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Storytelling |
Speak to Succeed | London | 2009 |
An Evening Cois Tine with Peig Sayers 'We never knew Peig like this at school. I must bring all my Irish friends next time. Not to be missed' ' Thrilling! An amazing show' ' The memories! Did you see the tears rolling down my face?' Peig Sayers who was born in 1873 and died in 1958 was a member of a family of Irish-speaking storytellers from Dunquin, Co Kerry. Peig married Padraig O'Gaoithin from the Blasket Islands, off the south-west coast of Ireland and lived most of her life on the Great Blasket Island where she raised two daughters and four sons. On the long, dark nights the ancient tradition of storytelling was the all-important source of entertainment. But storytelling did more than entertain - in the tales the storytellers passed on by the kitchen hearth, the traditions, fears, superstitions, beliefs and history of a people were transmitted. In the evenings in Peig's house on this bleak island she took her pipe and her place by the fire, and the family and neighbours gathered in to discuss the day's news, which often served as the introduction to a stream of stories. Preserving the legacy of Peig Sayers, the foremother of Irish women writers and storytellers today, takes on a sense of importance in our electronic age and globalised culture. We need to revive and amplify the heritage she has left us, one which celebrates and transmits the daily experience of ordinary individuals, a task made all the more urgent in a world dazzled by celebrity culture. Show time: 1hr 30mins approx inc interval. Storytelling sessions may be arranged for school and adult events. Brigid has a vast collection of old Irish Fairy stories and Ghost stories for young and old. Check out our What's New Page for latest news and events |