The life and times of Peig Sayers

Poor old Peig. 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. Her tales of the harsh life of ordinary folk along the west coast and on the islands was a staple diet for generations.

Her story is no longer on the curriculum and has been replaced by, among others, Ireland’s Got Talent star Daithí Ó Sé’s father, Maidhc Dainín Ó Sé, who once roguishly described himself as “Peig without the shawl”. 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. She must have been a remarkable woman.
Peig Sayers was born in Baile an Bhiocáire near Dunquin in West Kerry. As a young girl, she worked as a servant girl for a Dingle shopkeeper. She was happy in Dingle and treated well but returned home to Dunquin for health reasons. As was the custom at that time, when one person emigrated they often sent back the fare for another to follow them. 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.
This sojourn was not as happy as before but Peig left Dingle when she married Pádraig Ó Guithín from the Great Blasket Island. Peig moved out to the island where she lived for the next 40 years and where seven of her 10 children survived infancy. There she developed her talent for storytelling and she became one of the best-known seanchaí’s in the country.
In those early years of the last century, any entertainment was home grown, particularly during the winter. Songs, music and storytelling passed the winter nights. Gradually, visitors came to the Blaskets to learn Irish and to gather the stories and music of the islanders.
JM Synge arrived in 1905 and he was followed by Norwegian Carl Marstrander. Marstrander was instrumental in suggesting that Robin Flower visit the Blaskets and sent him to Tomás Ó Croithin. Flower became so liked that he was given the Irish name Bláithín. 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. They were also the first to recognise the wealth of stories that Peig had and they recorded some of them. Hundreds of her stories were gathered by the folklore commission.
In the 1930s she dictated her life story to her son, Maidhc. This was edited by Máire Ní Chinnéide and became a central part of every schoolchild’s life. She followed this with Machnamh Sean Mhná with Ní Chinnéide again as editor. As the population of the island dwindled, people began moving to the mainland and Peig once again settled in Dunquin. She later spent her last years in the local hospital in Dingle. where she passed away in 1958.
Peig Sayers, a familiar figure to generations of Irish schoolchildren, was born on March 29, 1873 – 137 years ago this week.