Feis Teamhra 29th August 2010
The 3rd Feis Teamhra: A Turn at Tara, took place last Sunday 29th August behind the church on the Hill of Tara. From 3 till 5 pm those present were treated to a selection of poetry and music from Aidan Brennan, Susan McKeown, Michael Longley, Laoise Kelly, Paul Muldoon, Colm Toibín and Seamus Heaney. It was a celebration of the history of Tara but of course a sombre tone was present even in the beautiful sunshine that warmed the day. The opening of the motorway still recent enough to strike a chord and mark the end of the campaign to save the landscape of the valley, so rich in heritage, below.
Before the event, the Tara Skryne Preservation Group were joined by Aidan Brennan, Susan McKeown, Paul Muldoon and Colm Toibín at Collierstown, to lay a wreath at this place where an ancestral burial ground made way for a motorway.
click for iphone version of video
an extended version of this clip can be seen in the main video player (link on the upper left side)
Here are some photos taken while I was filming the performances at Feis Tara. I will put up some video from it soon.
(see down on the bottom left to navigate through the photos when they pop up)
Published by itison on September 1st, 2010 tagged art, campaigns, history, music | Comment now »
Mark & Jim at Aideen’s Grave
Yesterday I spent the afternoon in conversation with Dr. Mark Clinton (An Taisce) and the artist Jim Fitzpatrick at Aideen’s Grave atop the Hill of Howth. Will upload a sample of this interview over the next few days.
Big thanks to them both for sharing their views on the Tara / M3 fiasco.
Published by itison on August 4th, 2010 tagged archaeology, mytholgy, opinion, project notes | Comment now »
Updates June 2010
On Thursday last week (17/06/10), I conducted a number of interviews / discussions in DCTV’s studio in Dublin. Although very much under crewed, I reckon I have pulled together what will be a nice piece to complement the documentary film. What I have in mind, is a a television debate that never happened on a fictional Tara TV channel.
Big thanks to everyone who took part; Lou, Danny, JP, Maeve, John, Julitta, Claire, Alan, Andrew, Roibeard, Liam, Joanne, Terry, Danny and Laoise. …and special thanks to James and John from DCTV and to Stephen for doing the sound and also to Anne-Marie.
Overall the documentary is meant to be transmedia, whereby the website acts as an extension of the film and vice versa. There is a new social network built on the open source Elgg platform which will be used to manage the project as well as serve as a resource to accompany the film when it is complete. http://itison.tv/tarasaga/weavers/
Anyone who wishes to contribute to this resource is welcome to join. The aim is to have a place to tie all the different strands together and for this archive to be available to the public on completion. Files in many formats can be uploaded and viewed within the site and video can be embedded from elsewhere on the web. Tags are used to tie everything together so it is important to use general category keywords (eg. archaeology / history / politics ) as well as more specific keywords (eg. place-names and year, organisations etc). Groups are a central function of the site were discussion can take place.
There will be more announcements later this week after I talk to some people about crowd-sourcing the funding as well as the production of the film. The input of many will make this a far better project. Of course I am worried that I cannot give this important issue full justice and welcome the expertise of anyone who can add to the Tara Saga.
Published by mark on June 22nd, 2010 tagged project notes | Comment now »
Summer Solstice @ Tara 2010
It is almost the end of longest day of this year, 2010. This morning I was betwixt two trees in my sleeping hammock on the perimeter of the Hill of Tara. It was just past 4am and the sun was beginning to rise. I could see through the opening of my cocooned suspended bed, the large gathering of people congregate on the hill and welcome in the sun of summer Solstice. It was time to get up. I hadn’t slept, just merely dosed for about an hour, rested my eyes. I probably would have been better off not attempting sleep at all. I untied the hammock, packed it away and as I done so the OPW pass by in their 4×4 in the field behind. The Office Of Public Works had so kindly provided round the clock security for this year’s solstice celebration on the Hill of Tara, because in their view, the biggest threat to the site are those who have campaigned to protect Tara’s wider landscape from being destroyed by motorway. This doesn’t seem to make a lot of sense really. Their remit was to stop camping and fires from been lit on the hill. Of course that didn’t stop the ten or so tents that sprang up just above the car-park at around 10pm on the evening before, probably as in reality this patch of grass on the edge of the Hill of Tara’s entrance was not the responsibility of the OPW. They also didn’t stop myself from putting my hammock between two trees which was in their area of responsibility, because I reckon they did not see me.
The evening past was a gathering of people to celebrate the solstice and to regroup following the opening of the M3. It was great to catch up with people I had met as far back as summer 2007 and to meet new people from all over the country who are interested in this place. The Hill of Tara was visited by Hope and Donny from the aboriginal Wangkumarra people who talked about how the Santos mining company have destroyed their sacred landscape. It was good to hear from these indigenous people about their struggle against big business supported by government and to compare this to the situation with Tara and the M3. Unfortunately I did not get to talk to them on camera. Later on I talked to a pilgrim from Quebec, Pierre-Andre who believes he was sent to Tara by God. He has been travelling the world on his pilgrimage with his big white cross and his luggage on wheels. It was interesting to see this man on a life dedicated to God, fraternise among the neo-pagans who represent some of the protestors. He only discovered the St. Patrick connection on arrival. The sunset scene from the Hill of Tara is a sight to treasure and even more powerful on the summer solstice. Everybody faced west and watched the sun go down above the expanse of Ireland you can see out west. It was after 11pm when the light began to fade. There was drink and food and everyone was in great spirits. I was doing my best to hold it together, but I was over analysing this film I’ve been trying to make and all the missing pieces. For the first time, I see a funded film crew work on a story related to Tara. I think about where I would have been at, if I was supported like that. How much more I could have done with a regular team to share the workload and then I dismiss the thought. I know it is not how this project is to be made. I finish off my naggin of spiced rum at the carpark and enjoyed some poetry and song and conversation before I head off to the other side of the hill in search of two trees….
I set up the camera on the tripod at the end of the field looking south east to the hill. By now I couldn’t see the sun rise as it was out of my view but I watched the crowd watch it and cheer, so I knew it was there. I put the tripod back in it’s bag loaded up and walked up the hill towards the Lia Fáil. The morning dew on the long grass quickly soaked my through my shoes, dampening my feet and the bottom of my jeans. As I got to the mound I found two local men in very merry form. They asked “where’s tonto?” and enquired as to what was the film this lone ranger was making, all about. I told them about it and about how it might not be on RTÉ. They wondered why I was still following the story after the road was complete but expressed that they did not support the road. I said I would interview them only they quite obviously were drunk and I would catch them later perhaps. I ask what brings them to the hill and they simultaneously say: “women”. They are two local farmer bachelors looking for females to keep them warm. I ask how that’s going and they respond: “not very well, but ya can’t stop trying!”. I wish them well and move along, starting up the hill at the steepest part and quickly fell on my ass. Of course the two farmers are close enough to catch a laugh! I get up the mound with the help of my tripod and observe for a while the druidic celebration of nature taking place next to the Lia Fáil on the Inauguration Mound. I then head over to Teach Cormac where another ceremony has just come to and end mainly attended by the protest groups. As I look all around the hill I see there are many smaller groupings, all celebrating the solstice in their own ways. The tranquillity of the place is in full effect. Today the sun will shine for the longest time.
I head back to the carpark to dry my feet for a while and to assess what I need to do for the day. But my energy is below zero, I am low and can’t think straight, let alone talk to people. I chose to slip away, say goodbye to one of the warriors, so as not to be too rude and begin the walk toward the bus stop. I should really have stuck around. But I couldn’t. I needed to get away, seek solitude, get home and get into bed. I arrive back in Dublin before 8am as the early birds start their day. The city is waking up and I am seeking sleep. This is not unusual. All the while i am thinking I should have stayed at Tara for the day. But there will be other days.
Happy Solstice. :)
Published by itison on June 21st, 2010 tagged activism, campaigns, spirituality | Comment now »
June 21st is final day of filming this project
On Thursday 10th and 17th of June IT/IS/ON Productions will conduct a number of interviews with people about the Tara / M3 controversy in the DCTV studio in central Dublin. These will be the last interviews for the Tara Saga documentary which will then culminate with the final scenes being filmed at the summer solstice celebrations on the Hill of Tara on June 21st.
This essentially will put a cap on the footage shot for this documentary which I initiated in the summer of 2007.
It has been a long journey and this has not being an easy project to undertake for many reasons which I won’t go into here. What’s important is that it be completed. As always I welcome anyone who wants to help with the project in any way. This can be over the next couple of weeks of production in studio or on location and during the post-production stages where the mammoth of footage and strands will be edited and tied together into a comprehensive documentary film telling the latest story in the history of Tara.
I want to thank everyone who has helped out so far, those who shared their stories with me and those who helped capture the moments, you know who you are.
The purpose of this note is to round up all the interested parties who wish to have their say on the Tara Saga. The idea is you come to me. I can’t afford to be chasing after people at this stage and by setting up studio days I can use my time productively and give it all my energy. I am especially interested in talking to people whom I’ve interviewed before, so that we can look back at the footage during these interviews. Of course everyone else is welcome and for those of you outside of Ireland we can arrange a video chat over Skype.
I hope you will give this your consideration and share it with anyone else you think may have interest in it. The easiest thing you can do is share it, to put the word on the street.
Support for this project can come in many ways.
Thanks for reading.
Best wishes,
Mark
email: tara@itison.net
leave a message: +353 1 5242130
[UPDATE 21/06/10 : "No it's not" (the final day filming). Full explanation to follow.]
Published by itison on June 5th, 2010 tagged campaigns, future, news, project notes | Comment now »
Tara TV (Panel Show) Postponed
This is just a quick announcement to say that the panel show planned for this coming St Patrick’s Day will not go ahead on the day. Unfortunately there was not enough interest in being on the panels and in the given time frame it was decided to pull the plug rather than do something which would be largely a waste of time.
This is still on the table however and you are encouraged to take part in the discussion right here, right now. You can leave video or audio comments below. This is the preferred way of doing this for inclusion in the documentary. Don’t be shy!
You can also use the Facebook platform to become part of the dialogue. Become a fan on the Facebook page here.
here is the postponement announcement from yesterday..
Published by itison on March 5th, 2010 tagged project notes | 1 Comment »
Tara TV : Panel Show : March 17th : Participation Callout
info is here…
if you would like to participate right now.. the comments are open where you can also leave a video or voicemail…
[EDIT: video comments not working well.. bubblecast option (The "Add Video Comment" link on the very bottom), here is how you get in..
tarasara
gabhra
]
Published by itison on February 12th, 2010 tagged campaigns, news, project notes | 7 Comments »
Update: Feb 2010
Well this blog hasn’t ben used in a while for the purpose of the project, but it goes on nonetheless. The latest chapter is the planned panel show discussion in association with DCTV on March 17th. See next post.