(Photo: Dpt. of Irish Folklore, UCD)
Peig Sayers was born in Vicarstown, Dunquin, Co. Kerry in 1873. She was an Irish author and seanchaí (traditional Gaelic storyteller). Her father, Tomás, was a storyteller and passed stories on to Peig.
After leaving school at the age of 12, Peig went to work as a servant. Her plan was to join her friend Cáit in America but Cáit was unable to send Peig the price of the fare.
Peig got married to Pádraig Ó Guithín, who was from the Great Blasket Island, in 1892 and moved there with him. They had eleven children together, six of whom survived.
People would gather at Peig’s house in the evenings to listen to her stories in front of the fire. She would eventually dictate many folk stories and legend to Seosamh Ó Dálaigh
of the Irish Folklore Commission.
Although Peig was illiterate in the Irish language, she dictated her biography to her son Micheál, who in turn sent it to Máire Ní Chinnéide. Máire was a schoolteacher from Dublin and she edited the manuscript. “Peig” was published in 1936. This book would be a very important book in Irish history and was required reading for many years in secondary schools in Ireland.
In 1942, Peig returned to her home of Dunquin where she lived until her death in hospital in 1958 at the age of 85.
*Sources: askaboutireland.com/Wikipedia
| Additional Information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Date of Birth | 1st Jan 1873 | |
| Date of Death | 1st Jan 1958 | |
| Father (First Name/s and Surname) | Tomás Sayers | |
| Mother (First Name/s and Maiden) | Margaret Brosnan | |
| Spouse (First Name/s and Maiden/Surname) | Pádraig Ó Guithín | |
| Occupation | Irish Author/Seanchaí | |
