Peig Sayers and the Great Blasket Island

"I am an old woman now, with one foot in the grave and the other on its edge. I have experienced much ease and much hardship from the day I was born until this very day. Had I known in advance half, or even one-third, of what the future had in store for me, my heart wouldn't have been as gay or as courageous as they were in the beginning of my days.

"The place in which I was born was a small remote town land in Dunquin at the foot of Mount Eagle in the town land in which the legendary House of Mór stands. My father and mother didn't marry there; they did so in the parish of Ventry where they lived for some time before moving to Dunquin."

 These are the opening lines from Peig Sayers' autobiography of her life in one of the most remote parts of Ireland. While the original was written in Irish, many translated versions have brought her life to locations that stretch far beyond the often stormy Kerry coastline.

Peig was born in 1873 in Dunquin/Dún Chaoin, County Kerry, one of 13 children. By the age of 14, nine of her brothers and sisters had died, which gives an indication of the poor conditions that people put up with in the latter stages of the 1800s.

Following her marriage to Pádraig Ó Gaoithín she moved to the Great Blasket Island. In the 40 years that she lived there, Peig gave birth to ten children, six of whom survived past childhood.

 It was after her husband's passing that Peig started dictating her tales and stories to Seosamh Ó Dálaigh of the Irish Folklore Commission. Sayers' most famous work was her autobiography 'Peig' and was taken down by one of her sons, Micheál.

'Peig' was published in 1936 when the author had reached the age of 63. Life on the island was getting harder, and its population was gradually depleting. Most of the younger community had either emigrated or relocated to the mainland, and Peig was left to live with her blind brother-in-law.

In 1941, the primary school closed down when it was deemed that six pupils were not enough to sustain it. Just 12 years later, following the collapse of the local fishing industry, the Irish Government decided that the island should be abandoned - the date was November 17, 1953.

Sayers spent the remaining years of her life in a hospital in Dingle, where she died shortly before Christmas in 1958. The importance of her work is hard to gauge even today. In many ways she immortalized a tradition that was struggling for its existence even in her lifetime.

Reask Early Monastic Site, Ballyferriter
Reask is certainly the most thoroughly investigated site of its type on the Dingle Peninsula, having been exhaustively excavated by Dr. Tom Fanning in the early 1970s. The site has since been conserved by the Office of Public Works. It consists basically of an enclosing wall or vallum, an oratory and graveyard with slab shrine, several beautifully engraved cross-slabs and half a dozen circular cells or clochauns. The graveyard had, like many early Christian cemeteries, been reused in more recent times as a burial place for unbaptised infants refused burial in consecrated burial grounds. Early Christian areas reused in this way are known as ceallunacha. Radiocarbon dates suggest the foundation originated in the Fourth or Fifth Century A.D. Finds from the clochauns include evidence of of iron, bronze and possibly glass-working, as well as wool-spinning. A corn drying kiln situated just outside the vallum at west and a number of quernstones indicates the cultivation of cereals by the monks. Monastic activity at Reask seem s to have ended some time in the Twelfth Century A.D. The recovery of shards of Late Roman Amphorae (known as B-Ware) dating to the Seventh Century suggests that the site had good connections with the wider European world at this time, and we may wonder if such small monastic settlements were really so introverted and cut-off from the material world as has been suggested. Reask is situated about a mile outside Ballyferritor on the main Dingle road. The turn-off for the site is beside Brick's Pub, where one of the best pints of Guinness in Corca Dhuibhne can be consumed while mulling over the virtues of the simple monastic life.

Kilmalkeadar Ecclesiastical Complex
The many monuments at Kilmalkeadar are of both Early Christian and Medieval date, and are spread over an area of about ten acres. This site was traditionally founded by Saint Maolcethair, an Ulsterman who died about 636 A.D. There are a number of excellent pillar monuments here, including an ogham stone, alphabet stone, stone cross and a beautiful sun-dial. The Romanesque church is the focal feature of the complex, with one of the finest doorways in that style in Ireland, comparable in quality to those at Clonfert, Inisfallen and Inchagoill. The door has outstanding mouldings in chevron and beaded style, with a central carved figurehead above the arch. The chancel arch and finial are also well executed. A date in the mid Twelfth Century is likely for this building. Two medieval stone houses are also present. The 'Chancellor's House' survives only as it's ground floor plan, while 'St. Brenda's House' survives up to it's first storey, displaying some high quality stone working. An early boat-shaped oratory of similar type to that at Gallarus, but with a partially collapsed roof, lies some 400 meters to the north-west of the Romanesque church.

Gallarus Oratory
Gallarus oratory gets more famous as it grows older.  This outpost of christian civilisation  is about 1300 years old - built in the seventh century. Shaped like an upturned boat the roof was perfectly corbelled by  by men who placed every stone in God's name.  This little church has      been ravaged and pillaged by Vikings, Normans and Saxons over many years.  Weather-beaten by Atlantic gales it is still waterproof and perfectly preserved.  Here is expressed the indomitable spirit of west Kerry through its generations of hardly Gold fearing people who were contemporary with St. Brendan and have preserved an ecclesiastical  heritage to the present day.  Beside the oratory is an ancient stone incised with Graeco-Roman characters reputedly meaning "Stone of Columb, son of Mel".  As the    years pass, an increasing number of visitors attest to the authentic charisma of Gallarus Oratory,  an outdoor treasure, a silent sentinel keeping watch over Smerwick Harbor and praising the One who brings in the light of morning, the brilliance of day and the peace of evening.  Gallarus - we salute you !

Some Sites Worth a Visit

Listed below are just a small selection of the hundreds of archaeological sites on the Dingle Peninsula which the visitor will find of interest. Apart from the fascination of these archaeological monuments themselves, their builders often chose to site them in some of the most beautiful places on the Peninsula, in locations with a view commanding vast areas of the surrounding countryside.

This well-preserved tomb is situated dramatically on the ridge above the tiny village of Caherard, commanding a wide view both south over Ventry, with Dingle Bay and the Iveragh Peninsula beyond, and eastwards over Dingle town. The tomb has three capstones and measures about four meters in length, its long axis being aligned east-west. It seems likely that the tomb was originally surrounded by a low mound or cairn. The tomb is known locally as Leaba an Fhir Mhuimhnigh (the Munsterman's Bed), a name resulting from the connection in folklore between this site and the epic tale of the Fenian Cycle, Cath Fionntra (the Battle of Ventry Beach). In this story the legendary Fianna under Fionn Mac Cumhaill fought with the armies of the King of the World, Daire Domhain, on the strand for a year and a day before the invaders were repulsed with the aid of the Celtic Sea-God Mananann Mac Lir.
The Lochadoon Valley, Cloghane
The Lochadoon Valley (See Left), a beautiful and secluded area in the mountainous interior of the Peninsula, is possessed of an impressive array of archaeological monuments of Bronze Age date. These include examples of rock art, a wedge-tomb, standing stones and a fortified island, the latter is of uncertain date and gives the valley its name Loch an Dun (the Lake of the Fort). Also present in the area are a number of pre-bog field wall systems, which may be prehistoric, and several Fulacht Fiadh (also known as Burnt Mounds). These are ancient cooking sites, the use of which is described in the early Irish literature (although many date as early as the Bronze Age). First a stone or timber-lined trough near a stream would be filled with water and then rock would be heated in an adjacent fire before being dropped into the water, a process which was continued until the water boiled. Joints of meat were then placed in the water to boil. Although this may all sound somewhat unlikely, modern archaeological experiments have shown it to be a quite economical and effective method of cooking. It has also been suggested that Fulacht Fiadh were used for bathing or as saunas. The Lochadoon area has been closely studied for several years by local archaeologist Micheal O Coilean, who runs tours to this and many other interesting sites on the peninsula.

Caherconree Hillfort, Camp
On a clear day this fort controls an amazing vista over Kerry and Beyond, with Loop Head in county Clare visible to the north, the Blasket Islands to the west and the Macgillicuddy Reeks, Ireland's highest mountain range, to the south. The fort itself is situated high up (c. 2050 feet / 625 metres O.D.) in the Sliabh Mish mountains. Three sides of the promontory on which it is situated are protected by steep cliffs, while the fourth to the east is defended by a drystone wall which, although collapsed in places, has a maximum height and width of 3 and 4.5 meters respectively. There is some indication of a small bank and shallow ditch outside the wall at north, while the ruined remains of four or five huts abut the inside of the wall. The fort gets it's name from a legendary Kerry man, Cu Raoi Mac Daire, who features in the famous Ulster Cycle of legends. Cu Raoi was a magician and warrior who holds the redoubtable claim to have been one of the few men to defeat the legendary Cuchulainn in battle. Not content with this, Cu Raoi then shaved Cuchulainn's long hair off as a mark of shame! Cuchulainn subsequently gained his revenge by killing Cu Raoi in an act of trickery, when his weapons had been hidden by a treacherous lover.

Dunbeg Promontory Fort, Fahan
This fort is situated on the southern cliffs of the Dingle Peninsula at Fahan just off the road between Slea Head and Ventry. Extensive excavations were undertaken here in the late 1970s, as tidal erosion was causing much of the site to fall into the sea. The defenses consist of four earthen banks, five ditches and an internal drystone rampart. The banks are up to 1 meter high and 3 meters wide, while the ditches vary between 1 and 1.5 meters in depth. Excavation suggests there may have been a wooden palisade fence surmounting the innermost bank and possibly the second bank. Access to the interior is provided by a causeway kerbed on either side with stone slabs. The inner stone rampart is of impressive dimensions, up to 6.3 meters thick and 3 meters high. Entry is through a lintelled passageway which features bolt-holes allowing the door to be locked from the inside. The bar was controlled from two internal 'guard-chambers', one on either side of the passageway. A drystone built souterrain, starting from within the passage, extends for some 16 meters to the north. The main feature within the rampart is a large stone clochaun, some 7.5 meters in diameter. The main periods of occupation were marked by quantities of sheep, pig, goat, deer, cattle, fish and bird bones, and the interior of the clochaun had three hearth sites, as well as several stake settings suggestive of tripods for holding pots or skins over the fire. This occupation was dated by radiocarbon to the Eighth or Ninth Centuries A.D. A Ditch and fence underlying the stone rampart gave a date of 580 +or-35 b.c., suggesting a much earlier period of activity at this site in the Late Bronze Age