Donegal designer's custom Star Wars t-shirts in high demand as filming awakens

A young Donegal entrepreneur is feeling the Force after being swamped with requests for his custom-made Star Wars t-shirts.

Niall McLaughlin, a graphic designer based in Carndonagh, has been working on the shirts for two months.

His quirky local take on the Hollywood blockbuster ensures the designs are selling like hot-cakes.

He is even planning on presenting some of the stars of the film with their own customised shirts as they film this weekend in Malin Head.

Niall said: “I think the area will feel the benefit from the filming for many years to come but especially around the time when the film comes out.

“I have never seen Malin Head so busy and with the good weather, you just couldn’t get a better place to be.”e

Meanwhile, construction works continued yesterday on the Loop Head peninsula in west Clare, where an advance crew for an upcoming Star Wars production is based.

Along with Donegal, Kerry, and West Cork, Clare is the latest location along the Wild Atlantic Way that is to be used by the production team.

Filming in Clare is set to run on the peninsula from Tuesday to Thursday.

The Irish Aviation Authority has put in place an effective ‘no fly zone’ for all the days of filming over all locations.

Adam Driver (R) who plays Kylo Ren and Daisy Ridley (L) who plays the character Rey in the Star Wars series arrive at Belfast International Airport. Photo by Charles McQuillan/Getty Images

Cillian Murphy of Loop Head Tourism said: “We have known for a while about Star Wars coming here but we know so little in terms of what is going to take place here. We are delighted that the stunning scenery here will feature in the movie. It is great for the local economy as a stack of accommodation has been booked.”

Meanwhile, in Kerry, boatmen who ferry visitors to Skellig Micheal had previously complained the season was too short. But now they are inundated with calls from North America, with tourists wishing to book trips to the island in advance.

Attributing the huge spike in interest to Star Wars, with the monastic island featuring in last year’s smash hit The Force Awakens, boatman Joe Roddy said he would prefer if Star Wars never came — because the interest is impossible to manage.

He said the “endless calls” from the US and Canada, and insistence on advance bookings at the height of the season is “a nightmare” to manage as the boatmen, with their 12-passenger crafts, are entirely weather- dependent and can only tell on the day if they are able to go out to the island.

They are only allowed one trip a day because they have to be off the island at 4pm, and their season has had two months taken off it.