From Ancient Tombs to Mountain Stone: A Personal Quest
Inspired by a trip to Newgrange I wanted to travel to Wicklow and retrieve a piece of quartzite to make a sculpture.
Fascade at Newgrange
Visiting Newgrange and Knowth was incredible. What really struck me, beyond the sheer age of these tombs, was learning that people centuries ago brought quartzite stone all the way from the Wicklow Mountains to place around the outside of these sacred sites. That fact really sparked something in me. I wanted to experience that connection to the land myself, and bring a piece of that history into my own work.
So, I decided to go to the Wicklow Mountains to find my own quartzite for a sculpture. It felt like retracing ancient steps, connecting to the same landscape that inspired those early builders.
Valley leading to Bray
The trip into Wicklow was amazing. The mountains were beautiful, green, and wild. As I hiked, I was lucky enough to spot some wildlife. I saw a Sika deer dart through the trees – a really graceful sight. Looking up, I watched a peregrine falcon soaring high above, incredibly powerful and free. This one was particularly spectacular, it inverted and barrel-rolled over the tops of the pine trees, disappearing into the valley leading towards Bray.
I also made sure to visit Powerscourt Waterfall. The sheer force of the water crashing down was immense, a powerful reminder of nature's raw energy. It was here, as I looked at the powerful flow, that I realised something important about the quartzite I'd found. The piece I held was jagged and rough, but the stones I'd seen at Brú na Bóinne were round and smooth. They must have been river-worn, shaped by countless years of water flowing over them. This made my curiosity about the ancient people even stronger, understanding that they not only transported the stone, but chose specific, water-smoothed pieces.
After some searching, I found the perfect piece of quartzite. Holding it, I felt a real connection to those ancient people who had done something similar centuries ago. It felt like bringing a piece of that history, and the beautiful Wicklow landscape, back with me.
Quatzite
Now, I'm excited to start working on my sculpture, incorporating this piece of Wicklow quartzite.
