In ‘The Repatriation of King Skellig Mör,’ Duke Riley Explores the Bizarre Relationship Between Nature and Institutional Power

Jackie Andres, Colossal, May 31, 2024

The most famous goat in the history of Boston was named Skellig Mör. During the early 1900s, Skellig Mör’s name plastered headlines as an arduous legal battle for his custody ensued. The famed goat was born in Killorglin, a town in County Kerry, Ireland. Prior to being bought by Americans and taken overseas to Boston, Skellig Mör was dubbed king in the annual Puck Fair, one of Ireland’s oldest traditions in which a group of individuals trek up a mountain range, catch one of the horned mammals, and crown the chosen one ‘King Puck.’ A king and symbolic entity, Skellig Mör’s absence caused tensions to rise, taking matters of ownership to the courts.

 

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