In the summer of 2000, Catherine Merrigan took a rough boat ride out to the rocky island of Skellig Michael off the coast of County Kerry to begin her new job as a guide. Almost alone on the dark and mystical island that first night, she realised she had made a big mistake and decided she would leave the next morning. A massive storm blew up though and she couldn’t leave for five days; whereupon, in fact, she stayed. Catherine has spent six months of every year since showing visitors this magical isle, and hanging out with her beloved puffins – 10,000 breeding pairs which she likes to say she counts every night, by name. Here is a one of a kind insight into life on this dramatically beautiful, monastic sanctuary, laden with a millennium and a half of some of Ireland’s richest history, and in the company of a hundred thousand nesting birds. Told with love and passion, Catherine’s anecdotes are interspersed with her photos of ‘Charlie Chaplin’ puffins, Skellig’s dramatic staircases, and much more.
For more information contact Liam Heffernan 087 2120201
