The soon to be released ‘Star Wars’ film is expected to catapult Kerry tourism into new heights.

IN NEWS that will come as another huge boost for local tourism, Kerry has just received a wonderful new write up in one of the worlds most famous literary outlets, the New York Times.

For anyone that might not yet have heard, there is a certain film set to be released in just over two weeks that is set to feature one of Kerry’s most famous tourism sites.

That film is of course Star Wars Episode 7: The Force Awakens and our very own Skellig Michael is set to play some sort of (hopefully) pivotal role in the film.

Hype for the film is at an all time high and one journalist from the New York Times took a trip out to Skellig Michael and its surrounding environs recently and this is what he had to say…

The appeal of Skellig

Skellig is without doubt one of the most breathtaking and unique places you could visit. 

“Its remote location has kept the island, a Unesco site, under the radar — luring far fewer (and far more adventurous) souls than other Irish wonders with a high-wattage wow factor, such as the Cliffs of Moher.”

About Mark Hamill

Mark Hamill pulling a pint of the ‘good stuff’ in the Bridge Bar in Portmagee earlier this year. 

“Like many in Portmagee, he (ferryman Declan O’Driscoll) had signed a nondisclosure agreement, giving up the right to dish details of the filming. But you’d sooner keep a Wookiee from roaring than an Irishman from regaling a willing audience, and soon Mr. O’Driscoll was dishing away. “A bunch of us boatmen were standing around, and Mark Hamill came over,” he recalled. “He said, ‘Any advice for climbing the stairs?’ We told him, ‘Just pace yourself, and don’t ever, ever look down,”

About the stunning scenery on offer

The scenery is something to behold.

“There was something mournful and beautiful about it all: the six beehive-shaped monastic cells huddled together, two boat-shaped oratories, as well as crude stone crosses, serving as grave markers, and the ruins of a medieval church. The views over the Atlantic were endless, and gulls and gannets soared and dived, their cries echoing with either anguished loneliness or triumphant salvation, possibly a bit of both,”

Check out the full New York Times article HERE.