History of Great Skelligs

font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"" lang="EN-US">The monastery remained continuously occupied until the 12 or 13 century. During this time, the climate around Skellig Michael became colder and more prone to storms, and this, along with changes to the structure of the Irish Church, prompted the community to abandon the island and move to the abbey in Ballinskelligs.

Post-Monastic

Skellig Michael remained in the possession of the Order of St. Augustine until the dissolution of the Ballinskelligs abbey by Elizabeth I in 1578. Ownership was then passed to the Butler family with whom it stayed until the early 1820s, when the Corporation for Preserving and Improving the Port of Dublin (the predecessor to the Commissioners of Irish Lights) purchased the island from John Butler of Waterville in a compulsory purchase order. The Corporation constructed two lighthouses on the Atlantic side of the island, as well as associated living quarters, all of which was completed by 1826. The Office of Public Works took the remains of the monastery into guardianship in 1880, and repaired certain collapsed structures, before purchasing the island (with the exception of the lighthouses and associated structures) from the Commissioners of Irish Lights