#StarWars - "Incidents" requiring "repairs" by stonemasons following the recent Star Wars film shoot on Skellig Michael have been confirmed by the Office of Public Works (OPW).
As previously reported on Afloat.ie, the week-long film shoot on the Unesco World Heritage site – which includes a monastic site dating to the 6th century, and a sensitive habitat for a number of seabird species – prompted concerns among environmentalists ahead of the production's arrival.
Those worries were dismissed by Arts Minister Heather Humphries, despite mounting criticism from a number of people in the arts connected with the Kerry coastal island, taking her to task for not consulting with the OPW before giving the go-ahead to the Disney-backed film shoot.
Now The Irish Times reports that the minister did not approve the film shoot under section 14 of the National Monuments Act, according to An Taisce - which said it has photographic evidence of fresh repairs to the entrance of the island's monetary and a number of stone steps on the site.
Repairs to the steps were confirmed by the OPW, which said the work was "an entirely normal procedure" at the end of the visitor season.
It has also emerged that Disney Lucasfilm was not charged a facility fee for the recent shoot nor last year's filming on the island for the upcoming release Star Wars: The Force Unleashed.
The Irish Times has more on the story HERE.