Star Wars at Skellig Michael

Arsemageddon

There was a piece in today's Irish Times by Fintan O'Toole about Skellig Michael being used again as a shooting location for the new Star Wars films. TBH I think the line of argument in this piece (and some others I've read) is completely over the top. It seems to be more about not liking big, bad corporations than about protecting the monument.

But we don’t have boundaries in Ireland any more. The Disney corporation was allowed to use Skellig Michael as a movie location last year and it’s being allowed back for even more extensive filming this month. There is, in our culture now, no limit to that mechanical, pragmatic way of seeing the world that we call the market. A giant global corporation, Disney, wants Skellig Michael. It decided that this fragment of an ancient imagination has a power that it can use in its Star Wars franchise

It's highly unlikely that the film crew will cause any damage to the site while working there and it is probable that archaeologists from the OPW and/or the National Monuments Service will be present to keep an eye on things. Because of the fact that only a set number of visitors are allowed to land each day to visit the island there won't be any major increase in the numbers of visitors after the films are released.

Other Irish monuments have been used for film locations in the past such as Trim Castle (Braveheart), Cahir Castle (Excalibur) and Kells Priory (Barry Lyndon without having any negative impact. Other UNESCO world heritage sites have served as film locations such as Petra (Indiana Jones) and the Pyramids (loads of stuff - Gallipoli springs to mind)

What do the rest of ye think about this?

robp

Arsemageddon wrote: »

There was a piece in today's Irish Times by Fintan O'Toole about Skellig Michael being used again as a shooting location for the new Star Wars films. TBH I think the line of argument in this piece (and some others I've read) is completely over the top. It seems to be more about not liking big, bad corporations than about protecting the monument.



It's highly unlikely that the film crew will cause any damage to the site while working there and it is probable that archaeologists from the OPW and/or the National Monuments Service will be present to keep an eye on things. Because of the fact that only a set number of visitors are allowed to land each day to visit the island there won't be any major increase in the numbers of visitors after the films are released.

Other Irish monuments have been used for film locations in the past such as Trim Castle (Braveheart), Cahir Castle (Excalibur) and Kells Priory (Barry Lyndon without having any negative impact. Other UNESCO world heritage sites have served as film locations such as Petra (Indiana Jones) and the Pyramids (loads of stuff - Gallipoli springs to mind)

What do the rest of ye think about this?

The OPW have a very poor reputation at conservation especially at Skellig Michael, and that probably exacerbates existing concerns but if we leave that aside if strict personnel and equipment limits were implemented surely it is possible to film there with out damage?

Step23

As it comes under the national monuments act hopefully things will be taken a little bit more serious! The main mine site at Glendasan wasn't as fortunate, for the filming of Reign of Fire, the mine spoil heaps and site where covered with charcoal and lots of waste was left behind after filming... a lot to be said for NPWS!

W1ll1s

Have to agree on this one with Justin Byrne, council member of An Taisce, The National Trust for Ireland;

" It is tempting to think that the island has been there for millions of years and that a little bit of filming won’t make it crumble into the sea. It won’t, but Skellig Michael isn’t just a rock, it is a living vibrant ecosystem that only exists now because it is so protected. The reason that puffins and storm petrels and manx shearwaters inhabit it is just because it is remote and protected."

http://www.irishexaminer.com/viewpoints/analysis/star-wars-on-skellig-michael-a-force-for-good-or-evil-352952.html

http://www.starwars7news.com/2015/09/upcoming-star-wars-episode-viii-filming-on-skellig-michael-to-wrap-by-the-end-of-september.html