An Old Woman's Reflections - Peig Sayers

Not for nothing was Peig Sayers known as 'the Queen of Gaelic story-tellers', a born orator, with a keen ear for a turn of phrase, she could shape a tale with a naturalness that belied the subtlety of her craft. The reminiscences which form 'An Old Woman's Reflections' were written down for her by her son, and thus preserve a valuable record of the Gaelic oral tradition. Peig recounts the events of her life and those of her beloved island - she was born on the mainland but made her home on the Great Blasket when she married an islandman. The ordinary adventures of catching and eating seals, of collecting turf for roofs, and going for a ride in a motor car are depicted alongside the tragedies of a drowning at sea, preparing for a wake, and the news of the 1916 revolution in Dublin.