Killeagh’s hidden spaceship: Inside Michael Fitzgerald’s recycled sci-fi film studio
Michael Fitzgerald poses between two battle-worn stormtrooper masks. Picture: Chani Anderson
A feat of aerospace engineering nestled away in an old cattle shed, Michael Fitzgerald’s homemade spaceship is one of East Cork’s best kept secrets.
Killeagh may seem like an unlikely home for such an ambitious creation, but the actor and filmmaker insists otherwise.
“Remember we also have the national space centre near here too,” he says.
“You’re nobody in East Cork if you don’t own a spaceship.”
His labyrinthine film-set creation — 150m long and spread across 1,800sq m — is a playground for Star Wars fans.
Built entirely from recycled materials and featuring a cockpit with a true‑to‑life control panel, the bespoke space was originally constructed for Fitzgerald’s fan‑fiction film .
Released in 2018, features locations such as Mitchelstown Caves, the National Space Centre in Midleton, and the National Maritime College of Ireland. It has amassed over 1.6m views on YouTube.
Episode 2: Siege followed in 2023 and has accumulated more than 1.2m views.
Fitzgerald, who has a master's degree in aerospace engineering from the University of Manchester, now has his sights on expanding his brainchild — Cork Racing Film Studio — as a commercial enterprise.
“I wanted to build a second spaceship that I can keep in another farm shed,” he tells the .
A location scout for the Star Wars, Batman, and Indiana Jones series, whom Fitzgerald befriended at a film festival, has even been to visit the set in Killeagh.
While movies have always been his passion, Fitzgerald has found other practical uses for the life-sized craft.
“It’s a great place for babysitting my nieces and nephews. As soon as they step into it, the place becomes a creche and they don’t want to leave.
"They come down with their dad sometimes. You’ll see them play chase games and hide and seek.
"I hope that coming to see the spaceship reiterates to them that you can do anything you want in life.”
And Fitzgerald should know. “Growing up I always knew I was going to own a spaceship someday.
"Everyone has their core influences whether that’s boy bands, games, or .
"I happen to like spaceships, planes, and helicopters.
"My day job is as a construction engineer so I was able to draw on the characters I work with to make this a reality.
He has a connection with Suas Aerospace, based at the National Space Centre in Elfordstown, Co Cork, with a focus on creating infrastructure for small satellite launches, including rocket engine testing, vertical launch services, and assembly facilities.
“We’re building rocket ships for Suas so when I talk about building spaceships, we’re actually kind of getting there.
"One day I’d like to make these spaceships for real but if I can make them for film then I’m 50% there.”
Fitzgerald jokes that having a studio in the secluded countryside is not without its challenges.
“In summer you get a lot of silage harvesters going so there is a period in May that kills you for sound.”
He takes pride in his grassroots approach to set building. “In the cockpit I have old barber chairs. There is nothing more off-putting than seeing an office chair in a cockpit because you instantly know what you’re looking at is a studio setup.
"There is such an emphasis on AI now but I prefer the real deal.
"Here you can see details like the light bouncing off the wall which you wouldn’t get with visual effects.
"It makes the audience more inclined to believe what they are seeing. There is some greenscreen tape which can be keyed out afterwards to create the illusion of stars outside.
"However, any greenscreen we have is kept to a minimum. I want to deliver something real.
"A lot of what you see in the spacecraft is rusty around the edges. This is done intentionally as there can be an element of disbelief when things appear too perfect.”
The studio is a treasure trove of props and costumes, with a collection that includes everything from life-sized 3D-printed androids to scale models.
"We were able to do this by using cheap materials like the shiny paper you get from Mr Price. It only cost us €50 and we were able to get €42 and 30c back from coins that were left in the machine.
"When it comes to the spaceship a lot of what appears plastic to the eye looks great on camera. All of what you see here is recycled. I buy all the paint cans from Vibes & Scribes.
"Sometimes a lick of paint can completely transform a piece. One of the great things about the spaceship is that we can take the roof off to project studio lighting down on what is being filmed.”
Fitzgerald's Stormtrooper costumes take pride of place in his studio.
“The kits are all hardened as they often have to take a battering when filming. They have been everywhere including 30m underwater.”
A man of many talents, Fitzgerald also uses the studio to work on his racing projects.
The Cork man has raced with Formula Ford in the UK, Ireland, and Australia.
“My dream when I was a child was to build starships and race cars. I’ve been able to do both of those things so I’m very lucky.”
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