skellig micheal - call for barriers

ednwireland

http://www.independent.ie/national-news/grieving-husband-calls-for-barriers-on-skellig-2205372.html

THE husband of a 57-year-old American woman who died on Skellig Michael last year has called for the erection of safety barriers on the steep steps on the island.

Christine Spooner died on Skellig Michael on September 20, 2009 and her husband Richard Spooner, a lawyer, was with his wife when she tripped and fell last year.

He has written to the safety consultants who carried out a recent review, accepted by the Office of Public Works (OPW), to say they incorrectly identified the location from which his wife fell. "She did not fall from a ledge. Instead, we were climbing stairs, and she tripped and fell from stairs. We had begun our ascent, and she fell near the end of the second rise of stairs.

now i'm sorry for his loss and everything, but this isnt a theme park its an archeological site ffs, if you dont feel capable of getting up you should have the sense to stop

at least the opw report came out on the side of reason (i personally think)

http://www.independent.ie/national-news/safety-review-rules-out-skellig-michael-fencing-2201200.html

A safety review of Skellig Michael has rejected calls for a fence to be erected along the cliff path in the wake of the deaths of two tourists who fell from the rock.

maybe ban americans ?

i'd love to get on there one day

buffalo

ednwireland wrote: »

i'd love to get on there one day

As would I, if only the weather would allow it. It rains every time I visit Kerry.

But I agree more with the "Dangerous mountaineering activity" warnings than with erecting barriers.

ELLENoco

I was there last summer and it was amazing. Putting barriers up would totally ruin the whole feel of the place, I didnt find it too much of a struggle but anyone who is not used to outdoor activities, is unfit or too young/old probably shouldnt go. I think Americans really dont know what they are getting themselves into!!!

Wibbs

A few years ago doing the oul newgrange tour with a foreign ex of mine, we overheard a group of *ahem* very "large" Americans complain "why didnt they widen the passageway to admit people of today?". I kid thee not gentle reader. To be fair to our American cousins another of their party* piped up and suggested people not watching what they ate was hardly a concern to the builders.

I'd say the same of the Skelligs. Their very inaccessibility is at the heart of the place and its history. To disneyfy/health and safety it would ruin it. There has already been controversial handling of the site http://constructireland.ie/News/Conservation/Inquiry-urged-into-Skellig-rock-conservation.html we dont need to add to it.

It's defo worth a visit if you can. Ive been twice. A wonderful place. I watched a documentary on it on TG4 recently, where the chap(sadly whose name escapes) who hikes all over ireland dedicated an entire episode to it. He got it on a wonderful day. Full of sun and blue seas. Mad fecker that is is he climbed all over it all the way to the most perilous tops of it. Showed the hermitage near the top, the constricted very defendable passage to the hermitage and the water collection basins hewn from the living rock. He noted the remains of the lighthouse are slowly falling apart and he noted that some was due to vandalism. Is nowhere safe? :rolleyes::mad:







*Nice fella actually. Turned out a large chunk of his family were from meath back in the day and he knew a lot of the history. And he was an african american which had bemused his fellow travelers.

ednwireland

dermot somers, met him on a mountain skills course (he was assessing mountain leaders) nice fella

couldnt agree more on the skelligs seems like a modern disease of everything been made safe for everyone at any cost.

ednwireland

depressing
US families sue State over tourist deaths at Skellig

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2010/0708/1224274265108.html

Smartypantsdig

The political pressure being put on the OPW National Monuments section regarding the Skelligs by Kerry TDs is a bloody shame. I know some people who work in the department and they are seriously considering banning all but academic visits!

Wibbs

Pressure to do what? Erect barriers, increase or restrict numbers? If they're just gonna allow academic visits, it would be welcome if they didnt allow the similar "conservation" practices that led to a loss of archaeological evidence. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skellig_Michael#Conservation_controversy That's an equal bloody shame. Worse, because it was by the very people charged with its care. A fcukup they hopefully learned from.

Smartypantsdig

Actually, pressure to increase the visitor numbers. It appears the boat owners have a lot of clout, or more likely the bloody TDs have interests!!

I agree that the OPW messed up in the work already carried out but again, this was due to political pressure too. Civil servants are prone to this!!