Skellig Michael remained in the possession of the Catholic Canons Regular until the dissolution of Ballinskelligs Abbey in 1578, a result of the reformation by Elizabeth I.[2][52] Ownership of the islands passed to the Butler family (for rental of "two hawks and a quantity of puffin feathers yearly"),[53] with whom it stayed until the early 1820s, when the Corporation for Preserving and Improving the Port of Dublin (predecessor to the Commissioners of Irish Lights) purchased the island for £500[54] from John Butler of Waterville in a compulsory purchase order.[8] The corporation constructed two lighthouses on the Atlantic side of the island, and associated living quarters, all of which was completed by 1826.[55]