Duine de sharscealaithe na Gaeilge
In Eanair 1952, se bliana sula bhfuair Peig Sayers bas, thionscain Coimisiun Bealoideasa Eireann agallaimh lei agus i in ospideal Naomh Anna, Baile Atha Cliath. Bhi Peig thar a bheith sasta labhairt lena cuairteoiri a raibh Gaeilge Chiarrai ar a dtoil acu agus seanaithne aici orthu.
Foilsitear den chead uair in Nil Deireadh Raite na hagallaimh sin mar aon le reamhra tathagach, trachtaireacht agus aistriuchan Bearla ar an iomlan. Cuireann Peig i lathair anseo seanscealta idirnaisiunta, sceal Fiannaiochta, finscealta taistealacha, seanchas stairiuil agus sisheanchas, roinnt paidreacha, agus ta cupla learaid ona mac, Micheal O Gaoithin, mar anlann leo. Leirionn na taifeadtai a bua mar scealai oilte, a hacmhainn grinn, a moreolas ar scealta traidisiunta agus a cumas maistriuil a gcur i lathair tri shuile mna. Buanaionn an saothar seo ionad Pheig mar dhuine de sharscealaithe na Gaeilge agus cinntionn se go bhfuil a cuid scealaiochta le haireamh ar scoth na healaine beil sa tir seo.
Among the first rank of Irish storytellers
In January 1952, six years before she died, Peig Sayers was interviewed by a team from the Irish Folklore Commission in St Anne’s Hospital, Dublin. She was more than happy to be recorded, and pleased to be visited by old friends, all of whom spoke fluent Kerry Irish.
In Not the Final Word these interviews are published for the first time, in both Irish and English, along with a substantial introduction and detailed annotation. Here Peig tells her versions of international folktales, a Fenian tale, some prayers, migratory legends and historical and supernatural lore, illustrated in paintings by her son, Micheal O Gaoithin. She emerges as a warm and authentic storyteller, with a ready sense of humour, a deep knowledge of traditional narrative and highly skilled in its presentation. This collection reaffirms Peig Sayers’s position in the first rank of Irish storytellers and firmly establishes her tales in the canon of Irish oral literature.
