YOU are bringing your stage show The Story of These Islands in 100 Places to Irish theatres this week. It’s your first time on stage here, but you’re no stranger to Ireland?
I’ve spent a lot of time in Ireland, north and south, and have circumnavigated around the whole island. I’ve filmed Coast here and done a few things specifically for RTE and BBC Northern Ireland.
Can you tell us about the inspiration behind this tour?
I’m stopped regularly on the street by people who would have a chat about Coast or one of the television documentaries I’ve done and they say: "You’ve been everywhere – where should we go next?"
When you are hit with that question out of the blue, your mind goes blank. And so I wrote my book, The Story of the British Isles in 100 Places, as a deliberate attempt to properly answer the question, choosing 100 places that have struck me as unforgettable.
What can we expect at the live shows?
There is a geographical as well as a historical side to this. I wanted to do something simple and straightforward. I’m not an academic, I’m an enthusiast. There will be slides, illustrations from the book and me on stage talking.
I’ve a lot of ground to cover. It’s an idiocentric, personalised view of how we've become to be the set of nations we are today. Every one of the places in the book is considered, if only briefly.
David Attenborough’s new BBC documentary Seven Worlds One Planet shows us the wonders of the world. Do you think people perhaps don’t appreciate the wonders that are on our own doorstep?
Yes. The advent of accessible air travel has encouraged people to think that if you want an adventure, you have to travel 10,000 miles. But Coast has shown people the far north of Scotland, the Atlantic coast of Ireland and Cumberland and made them think, "my God, there are stunning places within an hour’s drive of me".
You have changed the title for your Irish tour to The Story of These Islands in 100 Places – was this a political decision?
I use the term in a non-political way. These islands pre-date the concept of the nation state that exists today. The book and show covers a million years of history – from pre-historic, through periods of civil wars and wars of religion. Ireland to me is a place without borders. With history and archaeology, modern ideas fall away.
You feature a number of Irish locations including Belfast’s Titanic Slipways, Newgrange and the Giant’s Causeway. We all know the legends associated with the Giant's Causeway, can you tell us about its historical significance?
It’s extraordinary – there are so many facets to it, geologically and historically. Lacada Point off the Antrim Coast is the location of the wreck of the Girona, which sank in October 1588. The Spanish Armada set sail with such grand intention to replace Queen Elizabeth with the Catholic King of Spain, Prince Philip. Storms led to its fight for survival when they approached the Giant's Causeway.
You trained as an archaeologist, so was the Neolithic site of The Céide Fields in County Mayo an obvious highlight for you?
For the lion's share of our species' existence on Earth, we were primarily hunters – only relatively recently did we change to farming. The site, on the western limits of the European continent, contains the oldest known field systems in the world.The story of the farming revolution is still being revealed by archaeologists in that part of Ireland.
What's your favourite location?
That changes day by day. Without the magic carpet of television, I don’t think I would have got to visit the Aran Islands off Ireland’s west. It’s such an exposed location and so vulnerable to the Atlantic. Those Iron Age forts of Dún Dúchathair and Dún Chonchúir, which teeter on the edge of the cliffs but were of course built inland, are an illustration of the extent to which these islands are being reclaimed by natural forces.
What do you hope that audiences will take away from your show?
I hope people will go away with the same passion for history that I have. History can sometimes feel like a dry and dusty subject you studied at school. But I find it is as thrilling as any Marvel movie.
Do you feel people nowadays don’t appreciate their history?
People have busy lives and have to concentrate on the here and now. History can feel like a luxury that some people don’t have time for. But for me, it's fundamental for making sense of the present – and to more accurately predict what will happen in the future.
While I do understand for some people it's a peripheral study, it's essential.
What can we learn from the past?
Everything makes more sense when you study history. The more history you read, the less judgemental you become. All the things that are happening now have happened before.
Countries reach a high point, and then they go through low points. That’s all explained by history. Like everyone else, politicians can have a better understanding of what’s happening by appreciating that there are patterns in history.
Do you think history will reveal a united Ireland and a UK free from Europe in the future?
That’s an impossible question. These are decisions for the people living on these islands to make.
Does history affect popular culture today?
Definitely. The stuff that happened in Scotland during the mediaeval period was every bit as violent as Game of Thrones. If you think the House of Lannister is bloodthirsty, just take a look at what happened with the Campbells and MacDonalds.
Is there any particular period of Irish history you are fascinated by?
An Gorta Mór – The Great Hunger. It’s often described as The Irish Potato Famine, but it wasn't famine. Whilst people were dying, vast quantities of food was being exported. Some people say there was a deliberate attempt at genocidal intent to do away with a culture and population, but there's a general consensus that it was more to do with neglect and ignorance.
When eventually the scale of what was unfolding was realised, the response to it was too little and too late. Apart from the million that died, there were hundreds of thousands that left for the new world in north America and other parts of the world to make a fresh start. Ireland was profoundly damaged by that period and we are still living through the consequences of it now.
When can we next see you on our television screens?
I’ve been filming a BBC documentary series about the Scottish clans and it should be broadcast early next year.
:: Neil Oliver The Story of These Islands comes to The Ardhowen, Enniskillen on November 6; Riverside Theatre, Coleraine on November 7, Market Place Armagh on November 8 and The Braid Arts Centre, Ballymena on November 9. Tickets available from venues and Davidhullpromotions.com.
