Let the Force be with you on a trip to Ireland’s Wild Atlantic Way to experience Star Wars
THE force is strong this Christmas.
Star Wars fever is sweeping the world once again with the saga’s latest chapter set to take cinemas by storm.
Fans needn’t go to a galaxy far, far away — or even the deserts of Tunisia these days — to join in.
Ireland’s Wild Atlantic Way is the setting for Luke Skywalker’s Jedi Temple and a host of other locations in The Last Jedi.
And no wonder — its dramatic cliffs wind hundreds of miles from the northern headlands of Donegal to Cork, past a rolling patchwork of dry stone-walled smallholdings that haven’t changed for 500 years.
We took a Stena Line ferry from Holyhead to Dublin, which puts you in perfect striking distance for attacking either end of the west coast.
Fans got a glimpse of the jaw-dropping coast in episode seven where Rey tracks down Luke Skywalker to a remote island world.
That alien landscape is in fact Skellig Michael, a storm-lashed outcrop seven miles off the coast of Kerry. A band of monks began carving a monastery 600ft up the cliff face in the sixth century, meaning it was steeped in history long before The Force arrived.
The monks stayed there for 700 years, despite the storms, Viking raids and being completely cut off from civilisation.
Now the monastery has been immortalised as a Jedi temple.
Filmmakers told locals they were visiting County Kerry to shoot a documentary about puffins. Then a cavalcade of Range Rovers with blacked-out windows were spotted threading through villages.
John Slye, chairman of the Dingle Links Golf Club which overlooked the film set, was among the first locals to spot the 4x4s. They pulled up outside the modest house of a local farmer who owned the plot of land where they would be shooting.
Nobody knows what deal was done. But the execs drove straight up the cliffside that day to start measuring up. And that farmer was soon driving a brand new tractor.
John said the response to Star Wars landing on the doorstep had been phenomenal. He said: “We had fans turn up from across the world as filming began. There was no publicity but word got out because you couldn’t move.
“They were standing two deep anywhere they could get a glimpse.”
If you want to get on to Skellig Michael, you need to book ahead and pray for good weather. It’s now a UNESCO World Heritage Site so visitor numbers are limited to licensed tour operators only.
The ancient steps the monks carved are still the only way up the rock face so all trips are off if things are looking dicey out. The fishing village of Portmagee is the main staging post for tours and The Moorings pub was where the cast held their wrap party.
Owners Gerard and Patricia Kennedy organise boat trips as well as run the guesthouse, restaurant and pub under one roof. Today, there’s a life-size Darth Vader to greet you and a Luke Skywalker perfect pint of Guinness challenge.
“A group of them came over to scout out the island,” said Gerard.
“We’ve had lots of TV crews come here over the years, given the history and the wildlife.
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“But then this lot called back and said, ‘Could we get rooms for 170 people?’” There will doubtless be scores of other great Star Wars locations along the coast revealed in episode eight but a trip down the west coast will open your eyes to more than sci-fi.
A group of American Star Wars fans who’d made the pilgrimage to the Skelligs arrived talking about nothing but Jedis.
They left in awe of those monks.
GO: IRELAND
GETTING THERE: Stena Line has regular services from Holyhead to Dublin. See .
STAYING THERE: The Moorings has rooms from £70 per night, based on two sharing. See .
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