Peig Sayers

Peig was born in Dunquin (Dún Chaoin), a small town in County Kerry, Ireland. She moved to the Blasket Islands after marrying Pádraig Ó Gaoithín, a native of the island. Peig was illiterate, but dictated many of her stories to Seosamh Ó Dálaigh of the Irish Folklore Commission. She is most famous for her autobiography Peig which was dictated to her son Micheál. It was published in 1936. The book is well known to anyone who studied the Irish language for the Leaving Certificate examination.

Peig Sayers continued to live on the island until 1953, when the island was abandoned due to declining population. She was moved to a hospital in Dingle, Co. Kerry where she died in 1958. She is buried in the Dunquin Burial Ground, Dingle Peninsula, Ireland.