OPW champions Darth Vader

Many years ago on one of my early visits to the holy island of Sceilg Mhichíl there was much talk at the time of the work being done on the high pinnacle above the island’s saddle.

A tiny forgotten hermitage was being archaeologically explored. In a soaring recess that would daunt an eagle, one monk — there was room for no more — once ate and slept and prayed. A little rock shelf up there facing seaward is where the monk sat and meditated. Folklore has it that if any demons came winging in they would come from the vast empty seas to the west. This monk was the first spiritual gate-keeper, not alone of the island, but the mainland. Indeed he kept vigil for all of Christian Europe. Together with later generations of his fellow ascetics the vigil was maintained for 600 years.

Sadly it must now be reported that the demons have arrived from across the seas. They met no resistance, instead being fully accommodated by those assigned as current guardians of the holy island. The OPW, protectors of what remains of our magnificent heritage, have chosen to close off the island for three days with the assistance of the Irish Film Board, the Irish Navy, the Irish minister (likely) and no doubt the Irish tourist board. All this so that Luke Skywalker and fellow cronies from billionaire George Lucas’ Star Wars franchise can turn the sacred space, a Unesco World Heritage Site, into a back-lot for an American movie.