On Saturday a giant will be led through the streets of An Cheathrú Rua before being burned at the stake, accompanied by the sight and sound of an Irish speaking Australian stiltwaker.
The events will be part of Dóilín 2 - the second weekend of the maritime festival Féile an Dóilín - which takes place tomorrow and Saturday.
The festival will see The All-Ireland High Heel Sprint, involving three inches of heels, scraped knees, and a mad 100 metre dash to glory through An Cheathrú Rua; and the gruelling Curach Marathon, a five-mile rowing race through strong currents and rough waters.
Paráid na bhFathach (Parade of the Giant ), is the festival centre-piece. It recreates the legend of the capturing of a fearsome giant living in the local Greatman’s Bay. The giant is marched through the village and burnt at the stake, making the Bay safe for seafarers.
Appearing at Paráid na bhFathach will be Na Fomhóraigh, a new intercultural Irish-language street theatre show, and the latest project from Australian-born Irish-speaker and stiltwaker Ariel Killick.
Since learning Irish some 12 years ago and moving to Ireland permanently in 2000, Ariel has contributed much to Irish-language activity, including workshops and events for the Dublin St Patrick’s Festival, and a scheme of circus skills workshops in Irish in schools.
Having also worked in Irish-language radio broadcasting previously in Sydney, Belfast, and Dublin, her work as founder of iMeasc, a voluntary network of Irish-speaking immigrants, resulted in the Aisling/TG4 Award for Outstanding Services to Irish in 2006.
Na Fomhóraigh’s production for Dóilín 2 features a script written by multi-award winning Irish language dramatist, Darach Ó Scolaí, with director and sword-fighting choreographer being leading stuntman and fight choreographer, Paul Burke. The ornately decorated stiltwalking pants and 'Horn of Tara’ were handpainted by Ariel herself.
For more information go to www.doilin.com
