Curated by Dr Éilis Ní Dhuibhne Almqvist, in partnership with the National Folklore Collection and with support from the Heritage Council.
Ireland is a great literary nation. But written stories, poems and plays are not our only kind of literature – they are the tip of the iceberg. For centuries before literacy was the norm, people created and produced many genres of fiction,poetry and drama. They didn’t write their creations down; they told them.
Peig Sayers (1873-1958) was a contemporary of James Joyce (1882-1941). Like him, she had an exceptional mastery of language, a vivid imagination and an irrepressible creative urge. Sayers could write (in English), but her greatest achievement was as an oral storyteller, in her native Irish language. She is best known for her autobiography, Peig, a Scéal Féin, first published in 1936 and on the Irish school curriculum from 1962-1995. Peig, the book, does not give a full picture of Sayers – the greatest storyteller in a community of great storytellers, the Blasket Islands and Dún Chaoin. This exhibition told that captivating story.
Delving into the rich tradition of oral storytelling in Ireland, ‘Thar Balach Isteach’ explores the story of Peig Sayers, known as ‘Banríon Scéalaithe Éireann’ (The Queen of the Irish Storytellers) and the storytellers of the Blaskets. This exhibition, now available as a digital exhibition, featured old and rare photographs of Peig Sayers and the Blasket islands, rare editions of Sayers’ works, as well as maps and documents pertaining to the islands themselves. While focusing mainly on the life and works of Peig Sayers, the exhibition also featured references and artefacts related to many other Blasket storytellers and writers, including Eibhlís Ní Súilleabháin, essayist Tomás Ó Criomhthain and Máire Ní Ghuíthín, known as ‘Máire Mhaidhc Léan’.
The result of thorough research by Dr Éilis Ní Dhuibhne Almqvist and Dr Katie Mishler, amongst others, this exhibition painted a vivid picture, not only of the storytelling side of the Blaskets, but also into what life was like for people on these islands in the early-to-mid 20th century.
