Michael Carney with Gerald Hayes
Collins Press 2013
ISBN 978-1-84889-165-4
Lth/Pgs 210
Mike Carney was born on The Great Blasket Island off the southwest of Ireland in 1920. Raised under challenging circumstances in that unique, isolated Irish-speaking community, Mike left in 1937 to seek a better future in Dublin and eventually in America. Ten years later, the death on the island of his younger brother set off a chain of events that led to its evacuation. Mike eventually settled in Springfield, Massachusetts, with other former islanders. While taking advantage of opportunities offered by his adopted country, he never lost his love for the nation of his birth. This is the story of his life and his efforts to promote Irish culture in America, to preserve the memory of The Great Blasket, to respect roots left behind, and to set down roots in a new land.
This is the story of his life and his efforts to preserve the memory of the Great Blasket, to promote Irish culture in America, to respect roots left behind and to set down roots in a new land. Written as Mike approached the age of ninety-three, with his son-in-law Gerald Hayes, this memoir is probably the last in a long line of books written by Blasket Islanders, including Tomás Ó Criomhthain, Muiris Ó Súilleabháin and Peig Sayers. Recounting one man’s life but relating the experience of many, it chronicles a lifetime devoted to family, community and legacy. All the while, he seems haunted by the immortal words of Ó Criomhthain: ‘the like of us will never be again.’
Reviews
There are no reviews yet.