Jimmy Deenihan, a Kerry TD and former minister for arts, who was involved in bringing The Force Awakens to Skellig Michael last year, showed his support for the scheduled filming next month, which has been criticized by heritage group An Taisce. During an interview with the IrishTimes, Mr Deenihan intentionally or not let a slip that the upcoming shoot will be about Star Wars: Episode VIII.

From IrishTimes:

He [Deenihan] strongly defended the decision to allow Disney Lucasfilm on to the rock to film last year. He said that the return of the film crew next month will further enhance its appeal as a must-see visitor attraction for tourists coming to Ireland.

“I think that this will expose Skellig Rock to the world and I think it will bring thousands of tourists over time to Skellig Rock, weather permitting,” Mr Deenihan said. “Both Star War films are going to show what a gem Skellig Rock is to the world.

“It’s a Unesco World Heritage Site, though obviously not everybody knows that,” he said of Skellig Michael. “But its inclusion in two Star Wars films is going to expose it to an audience of billions of people around the world, and personally I think that is a good thing.”