Ballinskelligs Abbey, also known as Ballinskelligs Priory, was built during the 12th Century to house Skellig monks who had abandoned Skellig Michael, a remote outcrop of rock in the Atlantic Ocean, after numerous attacks by Vikings. They adopted the Augustinian rule and established a priory dedicated to St. Michael.

The surviving ruins, including a church and domestic buildings arranged around a central cloister, largely date from the 15th century. The abbey fell into disrepair due to the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1538.