Skellig Michael is one of my favourite locations anywhere in the world. It has long been my desire to photograph the 6th century monastery here in good light, and in mid-2012 I was given the opportunity to do just that. Access to the island is restricted with tourists only permitted between the hours of 10am and 4pm - which is unfortunately when the light is at its worst during the summer months.
On this occasion I was able to overnight on the island and was granted a spectacular sunrise, which you see here.
The 'beehive' huts here are drystone construction and have stood in more or less this condition since the monastery was abandoned in the 13th century. Even the ground on which they are built is remarkable, as it's a man-made terrace produced by building up hundreds of tons of rock held in by a series of retaining walls. The monks had no choice in this, as there is virtually no naturally occurring flat space on the island.

The finest lighthouse on the Irish coast, the Fastnet stands proud on an unusually calm fine Summer's evening.
A granite tower constructed of interlocking blocks, it's a virtual monolith which presents itself like the bow of a ship to the incoming Atlantic swells, dissipating their energy before they reach peak force.
So effective is the design and construction that it has survived the worst the Atlantic can throw at it for over a century with nary a scratch. In 1985, it was struck by a 48m rogue wave (the same height as the focal plane of the lantern). This stove in the glass of the lantern room and overturned the vat of mercury on which the lantern turns, but the structure took no other damage.

The Small Oratory on Skellig emits a welcoming glow under the stars with the Kerry coast and Small Skellig in the background.

The pre-dawn light illuminates the lower monk's garden on Skellig Michael. The Small Skellig and the mountains of Kerry lie in the background.

Inis Tuaisceart (Inishtooskert in English) is the northernmost of the Blasket Islands off the tip of the Dingle peninsula. In fact, the name means 'Northern Island', perhaps a little unimaginatively.
The official name may be somewhat lacking, but it's known colloquially in Irish as 'an Fear Marbh', or the Dead Man. It does look uncannily like a man lying on his back. Also known in English as 'the Sleeping Giant' or 'the Sleeping Monk'.
Photographed here at sunset on a fine summer's evening, it's hard to imagine a more beautiful location.

Donkeys are the only full-time residents of the Great Blasket Island now. This pair formed the welcoming committee on a particularly fine summer's day. One of the island's ruined cottages forms the background.

The first rays of sunlight glance the top of the Macgillycuddy's Reeks with Lough Leane in the foreground. Inishfallen island with its monastery is the the left of the frame.

The winter stars rise above the monastery of Skellig Michael on a calm night.

Inis Tuaisceart (Inishtooskert in English) is the northernmost of the Blasket Islands off the tip of the Dingle peninsula. In fact, the name means 'Northern Island', perhaps a little unimaginatively.
The official name may be somewhat lacking, but it's known colloquially in Irish as 'an Fear Marbh', or the Dead Man. It does look uncannily like a man lying on his back. Also known in English as 'the Sleeping Giant' or 'the Sleeping Monk'.
Photographed here at sunset on a fine summer's evening, it's hard to imagine a more beautiful location.

Derrynane Bay, near Waterville on the south-western tip of the Iveragh peninsula is one of Kerry's most dramatic coastal views. The islands in the image are Scarriff and Deenish Islands, and Dursey Island at the tip of the Beara peninsula is visible on the horizon at the left of frame.
Seen here on a beautiful Autumn day. It was a very beautiful dawn - well worth getting up early for!

Coumeenole Beach (sometimes also spelled 'Coumeenoole') is one of the most spectacular beaches in Ireland. Scenes from the film Ryan's Daughter were filmed here, and it's a popular spot for surfers.
This image is made looking towards Dunmore Head and the Great Blasket Island as the tide was coming in one stormy morning in late spring.

Rabbit Island lies just off Myross in West Cork, near Union Hall. Uninhabited now, there are the remains of a house on the northern shore, and seaweed was once gathered around its shores.

The Small Skellig is not often photographed other than from Skellig Michael. However, it's a worthy subject in its own right. Home to thousands of pairs of gannets, it looks dusted in snow as the sun sets behind it.

This is Illauncreeveen island in Glengarriff harbour. I'd been here on several other occasions and never really got an image I was 100% happy with. However, on this particular evening I was rewarded with some fantastic high-level cloud which caught the wonderful colours of the setting sun.
The Sugar Loaf mountain on the Beara peninsula is visible in the distance.

A popular beach at the foot of Croagh Patrick.

This image shows detail of the sound between Valentia and the mainland. The bridge that links the island to Portmagee can be clearly seen. The bridge was built in 1970, and previously a ferry ran from the village. At the eastern end of the island, a ferry still runs, connecting that side with the town of Cahersiveen.
In the distance, the snow-capped peaks of the Macgillycuddy’s Reeks, Ireland’s highest mountain range, huddle together beneath a squall.