From the top of the Baltimore Beacon, the gaze is lost towards the horizon, embracing the wild cliffs of Sherkin Island. This small island, anchored off the coast of West Cork, appears like a pristine refuge, a corner of the world suspended between sky and sea. Sherkin, also known as Inis Arcáin in Gaelic, tells stories of monks and pirates, fishermen and dreamers. Its lands were home, in the 15th century, to the Franciscan abbey founded by Finghin O’Driscoll, a place of peace and meditation, whose ruins today evoke a distant and mysterious past.

Sherkin Island was not always a peaceful refuge: throughout history, Sherkin became the scene of looting and raids, such as that of privateer pirates in 1537, who devastated the abbey, destroying manuscripts and precious works. The island is a mosaic of stories and legends, a microcosm where every stone seems to speak of a time when these waters were crossed by merchant ships and pirates. Its cliffs, photographed from the Beacon, seem to emerge from the water like ancient creatures, witnesses of forgotten eras. From the top of the Beacon, looking towards the island, you have the sensation of peering into a place outside of time, a corner of Ireland that still preserves its primordial soul intact, caressed by the wind and guarded by the sea.