Star Wars’ Carrie Fisher says force of Irish background is strong in her family

There may not be any wookies there but Princess Leia will be reunited with Star Wars: The Force Awakens director JJ Abrams at awards set up to recognise the contributions of the Irish in film and TV.

Carrie Fisher, famous for playing rebel leader and nascent Jedi Princess Leia in the Star Wars movies, is of Irish descent.

“My great, great, fabulous grandfather Burt McReynolds from the county Donegal was wrongfully accused of being a horse thief, a case of mistaken identity,” Fisher told US-Ireland Alliance president Trina Vargo.