Skellig guides wanted Star Wars film shoot blocked

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.

Documents released by the OPW under freedom of information have shown a high level of worry within the OPW and at local level over the scale of the shoot, which took place in the last week of July.

Just weeks ahead of the shoot, one Skellig guide, Robert Harris, wrote to senior OPW personnel claiming he was “horrified” at aspects of the proposed shoot.