By Maxime Chouinard
When I first saw the Last Jedi, I was surprised to see Luke Skywalker use a distinctly Irish style in his fight against Rey. Not only is the 1/3rd grip there, but the blocks, strikes and even use of the off hand all look incredibly like Bataireacht. Perhaps a nudge to the filming location in Skellig Islands? Unfortunately, my Star Wars fan heart ached that no one asked me to consult… Maybe next time? 😉
And of course, what is Luke carrying around Ahch-To?
Well, what do you know! A shillelagh!
This isn’t the first time that Irish stick was used as an inspiration to a fighting style on screen. The first confirmed instance was in Assassin’s Creed Syndicate by Ubisoft, where one of the protagonists used his cane in a style inspired by bataireacht. Again, the developers missed an opportunity as unbeknown to them I lived in the same city as their production team, and one of my students worked at Ubisoft a few offices away from the developers!
