I like Peig Sayers - words I never thought I'd say

 Ask any Irish person who did their Leaving Cert in the 70's and 80's

"Who still makes your blood run cold when you hear their name mentioned?"

and there is a very high probability that they will utter the name

"Peig" and you will see them shiver in fear.

What did she do to deserve the title of the most hated woman in Ireland?

Peig (1873-1958) was a native of the village of Dunquin on the edge of the Dingle Peninsula in Co. Kerry.  A native speaker of the Irish language, she was a Seanchaí- a brilliant traditional Gaelic storyteller.

After a match-maker arrived at her house one evening, she was married off to Pádraig Ó Gaoithín and she went to live on the remote rugged Great Blasket Island. 

She bore 11 children but only 6 survived. Her life was mired in grief. But despite this, Peig was a great entertainer and was the life and soul of the party. Her home on the Blasket Island became the local point of many an evening's entertainment, filled with laughter, song and music. Passionate about the Irish language and culture, Peig gathered hundreds of myths, legends and folk stories. She became one of Ireland's most beloved and famous storytellers and people came from all over to record her stories in order to preserve them for future generations. Her life story was published as "The reflections of an Old Woman."

So far, so good. She did nothing wrong to warrant such notoriety. That is, until that book was put on the Honours Irish Syllabus and thousands of students were forced to study it.

Firstly, her stories were meant to be listened to, not read. She never intended them to be published and she certainly never intended for grumpy, hormonal English-speaking teenagers to be tortured into trying to understand them and answer questions on them that she, herself probably wouldn't be able to answer.

I studied it for two years and I can honestly say I understood very little of it and the bits that I did, made me think that Peig was a miserable old cow, who spent her life moaning and complaining, and whose main purpose in life was to make my life as miserable as hers.

 I learned chunks of notes off by heart and regurgitated them in the exam. Hey, it worked as I got a B in my Honours Irish and as a result got into Teaching Training College. And the rest is History.

Last year I saw a programme based on Peig's life and I did think I had done her wrong. So when I saw there was a show entitled "The Stories of Peig Sayers" on in the Esker Arts Centre, I decided to give it a try to see if my mind could be changed.

Nuala Hayes was the actor and story-teller, accompanied by a fabulous musician, Nicole on the flute and accordion. She really brought the stories to life as she recounted them in the tradition of a Seanchai, exactly as Peig herself would have done.

I wondered why this was so much more enjoyable that the years I spent studying her. 

• I listened to the stories being recounted animatedly as opposed to reading cold words on a page.
• It was in English so I wasn't struggling to translate everything and losing the subtleties behind it.
• I was sipping a glass of wine as I listened. Alcohol would definitely have improved things back in the 80s.

So I came away thinking that Peig must have been great auld craic, back in the day and I think we would have gotten on.

 Then I had the horrible thought.

What if my blogs are turned into a book in years to come and future students are forced to dissect my musings and ramblings. I'd become the next Most Hated Woman in Ireland!!!

Pass that bottle of wine.

 .