The Last of Her Kind | Peig Sayers I

Peig Sayers was born in west Kerry in 1873, living in what was then one of the most remote communities in Ireland. Through her life she lived through extraordinary change. 

She grew up in an Ireland reeling from the Great Famine but died in one that had won its freedom from the British Empire. She also lived through profound and often unsettling social change that shattered the isolation of West Kerry.

Recognised as one of the great story tellers of the last century Peig recounted what this was like in vivid detail. She articulated what it was like to grow up in such a remote community, giving us insights into Irish society in the late 19th century. What makes her account unique is that she gives the perspective of a poor woman - a voice rarely heard in Irish history.

In this podcast on her life we follow her early life in the Dunquin while the next show will look at her life on the Great Blasket, an island off the coast of Kerry.

Narrations - Niamh Ní Riain of the National Library of Ireland & Sean Sheehy

www.patreon.com/irishpodcast