Last year's Census figures are a mine of useful information but one little detail that seems to have gone unnoticed until now is that over two thousand Irish people listed their official religion as 'Jedi Knight'.

Yes, that's a whole lot of fans across the length and breadth of the country who worship at the altar of Star Wars and who claim to have mastered The Force.

According to the Central Statistic Office website, a total of 2,050 people list their religion as Jedi Knight, with men making up the vast majority with some 1,722 amongst their number.

This is the first time we have such a detailed breakdown in the Census figures, so officially there were no Jedi Knights when the last count was taken back in 2011. Under new rules any religion with more than 30 followers will be classified by the CSO.

The data is also probably good news for Disney and LucasFilms if they decide to head back here and look for extras for the upcoming episodes of Star Wars and its many spin-offs after filming took place on Malin Head and along the Western seaboard last year.

Ireland and, in particular, Skellig Michael took centre stage in the first trailer for Star Wars: The Last Jedi, which was released last week.

The two-minute teaser begins with Rey, played by Daisy Ridley, apparently clambering over the cliff edge on the Kerry island where she faced rather well-known Jedi Master, Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), at the end of The Force Awakens.

The follow up to 2015's hugely successful sequel will be released on December 15 and Tourism Ireland has been pulling out all the stops to promote Ireland's connection to what will be one of the biggest movies of the year.

CEO of Tourism Ireland Niall Gibbons said: "Star Wars: The Force Awakens broke box office records around the world in late 2015, bringing the magnificent scenery of Skellig Michael and the Wild Atlantic Way to the attention of millions of people everywhere.

"The fact that Episode VIII: The Last Jedi, due for release this December, was also shot on location along the Wild Atlantic Way is another fantastic coup for Irish tourism - and we’re absolutely delighted that the Wild Atlantic Way features so heavily in the first peek of the next episode...".