No matter what our personal view of the book might be, there is a sense that one has only to mention the name Peig Sayers to a certain age group and one will see a dramatic rolling of the eyes, or worse. As late as 2006, however, the unsuitability of the book as a school text was the subject of a discussion in the Irish Senate: Subsequently Peig became required reading in Irish secondary schools and it was there in 1966 that I found Peig and loved her story, studying it from 1966-1968. On the instigation of a Dublin teacher who was a regular visitor to the Blaskets, Peig dictated her life story to her son who in turn sent the manuscript to the Dublin teacher. She became known as a storyteller as was her father before her. Kerry and moved to the Blasket Island in 1892 when she married. Peig Sayers was born in 1873 in Dunquin, Co. Peig for me, however, has been a source of comfort and joy all my life, but my response is such a minority one that I took to reading Peig again recently to see if I should change my mind. Readers’ comments included: ‘scarred for life’, ‘traumatised’, ‘resulting in cold sweats’, ‘grim’, ‘one long whinge’. Just a year ago it was a talking point for Ireland’s TodayFM radio program in a segment titled ‘The Best Reaction from Listeners Traumatised by Peig’. The Irish language book Peig is one of those text books that overwhelmingly elicit a negative response. A Feature on Irish Language Learning and Loving Peig by Dymphna Lonergan
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |