Inspired by the story of Oisín i dTír na n-Óg, who single-handedly lifted a boulder up the mountains near Tallaght, Ciarán Taylor’s Rock to the Top invited the people of South Dublin to take up the challenge of recreating this mythic feat by working together.

Participants carried small rocks chipped from a boulder placed outside RUA RED Arts Centre, and carried them along the Dublin Mountain Way to make a cairn at the foot of Kippure. Connecting city with mountains, and people with each other, the project is about walking and talking. On the walks participants met with local experts and took part in small events to mark the seasons. Stories of the walks were retold in sound and pictures at the end of the project, which took place over a year.

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Artist Biography

Ciarán Taylor is artistic director of Carpet Theatre. He studied directing at the University of Kent at Canterbury, and devising at Ecole Jacques Lecoq, Paris.

He has written/devised and directed nineteen diverse productions, which have toured Ireland and abroad. The Flood, his multi-sensory audio play in the dark, tours Ireland in April 2017. Stór was commissioned by Dublin City Council Children’s Art in Libraries in 2016. Sightless Cinema (2014-2017) presents radio drama devised with blind people. Silent Journeys was a large scale community film recreation project; Pigeon (2012) a wordless mask play; The Blanch (2008-2011) a hit satirical comedy inspired by the shopping centre; Ferry Tales a site-specific performance at Dublin Port; Wexford Fire Station Tour a performance in the station; and Two for Dinner for Two featured live cooking and music. Ciarán has also acted at the Abbey Theatre, on national tours and on TG4 and RTÉ TV.

Thanks to RUA RED, Dublin Mountain Partnership Rangers, Wicklow Mountains National Park and Glenasmole Community for their support.

Email: rocktothetopdublinmountains@gmail.com

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