The Great Blasket Island is the largest island in the Blasket Island group which is situated 14 miles off the coast of Dingle, Co.Kerry. The nearest town is Dunquin, which is 3 miles from the island. There are 6 islands in this group and although not habitated now, formed the most westerly habitated island in Europe. Conditions on this island are harsh, and by being greatly exposed to all the elements of the Atlantic Ocean, made living extremely difficult for the island folk.
The island was inhabited until 1953, when the Irish government decided that it could no longer guarantee the safety of the remaining population. It was the home of three noted Irish writers: Tomás Ó Criomhthain, Peig Sayers and Muiris Ó Súilleabháin. Their works were all written in Irish, and have all been translated into English, as well as other languages. The homes of Tomás Ó Criomhthain and Muiris Ó Súilleabháin are now in ruins but the house in which Sayers once lived has been restored, and used to form part of the hostel which previously functioned on the island.
Until 1953, the inhabitants of Great Blasket Island formed the most westerly settlement in Europe. The small fishing community (even at its peak the population was hardly more than 150) mostly lived in primitive cottages perched on the relatively sheltered north-east shore. In April 1947, having been cut off from the mainland for weeks due to bad weather, the islanders made an emergency call to the Irish Prime Minister, Eamon de Valera, urgently requesting supplies which duly arrived two days later by boat.
Considering the tiny population, the island produced a remarkable number of gifted writers who brought vividly to life their harsh existence and who kept alive old Irish folk tales of the land. Best known are Machnamh Seanamhná (An Old Woman's Reflections, Peig Sayers, 1939), Fiche Bliain Ag Fás (Twenty Years A-Growing, Muiris Ó Súilleabháin, 1933), and An t-Oileánach (The Islandman, Tomás Ó Criomhthain, 1937).
The Blasket Islands have been called Next Parish America, a term popular in the United States.[1]
The six principal islands of the Blaskets are:
Great Blasket Island (An Blascaod Mór)
Beginish (Beiginis)
Inishnabro (Inis na Bró)
Inishvickillane (Inis Mhic Uileáin)
Inishtooskert (Inis Tuaisceart)
Tearaght Island (An Tiaracht)
The maximum number of houses on the Island, at its peak, was 30. In 1909 the Congested Districts Board built five two-storey houses at the top of the village, looking down on the rest of the houses, but totally out of character with them. The older houses faced either north or south (except for one of later vintage) with the uppermost gable (the hearth wall) bedded into the hillside for shelter.
All the houses had a large kitchen, with enough room to dance a set or to wake a corpse, an adjoining "lower room", and in some cases an "upper room" behind the hearth wall. The kitchen had to be large enough to accommodate animals at night or during bad weather. There was a loft above the lower room – in some houses a makeshift bed was placed there – and a narrow loft above the fire for storing nets, fishing lines, trawl lines and other goods.
The houses on the Island usually had one door only, unlike mainland houses which had two doors at the front and back, one kept open and the other closed. Tomás Ó Criomhthain's house was the exception in this case; he built the house himself, in imitation of the mainland style presumably. Some writers have stated that the Island houses were once thatched with straw. This cannot be so, for they rarely had sufficient straw; and long, strong straw is necessary for thatching a roof. In the 19th Century the houses were usually roofed with rushes. The naomhóg, which has a tarred felt covering, gave them another idea. Felt was an ideal roofing material and in most cases it replaced the rush thatch in both houses and outhouses. (The five two-storey houses built by the Congested Districts Board had slate roofs, and Peig Sayers lived in one of these.) The walls were built of stone and mortar, with earth floors inside; a couple of flat flagstones in front of the fire comprised the fireplace. The earth floors were constantly damp and to keep them dry they spread sand from the beach on them a couple of times a day.
In order to get here, one has to take a boat from either Dingle or Dunquin, however, as there is only a tiny pier here and approach is only possible due to rocks and currents, one has to 'transfer' into a rubber dingy to actually reach the flat rock that makes the pier. As this is pure rockface, there is a steep climb for about 100 feet or so, until you reach the grassy covered soil. About 400 feet past this lies the ruins of the old village. The weather can change at a moments notice here, and can turn from calm to stormy in a few minutes. As a result of this, there are no guaranteed sailings servicing the island. All are weather dependant. There is no electricity, natural water or toilets on the island and absolutely no cafes, bars or hotels. Hopefully this may change in the future as a local indivudual has some great plans to develop here. Until then, it's not for the faint hearted.
