Dermot Somers is a prominent
broadcaster, and his superb series for TG4 and RTÉ,
Cuairt na Cruinne, An Bealach Ó Dheas, and Turas Feasa
as well as his other journeys with cameraman and producer
John Murray, have been deservedly acclaimed.
Rince ar na Ballaí,
is an account of Somers' mountaineering expeditions from the
Alps to the Himalayas, and of his journeying with a camel
train in the Sahara, which follows an ancient traditional
route to sell salt. Dermot Somers is already a published author
in English but Rince ar na Ballaí is his first book
in Irish. Rince ar na Ballaí is a thoughtful, searching
memoir, written with rigour and wry humour, in a crafted and
textured style. It mirrors his physical terrains. It is as
much a discovery of new landscapes as of language pushed beyond
familiar boundaries. Self-effacing, Somers has an eagle’s
eye for detail, making the strange familiar and recognisable.
He is a natural storyteller and raconteur, and describes the
highly technical craft of mountaineering and climbing with
great ease in Irish. He brings his characters and companions
to life. We breathe their air.
It was 10.07 a.m. on May 27th,
1993 when the Belfast architect and mountain guide, Dawson
Stelfox held out his camera and took a crooked photograph
of himself on the summit, then communicated his position by
radio to his fellow team members down below. "Bhris rabharta
áthais anuas ar an bpuball, screadaíl is béicíl,"
fellow climber, Dermot Somers, recalls. Éireannaigh,
Neipealaigh, Tibéadaigh ag pocléimnigh is ag
rince". And surely they were "ag pocléimnigh"-
Nepalese, Tibetans, and Irish bouncing about at the 17,000-foot
high base camp in sheer, unadulterated delight.
Prize winning memoir
He may grimace at my "popular"
selection, but these moments are vividly recalled by Somers
in his recently published memoir Rince ar na Ballaí,
which was a prizewinner in the current Oireachtas Literary
Awards. The author recalls how he was so overcome by the drama
of the occasion that he broke out in Irish on the radio. The
Belfast man listened to him politely from the summit, not
understanding a word of what he said, yet knowing that the
sentiments came from the heart. As Somers notes with wry humour,
there was no doubt that Stelfox had the added distinction
of being the "highest listener ever" to the Irish
language.
Everest and that highly risky,
but successful, attempt on the mountain's North Ridge in the
footsteps of Mallory and Irvine is subject of the final chapter
in Somers's account, published late last year by Cois Life.
However his life and times on the Alps and the Himalayas in
the company of fellow climbers is the main theme of the memoir,
which starts out on a rock face with a quip to a colleague
about what to do if he should fall… Somers, a teacher
and a diver in past lives and originally from Co. Roscommon,
came to climbing relatively late, but has a series of mountaineering
accomplishments, including Irish "firsts" on the
Eiger and Matterhorn. Yet for all his achievements, his memoir
repeatedly disabuses the reader of any notion that he takes
life too seriously. At this point, I must declare an interest.
I know this not because of any great command of the Irish
language, but because I have been in his company on many occasions.
The first time was at Everest
base camp after this newspaper, as an expedition sponsor,
decided to send a journalist to report on the expedition's
progress. Some of the climbers feared that the ghoulish press
might feel a death or two was required to make the story worthwhile,
but as Somers makes clear in his book, he understood the real
state of affairs: I was afraid myself of being consumed by
angry team members if things went badly wrong. Also I was
aware of the scapegoating of a Sunday newspaper journalist
assigned to an unhappy Chris Bonington expedition.
Salt Traders' Caravan
Not all of the text is rooted
on the slopes of high and awkward mountains. Somers also describes
his experiences in the Sahara with the Tuareg people of northern
Niger, when he joined a caravan of salt traders for a television
documentary. Caoilfhionn Nic Pháidín of Cois
Life says she can almost hear him speak through the paragraphs.
His "authentic, uncompromising" voice is already
well known through his programmes for TG4, which have been
re-broadcast on RTÉ. In his recreation of the landscape
he is not one to waste a glimpse, a moment - and in his "críoch",
he has the last word on the circus that one big mountain has
become.
Lorna Siggins, The
Irish Times 06/02/03
The mountaineer Dermot Somers
has been a familiar face on Irish language television since
it first began. Lean and wiry, he strides effortlessly across
the landscape and climbs sheer rock-faces like a spider, while
making lyrical and philosophical comments on people and places.
"Remember the sunsets and dawns, and one day there will
be a whole coastline in your heart," he memorably remarked.
As well as traversing many Irish hills, Somers has climbed
Everest, the Eager and the Matterhorn. He also joined a caravan
of Tuareg salt traders crossing the Sahara, the subject of
a documentary. Now he has published a very attractive account
of his adventures, titled 'Rince ar na Ballaí'. It
is illustrated with dramatic colour photographs, many of them
taken by Somers himself. Somers is a natural story-teller
and Rince ar na Ballaí will delight Irish-speaking
climbers and armchair travellers alike. He appends a useful
glossary, with words which in themselves speak volumes, such
as 'altar' (on the edge of the abyss), 'oigheardhó'
(frostbite), 'scéinsúileach' (wide-eyed), 'sraoilleach'
(straggling, trudging in a line), 'stámhailleach' (lurching,
staggering), and 'taiscéalaíocht' (exploration).
