F or such a small community, that of the Great Blasket Island is the subject of a surprisingly large number of books, more than eighty in all, not to mention countless newspaper and journal articles. The first five Blasket books Island Cross-Talk, The Islandman, Twenty Years A-Growing, Peig and An Old Womans Reflections were written by Blasket Islanders, with the encouragement and assistance of non-islanders. These books have now become classics of Irish literature with Peig even attaining the status of mandatory school reading in Ireland. These books were written in Irish and then later translated into English, with some eventually being translated into as many as six other languages, including French, German, Polish, Italian, Danish and Swedish. The most recent generation of Blasket books have been written primarily, but not exclusively, by non-islanders in both Irish and English. All these books have enjoyed broad readership and their widespread popularity has given the Great Blasket a fairly high level of recognition in both Ireland and the United States.
The continuing allure of the Great Blasket is a reflection of a natural human interest in several compelling dimensions of the islands story: a shared struggle against great hardship in an isolated environment; a quintessentially Irish folk culture that is manifest in storytelling, music and dance; the strong and emotional tug of emigration on islanders and their families; the gradual decline and eventual evacuation of the Blasket community from the island; and the various stories of the Great Blaskets diaspora as the islanders resettled far and wide around the globe.
Why is yet another contribution to the Blasket library important?
From the perspective of the members of island community, the Cathin (Keane/Kane) family was clearly one of most prominent on the island. Two members of this family are among the three persons who are recorded to have served as King of the island during this period and, through marriage and otherwise, the Cathins had direct personal connections with most other island families.
The last island King was Pdraig Cathin, known on the island as Peats Mhic, who served for about twenty-five years until his death in 1929. To the islanders themselves, Peats Mhic was arguably the most important citizen of the island during twentieth century. Island authors Toms Criomhthain, Muiris Silleabhin and Peig Sayers have enjoyed far greater fame beyond the island, for the most part because of the publication of their timeless Blasket books. But most of their well-deserved renown occurred after their passing. Peats Mhic Cathin, the last King, was the central figure on the island itself during their shared lifetimes.
For example, the King helped the islanders to understand and navigate their way through national and world events such as the Easter Rising in 1916 and The Great War (the First World War). A hands-on leader, the King also collaborated with his friend Toms Criomhthain and other island elders in planning the transition of the ownership of the island land from the Earl of Cork to the Congested Districts Board in 1907 and, in turn, to the islanders themselves. They also participated in the reorganisation of the islands meagre field system that took place between 1907 and 1917. These were important economic and social reforms, although they did not address the fundamental problem of the islands isolation and they were insufficient to staunch the downward spiral of emigration, particularly to the United States, that ultimately led to the islands demise as a community.
While the King is referred to frequently in many of the books about the island, to date there is no single work that compiles the entire story of his extraordinary life. This book now tells the very special tale of this unique man, his many contributions to the island and his extensive legacy.
And, of course, there is something almost magical about the notion of a king. Today, even the concept of a king invites curiosity. It conjures up images of a largely bygone era and, perhaps, of great material affluence. The juxtaposition of such a grandiose title with such a small, isolated place beset with hardship seems incongruous. Few people would look upon the humble ruins that now remain on the Great Blasket and imagine that a king had ever lived among them. And yet, a distinguished king was very much a forceful presence on this storied island.
This work has been undertaken in collaboration with the Kings descendants in the United States and in Ireland. The Kane family in America has been particularly supportive of every aspect of this project and sees it as a complement to their own efforts to illustrate the Kings life and legacy in a documentary film called The Crest.
Eliza Kane, the great-great-granddaughter of the King, has taken the lead in writing the portion of this book that chronicles the emigration of the Kings descendants to the United States and their efforts to preserve their island heritage. She also provided thoughtful and invaluable input throughout the book. Thus, this work is a unique collaboration by the son-in-law of Michael J. Carney, the oldest living native Blasket Islander with a direct descendant of the main subject of the book, the last King himself.
A couple of editorial comments are in order: Irish can be a challenging language, particularly with respect to matters of translation. Every effort has been made to convey the meaning intended by the original sources of information. In addition, we have tried valiantly to include the Irish spellings for names, places, artifacts and selected expressions that seem closest to the local Irish convention in West Kerry. The Irish is presented in parentheses immediately after the first use of a particular name, word or expression.
