Peig Sayers

Peig Sayers was born in 1873 in Vicarstown, Dunquin, County Kerry, Ireland. She was the youngest of thirteen children of a storyteller and a small farmer. She learned many of her tales from her father, who had a rich oral tradition of Irish folklore, mythology, and local history. She attended the local national school until the age of 14, when she entered domestic service in Dingle. She hoped to emigrate to the USA, but her plans were thwarted by a friend's accident. She married Pádraig Ó Guithín, a fisherman from the Great Blasket Island, in 1892 and moved to the island with him. She had ten children, but only five survived. She endured a hard life on the island, marked by poverty, illness, and tragedy. Her husband died in 1920, shortly after their son Tomás was killed in a fall. She stayed on the island with her blind brother-in-law Mícheál, who helped her with the household chores. She was visited by many scholars and collectors of Irish folklore, who recognized her as a master storyteller. She dictated her autobiography to her son Mícheál, who wrote it down in Irish. It was edited by Máire Ní Chinnéide and published in 1936 as Peig .i. A scéal féin (Peig: Her Own Story). It became a classic of Irish literature and was widely read by Irish students. It portrayed the harsh reality of life on the Blasket Island, as well as the rich cultural heritage of the islanders. Peig Sayers died in 1958 in Dingle, County Kerry, Ireland. She was buried in Dunquin, near her birthplace. She is remembered as one of the greatest storytellers of Ireland and a valuable source of Irish oral tradition.