon Rescue helicopter as well as the Valentia lifeboat were called. The man was recovered from the rocks at the base of the Skellig and stretchered to the lifeboat.
A nurse who happened to be on the rock at the time attempted resuscitation and was in radio contact with the marine medical Medico service based at Cork University Hospital, according to lifeboat personnel. However, the man was pronounced dead on arrival at Portmagee on the mainland at around 2pm.
The man’s body was removed to Kerry General Hospital where a postmortem is to be undertaken.
Gardaí in Cahersiveen are investigating. The man’s name was not being released last night.
The Skellig Michael Management Plan 2008-2018 was completed last year. The island is managed by the OPW and receives an average 11,000 visitors per season. The management plan warns about the “inherent dangers” of visiting the island, especially where children are concerned.
However, the idea of a handrail was ruled out as “compromising the integrity of the site”. There had been calls at Kerry County Council for a hand rope to assist the elderly and children during the consultation phase of the plan in late 2007.
The calls were made by Cllr Michael Cahill, a regular visitor to the island. He referred to the death of a German tourist after a fall to the island some years previously, and said a rope rail should be put in place to aid the elderly and the very young.