Peig Sayers
Encyclopedia
Peig Sayers (ˌpɛɡ ˈsɛərz) (1873–1958) was an Irish
author and seanachaí born in Dunquin
(Dún Chaoin), County Kerry
, Ireland. Seán Ó Súilleabháin, the former archivist for the Irish Folklore Commission
, described her as "one of the greatest woman storytellers of recent times".
produced by the Land War
. She moved to the Great Blasket Island
after marrying Pádraig Ó Guithín, a fisherman
and native of the island.
Peig was illiterate in the Irish language although she received her early schooling through the medium of English, but dictated many of her stories to Seosamh Ó Dálaigh of the Irish Folklore Commission
and Dr. Robin Flower
of the British Museum
.
She continued to live on the island until 1953, when the island was abandoned due to declining population. She was moved to a hospital in An Daingean, Co. Kerry where she died in 1958. She is buried in the Dún Chaoin Burial Ground, Corca Dhuibhne, Ireland
. Her surviving children, except for her son Micheál, emigrated to the USA
and live with their descendants in Springfield, Massachusetts
.
genre of personal histories by and about inhabitants of the Blasket Islands and other remote Irish locations. Tomás Ó Criomhthain
's memoir an tOileánach ("the Islandman", 1929) and Robert J. Flaherty
's documentary Man of Aran
address similar subjects. The movement swiftly found itself the object of some derision and mockery – especially among the more cosmopolitan city dwellers of Ireland - for its often relentless depictions of rural hardship. Parody of the type reached its zenith with Flann O'Brien
's satire of an tOileánach as an Béal Bocht
("the Poor Mouth").
Peig depicts the declining years of a traditional, Irish-speaking way of life characterised by poverty
, devout Catholicism
, and folk memory of the Famine and the Penal Laws
. The often bleak tone of the book is established from its opening words:
The book was for a long time required reading in secondary schools in Ireland. As a book with arguably sombre themes (its latter half cataloging a string of family misfortunes), its presence on the Irish syllabus was criticised for some years. From 1960 the Irish population was urbanizing, a process that led to the "Celtic Tiger
" economy in the 1990s, and Peig's tales of woe in rural surroundings confirmed to many students that Irish was a language of poverty and misery, while English was considered the language of science and commerce.
It led, for example, to this comment from Senator John Minihan
in the Irish Senate
in 2006 when discussing improvements to the curriculum:
television channel TG4
, Fionnula Flanagan plays the ghost of Peig Sayers, sent to Dublin to restore faith in the Irish language. A stage play named Peig: The Musical! (co-written by Julian Gough
, Gary MacSweeney and the Flying Pig Comedy Troupe) was also loosely based on Peig's autobiography.
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
author and seanachaí born in Dunquin
Dunquin
Dún Chaoin , meaning "Caon's stronghold", is a Gaeltacht village in west County Kerry, Ireland. Dunquin lies at the Western tip of the Dingle Peninsula, overlooking the Blasket Islands. At 10°27'16"W, it is the most westerly settlement of Ireland...
(Dún Chaoin), County Kerry
County Kerry
Kerry means the "people of Ciar" which was the name of the pre-Gaelic tribe who lived in part of the present county. The legendary founder of the tribe was Ciar, son of Fergus mac Róich. In Old Irish "Ciar" meant black or dark brown, and the word continues in use in modern Irish as an adjective...
, Ireland. Seán Ó Súilleabháin, the former archivist for the Irish Folklore Commission
Irish Folklore Commission
The Irish Folklore Commission was set up in 1935 by the Irish Government to study and collect information on the folklore and traditions of Ireland....
, described her as "one of the greatest woman storytellers of recent times".
Biography
She spent much of her early life as a domestic servant working for members of the growing middle classMiddle class
The middle class is any class of people in the middle of a societal hierarchy. In Weberian socio-economic terms, the middle class is the broad group of people in contemporary society who fall socio-economically between the working class and upper class....
produced by the Land War
Land War
The Land War in Irish history was a period of agrarian agitation in rural Ireland in the 1870s, 1880s and 1890s. The agitation was led by the Irish National Land League and was dedicated to bettering the position of tenant farmers and ultimately to a redistribution of land to tenants from...
. She moved to the Great Blasket Island
Great Blasket Island
Great Blasket is the principal island of the Blaskets, County Kerry, Ireland.-Geography:The island lies approximately 2 km from the mainland at Dunmore Head, and extends 6 km to the southwest, rising to 292 metres at its highest point...
after marrying Pádraig Ó Guithín, a fisherman
Fisherman
A fisherman or fisher is someone who captures fish and other animals from a body of water, or gathers shellfish. Worldwide, there are about 38 million commercial and subsistence fishermen and fish farmers. The term can also be applied to recreational fishermen and may be used to describe both men...
and native of the island.
Peig was illiterate in the Irish language although she received her early schooling through the medium of English, but dictated many of her stories to Seosamh Ó Dálaigh of the Irish Folklore Commission
Irish Folklore Commission
The Irish Folklore Commission was set up in 1935 by the Irish Government to study and collect information on the folklore and traditions of Ireland....
and Dr. Robin Flower
Robin Flower
Robin Ernest William Flower was an English poet and scholar, a Celticist, Anglo-Saxonist and translator from the Irish language. He is commonly known in Ireland as "Bláithín" . He married Ida Mary Streeter.-Life:...
of the British Museum
British Museum
The British Museum is a museum of human history and culture in London. Its collections, which number more than seven million objects, are amongst the largest and most comprehensive in the world and originate from all continents, illustrating and documenting the story of human culture from its...
.
She continued to live on the island until 1953, when the island was abandoned due to declining population. She was moved to a hospital in An Daingean, Co. Kerry where she died in 1958. She is buried in the Dún Chaoin Burial Ground, Corca Dhuibhne, Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
. Her surviving children, except for her son Micheál, emigrated to the USA
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and live with their descendants in Springfield, Massachusetts
Springfield, Massachusetts
Springfield is the most populous city in Western New England, and the seat of Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States. Springfield sits on the eastern bank of the Connecticut River near its confluence with three rivers; the western Westfield River, the eastern Chicopee River, and the eastern...
.
Books
Sayers is most famous for her autobiography, Peig, ISBN 0-8156-0258-8, but also recounted folklore and other stories which were recorded in Machnamh Seanmhná/An Old Woman's Reflections, ISBN 978-0192812391.Peig
Sayers's autobiography was dictated to her son Micheál and published in 1936. Peig is among the most famous expressions of a late Gaelic RevivalGaelic Revival
The Gaelic revival was the late-nineteenth-century national revival of interest in the Irish language and Irish Gaelic culture...
genre of personal histories by and about inhabitants of the Blasket Islands and other remote Irish locations. Tomás Ó Criomhthain
Tomás Ó Criomhthain
Tomás Ó Criomhthain was a native of the Irish-speaking Great Blasket Island off the coast of County Kerry in Ireland. He wrote two books, Allagar na h-Inise written over the period 1918–23 and published in 1928, and , completed in 1923 and published in 1929...
's memoir an tOileánach ("the Islandman", 1929) and Robert J. Flaherty
Robert J. Flaherty
Robert Joseph Flaherty, F.R.G.S. was an American filmmaker who directed and produced the first commercially successful feature length documentary film, Nanook of the North...
's documentary Man of Aran
Man of Aran
Man of Aran is a fictional documentary by Robert J. Flaherty about life on the Aran Islands off the western coast of Ireland. It portrays characters living in premodern conditions, documenting their daily routines such as fishing off high cliffs, farming potatoes where there is little soil, and...
address similar subjects. The movement swiftly found itself the object of some derision and mockery – especially among the more cosmopolitan city dwellers of Ireland - for its often relentless depictions of rural hardship. Parody of the type reached its zenith with Flann O'Brien
Flann O'Brien
Brian O'Nolan was an Irish novelist, playwright and satirist regarded as a key figure in postmodern literature. Best known for novels such as At Swim-Two-Birds, The Third Policeman and An Béal Bocht and many satirical columns in The Irish Times Brian O'Nolan (5 October 1911 – 1 April 1966) was...
's satire of an tOileánach as an Béal Bocht
An Béal Bocht
An Béal Bocht is a 1941 novel in Irish by Brian O'Nolan, published under the pseudonym Myles na gCopaleen. It is widely regarded as one of the greatest Irish-language novels of the 20th century. An English translation by Patrick C...
("the Poor Mouth").
Peig depicts the declining years of a traditional, Irish-speaking way of life characterised by poverty
Poverty
Poverty is the lack of a certain amount of material possessions or money. Absolute poverty or destitution is inability to afford basic human needs, which commonly includes clean and fresh water, nutrition, health care, education, clothing and shelter. About 1.7 billion people are estimated to live...
, devout Catholicism
Catholicism
Catholicism is a broad term for the body of the Catholic faith, its theologies and doctrines, its liturgical, ethical, spiritual, and behavioral characteristics, as well as a religious people as a whole....
, and folk memory of the Famine and the Penal Laws
Penal Laws (Ireland)
The term Penal Laws in Ireland were a series of laws imposed under English and later British rule that sought to discriminate against Roman Catholics and Protestant dissenters in favour of members of the established Church of Ireland....
. The often bleak tone of the book is established from its opening words:
The book was for a long time required reading in secondary schools in Ireland. As a book with arguably sombre themes (its latter half cataloging a string of family misfortunes), its presence on the Irish syllabus was criticised for some years. From 1960 the Irish population was urbanizing, a process that led to the "Celtic Tiger
Celtic Tiger
Celtic Tiger is a term used to describe the economy of Ireland during a period of rapid economic growth between 1995 and 2007. The expansion underwent a dramatic reversal from 2008, with GDP contracting by 14% and unemployment levels rising to 14% by 2010...
" economy in the 1990s, and Peig's tales of woe in rural surroundings confirmed to many students that Irish was a language of poverty and misery, while English was considered the language of science and commerce.
It led, for example, to this comment from Senator John Minihan
John Minihan (politician)
John Minihan is a former Irish politician who served as a member of Seanad Éireann for the Progressive Democrats. He had previously served in the Irish Defence Forces where he attained the rank of captain...
in the Irish Senate
Seanad Éireann
Seanad Éireann is the upper house of the Oireachtas , which also comprises the President of Ireland and Dáil Éireann . It is commonly called the Seanad or Senate and its members Senators or Seanadóirí . Unlike Dáil Éireann, it is not directly elected but consists of a mixture of members chosen by...
in 2006 when discussing improvements to the curriculum:
Popular culture
In Paddy Whackery, a television show on the Irish languageIrish language
Irish , also known as Irish Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family, originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish people. Irish is now spoken as a first language by a minority of Irish people, as well as being a second language of a larger proportion of...
television channel TG4
TG4
TG4 is a public service broadcaster for Irish language speakers. The channel has been on-air since 31 October 1996 in the Republic of Ireland and since April 2005 in Northern Ireland....
, Fionnula Flanagan plays the ghost of Peig Sayers, sent to Dublin to restore faith in the Irish language. A stage play named Peig: The Musical! (co-written by Julian Gough
Julian Gough
Julian Gough is an Irish novelist currently living in Berlin.His first novel, Juno & Juliet, was published in 2001 by Flamingo, almost a decade after Gough sung and wrote lyrics for the Irish 1980s cult group Toasted Heretic...
, Gary MacSweeney and the Flying Pig Comedy Troupe) was also loosely based on Peig's autobiography.