Ireland’s Skellig Michael featured in the final moments of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, where Rey finds Luke Skywalker at the island’s summit.
Since its dramatic appearance in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Skellig Michael’s stone ‘beehive’ huts, sweeping ocean views and that trademark emerald green have been seen by hundreds of millions, featuring in everything from trailers for the forthcoming The Last Jedi and behind-the-scenes films to a Vanity Fair magazine cover.
The director of The Last Jedi, Rian Johnson, returned to Skellig Michael with his cast in September 2015, picking up the story from the iconic moment in The Force Awakens. The location scouts were so taken with Ireland’s Wild Atlantic Way that key locations in counties Cork, Kerry, Clare and Donegal were handpicked to represent the planet Ahch-to in The Last Jedi – due to hit the big screen on 15 December.
More background and stories about Star Wars filming along the Wild Atlantic Way www.ireland.com/starwars
NOTES TO EDITORS
About Tourism Ireland’s space billboard
Tourism Ireland’s billboard was launched into space using a weather balloon, reaching a peak altitude of 33,390m or 20.75 miles, where the billboard was captured in a photograph and short video.
Due to the lateral movement in the atmosphere in line with the rotation of the earth, the balloon fell back down to earth once it reached its peak to a similar co-ordinate to those of launch – where the materials were then recovered.
About the Wild Atlantic Way
Ireland’s Wild Atlantic Way is the longest defined coastal route in the world at 2,500km (1,700 miles) in length.
About Tourism Ireland
Tourism Ireland is the organisation responsible for promoting the island of Ireland as a leading holiday destination.
Tourism is the island of Ireland’s largest indigenous industry; responsible for in excess of 4% of GNP in the Republic of Ireland and employing approximately 281,000 people across the island.
In 2016, we welcomed approximately 10.3 million overseas visitors to the island of Ireland, delivering revenue of about €5.3 billion.
Tourism Ireland’s international website is www.ireland.com, 29 market sites available in 11 language versions around the world, which attracted 19.37 million visitors in 2016.
Further media information:
Sarah Dee, Tourism Ireland
Email: sdee@tourismireland.com / Tel: +353 87-6851897