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Local climber Mike O'Shea who did all the rigging and safety procedures for the film with storm troopers Niamh Dennehy and Dylan Hulme from Portmagee at the screening on Thursday. Picture: Don MacMonagle.

They crossed the galaxies and arrived in Killarney shortly after midday on Thursday clutching their lightsabers close. Cinema Killarney provided the red-carpet treatment to up to 250 Kerry Jedi’s of all ages at a special screening of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, in partnership with Killarney Chamber of Tourism & Commerce, Disney and LucasFilm. The screening was a thank you to the people of Kerry for hosting the shoot of some scenes for the movie on Sceilg Mhichíl.

Absolutely all ages gave the film a five-star rating and all agreed Skellig Michael was showcased to superb effect.

“The portrayal of Skellig is a fantastic legacy of Minister Jimmy Deenihan and Niall O’Donoghue, assistant secretary general at the Department of Arts, and Mike O’Shea, who was involved with the shoot,” said Killarney Chamber President Kate O’Leary.

“The film was wonderful and there are about three minutes where Skellig is shown. It is just extraordinary. You couldn’t pay for this kind of advertising.”

Mike is a force to be reckoned with

KILLARNEY’S Mike O’Shea was a key player in ensuring the safety and logistics went like clockwork during the shooting of Star Wars: The Force Awakens on the Skellig.
The explorer, who runs the adventure specialist company Work and Play at Height in Dingle and Killarney High Ropes, Fossa, was at the special screening on Thursday, having just returned from an expedition in South Georgia. “The task on the Skellig was challenging because of the nature of the rock, which is steep and dangerous so a big part of my work was ensuring the safety of all actors,” he told the Killarney Advertiser.

“We had 16 tonnes of equipment which we had to move to all parts of the island, so it was a case of man-handling 150 kilos at a time and getting stuff off the island quickly enough.”

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‘We were told it was a documentary about puffins!’

AMONG the Kerry people instrumental in helping the crew behind the scenes were Patricia and Gerard Kennedy, owner of the Moorings B&B and the Bridge Bar in Portmagee which hosted the cast and crew on a number of occasions during the shoot.

Killarney Advertiser caught up with Patricia and her family and friends at the special screening at Cinema Killarney on Thursday.

Patricia told us how she attended the premiere in Dublin the previous night which is when she caught her first glimpse of Skellig Michael in the movie.

Gerard has spoken of how when the crew initially checked into The Moorings B&B in Portmagee to scout the potential of the Skelligs, they told the couple they were “filming a documentary about puffins”. But as the numbers of crew increased and none other than Luke Skywalker arrived into the village, locals knew the cover story was just that.