Mike O’Shea, adventurer and owner of Work at Height, which looked after the logistics of getting cast, crew and equipment onto Skellig Michael, said: “We knew what they wanted us to know even though we were heavily involved but it’s a very secretive industry.

Senior staff in the Office of Public Works had serious misgivings about Skellig Michael being used to film scenes for the latest Star Wars movie, with one island guide querying whether there was a legal avenue to block the production.

MICHAEL O’DONOVAN’S Derby hoodoo struck again yesterday when the Tipperary trainer’s Judicial Castelu was turner over by Danaghers Best in the Boylesports Derby final in Clonmel.