Friends In High Places

Friends in High Places is a four-part radio series presented by writer and mountaineer Dermot Somers and produced by Peter Woods. This series takes the listener to the high points of the Irish landscape and taps into stories of personal adventure. A guest in each half-hour programme climbs a mountain with Somers while reliving experiences that range from Ireland to the Alps, the Himalayas to the South Pole.

On the slopes of Wicklow's Lugnaquillia, Sé O'Hanlon, legendary Irish cyclist and 4-time winner of Rás Tailteann, outlines his extraordinary career on two wheels laced with his later exploits as a mountaineer. Somers and O'Hanlon deviate from their route to take in a rock-ridge known as 'McAlpine's Back Passage'.

 Kerryman Mike Barry, enlivens an ascent of 'Howling Ridge' on Carrauntoohill with impressions of his journey on foot to the South Pole, his navigation of the Amazon and his various Himalayan expeditions. A wind-power advocate, Mike Barry makes a passionate case for a radical approach to energy-production.

Orla Prendergast, a lecturer in Outdoor Education and a highly regarded climber, takes Somers climbing on a remote Mayo escarpment, almost silencing him with an account of her recent expedition to Greenland and other vertical adventures worldwide. Teaching adventure-sports - climbing, kayaking, surfing - on a three-year degree-course, Orla has arguably the most exciting teaching-job in the country.

In the teeth of a strong wind from the north-east, Martin McGuinness, MP and MLA for mid Ulster, strides to the summit of Slieve Snaght on the Inishowen peninsula. McGuinness recounts his personal roots in the Donegal landscape spread out below. Overlooking Lough Swilly and Lough Foyle, the two climbers easily hold the high ground on political and cultural issues while McGuinness persuades the listener that fishing rivals climbing for entertainment any day.

Dermot Somers has presented previous radio programmes for RTÉ, including a series on the action and landscapes of the Táin in 2004, also produced by Peter Woods. Somers has presented TV documentaries on adventure, travel, landscape, and remote cultures for TG4 and RTÉ. The most recent series traced nomadic journeys in Siberia, Iran and the Sahara.

An award-winning writer of fiction and non-fiction, Somers' work is published both in Irish and in English. He has been a climber for thirty years.

Listen to the series.

Audio links to all the programmes in the series.