February 17, 2011
By Staff Reporter
And the tragedy will be the catalyst for a “very fundamental review” of safety on the island.
This according to Dr. Martin Mansergh, the Irish government’s minister of state with special responsibility for the Office of Public Works, which oversees historic sites.
The promised review is likely to include a clampdown on ferrying visitors to the island outside the official season, according to the minister who said “rules have to be abided by, and lives come before livelihoods.”
However, he cautioned against “knee-jerk” reactions, saying the world heritage status of the site had to be considered and the United Nations agency, UNESCO, would have to be consulted.
The woman, who died on Sunday, has been named as Christine Spooner, a 57-year-old mother of two from Rochester in upstate New York.
She fell more than 30 feet near the spot where 77-year-old Joseph Gaughan, from Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania, died in early May, also in a 30 foot fall. In the mid-1990s a German tourist lost his life on the island.
Mansergh was speaking in Killarney where he offered sympathy to Spooner’s husband Richard, who was accompanying his wife on her visit to the sixth century monastic site.
A multi-million euro tourist industry is built around the Skelligs, with an interpretative center, ferry boats and accommodation and restaurants in south Kerry all benefiting hugely from the influx of visitors.
The OPW has previously ruled out calls for safety ropes or rails as conservation officers have advised these would interfere with the integrity of the ancient site, but Mansergh said the review would look at everything “without prejudice,” including extra staffing needs and identifying possible danger areas.
He said Skellig Michael, the bigger of the two, was an ancient site, regarded by many as one of the most spectacular in Ireland. But he said the challenging and hazardous rock would never be entirely safe to visit. “We have to be realistic about that.”
Mansergh was due to meet with private ferry operators on the issue of licensing. However, the meeting was cancelled by the boatmen as a mark of respect and because some of them were comforting Spooner’s husband.
Just three weeks ago a safety exercise under the auspices of the OPW took place on Skellig michael in response to Mr. Gaughan’s death.