Blasket Islands

The Blasket Islands ("Na Blascaodaí" in Irish - etymology uncertain: it may come from the Norse word "brasker", meaning "a dangerous place") are a group of islands off the west coast of Ireland, forming part of County Kerry. They were inhabited until 1953 by a completely Irish-speaking population. The inhabitants were evacuated to the mainland on 17 November 1953. Stagles, Joan and Ray, "The Blasket Islands: Next Parish America". Dublin: O'Brien Press, 1980 (new edn. 1998).] Many of the descendants currently live in Springfield, Massachusetts and some former residents still live on the Dingle peninsula, within sight of their former home.

The islanders were the subject of much anthropological and linguistic study around the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries and, thanks partly to outside encouragement, a number of books were written by islanders that record much of the islands' traditions and way of life. These include "An tOileánach (The Islandman)" by Tomás Ó Criomhthain, "Peig" by Peig Sayers and "Fiche Blian ag Fás (Twenty Years A-Growing)" by Muiris Ó Súilleabháin.

The Blasket Islands have been called "Next Parish America", a term popular in the United States.

The six principal islands of the Blaskets are:
*Great Blasket Island ("An Blascaod Mór")
*Beginish ("Beiginis")
*Inishnabro ("Inis na Bró")
*Inishvickillane ("Inis Mhic Uileáin")
*Inishtooskert ("Inis Tuaisceart")
*Tearaght Island ("An Tiaracht")

External links

* [http://www.blasketislands.ie blasketislands.ie]
* [http://www.blasketisland.com blasketislands.com]

References