Is Ireland ready for the Star Wars invasion?
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Version 0 of 1. I was contemplating the special character of the western horizon last week during a stay on Bardsey Island, or Ynys Enlli, off the west coast of Wales. The setting sun created a pink threshold on the water, as if lighting a doorway to another world. This beckoning quality drew early Christian people to worship on the western isles of Britain and Ireland, and remains a compelling attraction for tourists seeking respite from the materialistic modern world.The other priceless quality of Bardsey is its astonishing peace: no human sounds were audible for days. So the prospect of 30 helicopter “sweeps” each day over such a tranquil place is horrifying – and yet this is the fate of another western island this week, Skellig Michael, which will be invaded by the makers of Star Wars. A spectacular triangle of rock off south-west Ireland, Skellig Michael is a world heritage site, a seabird sanctuary and ancient monastic settlement. Access is usually restricted to 180 boat visitors a day (Atlantic swells permitting), but Hollywood dollars buy what they want – in this case a right to roam, helicopters and all, across the island. Related: Hollywood v heritage on Ireland’s rocky outcrop where monks once trod An Taisce, the Irish national trust, is outraged that the Irish government so readily gave Star Wars permission to shoot on Skellig Michael. But many locals welcome the free-spending filmmakers, who will showcase Ireland’s glorious west coast. The Irish journalist Liam Quinn has defended Hollywood’s exploitation, arguing that people must be allowed to continue their relationship with these wild islands. He quoted local boat-builder Martin Moriarty: “The fishermen are chasing whales and dolphins, skills are being lost and we export our children, we must use what we have.” This chimed with what I heard on Bardsey. The island is carefully managed by a local trust but locals rue its depopulation. “I’m very keen on sustainable development and I’m keen on work,” boatman Colin Evans told me. “The island’s fish and meat have been devalued and so we’re stuck with tourism and the conservation industry, which depends on rules and subsidies from elsewhere which immediately makes the island dependant.” Neither Star Wars nor conservation offers a completely satisfying way for small islands – and islanders – to preserve their integrity in the modern world. Goodbye, secateur orchestra Rita Ora’s new neighbours are reportedly worried about her reputation for late-night partying, but what really riles them is the plastic hedge erected in front of her 1920s north London semi. I didn’t know plastic hedging existed, but “artificial topiary” is a growing industry – fake boxwood, ivy and even execrable-looking “hazel leaf” screening, yours for £44.99 a roll. Will suburbia be drenched in the sickly perfume of privet flowers no longer? Will the Sunday orchestra of secateurs fall silent? Faced with plastic hedges, even epic disputes over monstrous Leylandii look like a golden era. Corbynomics for Heathrow On Thursday, members of Grow Heathrow appear before Uxbridge county court, faced with eviction from the derelict tree nursery they occupied five years ago to stop the third runway at Heathrow. Despite Grow Heathrow seeking a formal tenancy agreement, developers want to build houses on this greenbelt land. As well as people, the site is home to (endangered) birds including linnet, whitethroat and song thrush. Still, Grow Heathrow has a friend who is now in a high place. The local MP, who praised the project for lifting “the morale of the whole local community”, is John McDonnell, the new shadow chancellor. Can he help? |