Star Wars filming to begin on Skellig Michael in KerryPublished29 July 2014Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingImage caption, Production crews begin work on the picturesque island of Skellig Michael in preparation for the filming of Star Wars: Episode VII. A two-mile exclusion zone has been declared around the island, patrolled by a naval vessel.Image caption, Skellig Michael is the larger of two islands in the Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of the Iveragh peninsula.Image caption, The new film will feature the stars of the original Star Wars trilogy, including Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker. Here his son Nathan waits to be transported across to the island.Image caption, A Christian monastery was established on the island at some point between the 6th and 8th Centuries and was continuously occupied until the late 12th Century.Image caption, Filming has already taken place at Pinewood Studios in London and in Abu Dhabi. Another member of the Hamill family, Mark's daughter Chelsea, visited Skellig Michael on Monday.Image caption, The remains of the monastery and most of the island were designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1996Image caption, Griffin Hamill joined his brother and sister on set on Tuesday. It is the first time that the Star Wars franchise has landed in the Republic of Ireland.More on this storyCall to end Troubles prosecutionsPublished20 November 2013Victims on Troubles killings callPublished20 November 2013In Pictures: Northern Ireland TroublesPublished20 November 2013Call to end Troubles prosecutions. Video, 00:02:54Call to end Troubles prosecutionsPublished20 November 20132:54Haass talks deadline 'do-able'Published18 November 2013McGurk's bomb families to see reportPublished19 November 2013Around the BBCBBC - History - Bloody SundayBBC Learning Zone: Abercorn bombing