Tourists may have longer wait to visit Skellig Michael

Skellig Michael will remain closed to visitors for at least another three weeks, meaning the island made famous by Star Wars could be facing its shortest-ever tourist season.

The isolated Unesco world heritage site, which featured extensively in the galactic blockbuster The Last Jedi, had been due to open up to tourists on May 15 for its already restricted annual four-and-a-half month visitor season.

However, the Office of Public Works (OPW) confirmed that staff have not been able to access the fragile Co Kerry outpost to carry out pre-season safety checks due to ongoing bad weather.