Visitor numbers to Skellig Michael, which closed for the season yesterday, were up this year on the back of the success of 'Star Wars'.

By the middle of September, a total of 13,500 people had visited the 6th century monastic island, a Unesco World Heritage Site, according to the Office of Public Works.

Last year, 2015, some 12,560 visited Skellig Michael by season’s end in October.