Twelve Kilometers west of the seaside town of Dingle you will find a village called Ballyferriter. A traditional Irish village that until last year, you have probably never heard of.
Ballyferriter is draped with the green beauty you would expect from Co. Kerry. For decades this part of Ireland has been a hot tourist destination for those in search of the slow peaceful life that the county is known for… that is all about to change.
Ballyferriter lies minutes away from Slea Head, and in the shadow of Ceann Sibeal, both key locations for the galaxy’s most mysterious planet, Ahch-To.
New Star Wars Locations
For the production of Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Lucasfilm opted for alternative locations for Ahch-to, originally shot on Skellig Michael. This allowed for more time filming, more crew on set and easier access to the set; all restrictions faced during the production of The Force Awakens. As a result, at least 7 different locations were chosen throughout Ireland and Pinewood Studios in the UK.
As the world welcomes the second installment of the Star Wars Sequel trilogy, Ballyferriter, are ready to celebrate their role in the production of the film, with a community led festival of Star Wars.
Ballyferriters role
Ballyferriter will go down in the record books as the town that ‘fed and bed’ the crew and certain members of the Star Wars cast, as it is only a short drive from Ceann Sibea, the cliffside location where we know a village of ‘beehive huts’ were constructed.
The village is ready to take their rightful place in Star Wars history, and celebrate an incredible contribution from the town residents, the hoteliers who put the crew up, the local cafe’s and restaurants who helped feed the crew, the farmers who allowed the production on their land, and the hundreds of locals that helped to secure the sites, sherpa the gear and create an atmosphere that has the enstire crew in love with our little island.
The Festival
Ballyferriter: The Star Wars Experience is a 4-day boutique festival run by the ballyferriter community in conjunction with Tourism Ireland. It is no coincidence that the festival dates happen to coincide with the release weekend of The Last Jedi. Here at Blabba HQ, we are incredibly humbled to have been invited down to Bellayferriter to help bring a little Star Wars back to village, and what makes the event even better, is that our resident ‘Queen of Droids’ – BB-K8 will be in Ireland!
Over the course of the 4 days there will be plenty of galactic fun planned, including
- site visits
- pottery Porg making classes
- costume contests
- Screening of The Last Jedi
- photo opportunities with our good friends in the Emerald Garrison,
- and what would it be without a live recording of Blabba the Hutt.
There is also likely to be the usual craic and ceol that is to be expected from a country town in the south of Ireland!
Ballyferriter: The Star Wars Experience takes place between 14th – 17th of December in Ballyferriter co. Kerry.
If you’re interested in learning more about the festival, you can visit their Facebook page here, and whilst you’re at it why not click attending on their Facebook Event here.
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