It was Flower and two fellow Englishman who began to persuade the people of the island to write their stories and from their encouragements, we got classics such as An tÓileanach and Fiche Blian ag Fás. Flower became so liked that he was given the Irish name Bláithín.
Marstrander was instrumental in suggesting that Robin Flower visit the Blaskets and sent him to Tomás Ó Croithin. JM Synge arrived in 1905 and he was followed by Norwegian Carl Marstrander. Gradually, visitors came to the Blaskets to learn Irish and to gather the stories and music of the islanders. Songs, music and storytelling passed the winter nights.
In those early years of the last century, any entertainment was home grown, particularly during the winter. There she developed her talent for storytelling and she became one of the best-known seanchaí’s in the country. Peig moved out to the island where she lived for the next 40 years and where seven of her 10 children survived infancy. This sojourn was not as happy as before but Peig left Dingle when she married Pádraig Ó Guithín from the Great Blasket Island. Peig had hoped to emigrate but was disappointed when her friend never sent back the fare as promised, so she went back into service in Dingle. As was the custom at that time, when one person emigrated they often sent back the fare for another to follow them. She was happy in Dingle and treated well but returned home to Dunquin for health reasons. As a young girl, she worked as a servant girl for a Dingle shopkeeper. Peig Sayers was born in Baile an Bhiocáire near Dunquin in West Kerry.
You do not often find a person known simply by their Christian name and while it is common nowadays for married ladies to continue to use their maiden names, it was a rarity in the early years of the last century. Her story is no longer on the curriculum and has been replaced by, among others, Ireland’s Got Talent star Daithí Ó Sé’s father, Maidhc Dainín Ó Sé, who once roguishly described himself as “Peig without the shawl”. Her tales of the harsh life of ordinary folk along the west coast and on the islands was a staple diet for generations. Was there ever a woman more cursed upon by generations of schoolchildren? Her life story was a basic part of the school programme for decades. who loved to entertain and drew people to her."ĭr Criostoir MacCarthaigh told the documentary that contrary to the public image, Sayers was a woman with a strong sense of humour who was recorded in the 1940s by the Irish Folklore Commission and was a born performer.Poor old Peig. Máire Ní Dhálaigh, of the Office of Public Works's Blasket Centre, said: "Peig was the Netflix of the time and people gathered around her from far and wide. She discovered that Sayers was a much maligned woman who, in many ways, was the opposite of that portrayed in her autobiography. There are many layers to Peig, as I found out whilst making this programme.” “ This woman generously shared not only her life story, but many other stories that she had collected over the years I don’t believe the abuse she continuously receives is warranted. “I wonder what Peig would have said, if she knew that we’d still be talking about her, at length, in the year 2021?” mused Ní Uallacháin? Peig Sayers at her home on the Great Blasket Island in the 1930s. Unfortunately, the book came to associate the Irish language with poverty, misery and bored generations of teenagers to tears.TG4 broadcaster Sinéad Ní Uallacháin is attempting to rehabilitate Sayers's reputation and restore her as a storyteller worldwide.
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