Cathal BarryKerry priest upset at Govt permission
A well-known priest has criticised the Government’s decision to permit filming for a science fiction movie on the ancient monastic island of Skellig Michael as an abuse of a sacred place.
Msgr Pádraig Ó Fiannachta told The Irish Catholic that he was “personally upset” that the coalition has granted permission for the production company behind Star Wars to return to the revered spot to shoot part of the franchise’s new film there.
He expressed fears that future generations would associate the island more with the fantasy film than its monastic Christian heritage as a powerhouse of prayer in the early Irish Church.
Last year Disney Lucas film filmed part of the Star Wars movie The Force Awakens on Skellig Michael, while Heritage Minister Heather Humphries has confirmed she has granted permission for further filming to take place this month.
Describing the Star Wars movies as “silly”, Msgr Ó Fiannachta warned that the filming would diminish the understanding of the island as a place of spirituality. “That is something you cannot restore,” the former Dingle Parish Priest insisted.
Expressing his hope that the film wouldn’t be a box office success, he said, “I wouldn’t like to wish anybody evil but honestly I hope that the likes of that abuse of a holy place will be forgotten about and will not be repeated.”
Skellig Michael is located 12km off the Kerry coast where a Christian monastery was founded at some point between the 6th and 8th Century and remained continuously occupied until its abandonment in the late 12th Century. The remains of the monastery, along with most of the island itself, became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1996.
Msgr Ó Fiannachta told this newspaper that Skellig Michael had “inspired and uplifted many people” over the years. “Certainly the associations of it up to now were very special and it was a real pilgrimage centre,” he said.
The Kerry native warned, however, that “an association with [Star Wars] won’t help in that way and will probably upset people”.
Msgr Ó Fiannachta also raised concerns about the potential risk film crews pose to the birdlife and the natural environment of Skellig Michael.
“I think it’s a threat especially to the bird life of the area which is of major importance. There are certain places in the world which are held sacred by people who have feelings for art, beauty and the environment. It’s not the Government really who would appreciate that sort of thing, it’s the local people,” he said.