Image: Motherfoclóir, Kirsten Shiel
In this episode of Motherfoclóir about Peig, the team finally let loose with both barrels on the Peig myth. Peig Sayers lived on the Blasket Islands off the coast of Kerry at the turn of the 20th century. Her auto-biography in Irish about her hard life on the islands was on the Leaving Certificate Irish exam curriculum until 1995. The Peig myth, which has persisted long since the book was taken off the syllabus, blames any perceived difficulty with learning Irish on having to learn about Peig and the harsh life she led. In reality, Peig was a seanachaí, a folklore storyteller, and 350 of her Irish language stories were dictated to the Folklore Commission and for some, her telling of the stories is the only surviving record. This episode of Motherfoclóir is absolute fire and is full of heritage appreciation, feminist empowerment and a huge dose of cop the fuck on. Maith sibh.
(P.S. A new bilingual book of her stories called Peig Sayers - Not The Final Word, recorded during a hopsital visit in 1952, has just been released including the recordings on CD.
