The islands off the coast of Ireland have long been a source of
fascination. Seen as repositories of an ancient Irish culture and the
epitome of Irish romanticism, they have attracted generations of
scholars, artists and filmmakers, from James Joyce to Robert O'Flaherty,
looking for a way of life uncontaminated by modernity or materialism.
But the reality for islanders has been a lot more complex.
They faced poverty, hardship and official hostility, even while being
expected to preserve an ancient culture and way of life. Writing in her
1936 autobiography, Peig Sayers, resident of Blaskets island, described
it as 'this dreadful rock'. In 1841, there were 211 inhabited islands
with a combined population of 38,000; by 2011, only 64 islands were
inhabited, with a total population of 8,500.
And younger
generations continue to leave. By documenting the island experiences
and the social, cultural and political reaction to them over the last
100 years, On the Edge examines why this exodus has happened, and the
gulf between the rhetoric that elevated island life and the reality of
the political hostility towards them.It uncovers, through state and
private archives, personal memoirs, newspaper coverage, and the author's
personal travels, the realities behind the "dreadful rocks", and the
significance of the experiences of, and reactions to, those who were and
remain, literally, on the very edge of European civilisation.
On the Edge : Ireland's off-shore islands: a modern history - Diarmaid Ferriter
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