![]() ![]() The islands geologically are a continuation of Dingle peninsula, mostly of Devonian sandstone. Thereafter the islanders returned in summer for grazing, with their sheep and cows making a ruckus in the boats, but there were no permanent inhabitants except the three lighthouse keepers of Tearaght until that was automated in 1986. The final boat party had to abandon their heavy belongings on the beach when yet another storm broke. After a particularly wretched spell in 1953, the government agreed to evacuate them before another winter closed in. The population peaked at some 160 in the 1911 census then went into sharp decline by 1951 only two dozen remained. In the unlamented days when the English made jokes about the Irish, the Irish made similar jokes about Kerry folk, and Kerry folk joked about Blasket islanders then the Blasket folk enjoyed a chain of mock and mirth all the way down to the outermost islands. The negative side was a harsh life scratching a living from rugged land and hazardous sea, living in crude cottages without basic sanitation or other utilities, in a very small, inward-looking community. If only the rest of the country would emulate these isles, and subsist on hand-weaving and left-over cabbage, what a blessed Tír na nÓg an Ireland unshackled from Britain could become. ![]() Nationalist writers therefore romanticised the Blaskets as a pure survival of unconquered ancient Irish land, people and lore. And the place had no strategic value so they were never colonised or garrisoned: even Cromwell couldn't be bothered, nor Queen Victoria's squadrons of muskets and moustachios. They produced a remarkable series of writers, notably Tomás Ó Criomhthain, Peig Sayers and Muiris Ó Súilleabháin. They spoke only Irish, in a distinctive dialect that scholars were keen to record. They grew potatoes but were never dependent on them and fared well during the Great Famine, indeed mainland families relocated here. They had fishing, grazing for livestock, garden vegetables, and seabirds eggs. The positive side was the sturdy self-reliance of the islanders. ![]() Bygone ages had lower expectations, but when in 1953 a young man died for want of medical help that was almost within hallooing distance, then something needed to change. In winter the ocean rages for weeks on end, there's no harbour and the anchorage becomes unsafe nothing for it but to drag the boats well up the beach and hunker down. But then, it might less than calm going back. Their main village at the northeast end of Great Blasket is ony 2 km from the mainland, so in calm conditions you can reach it by kayak, sail-board, SUP-board, you could just about swim. They've become symbolic of remoteness and isolation, in both a positive and a negative light - yet they're not. These rugged islands are the most westerly parts of Ireland, dashed by the Atlantic. Understand Ruined village of Great Blasket They've had no permanent residents since they were evacuated in 1953, but in summer Great Blasket the largest island has a couple of rangers-cum-caretakers, self-catering cottages, and camping is permitted. The Blasket Islands ( Na Blascaodaí) are an archipelago off the Dingle peninsula of County Kerry. ![]()
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