* * With downloadable audio recordings * *
In January 1952, six years before she died, Peig Sayers was interviewed by a team from the Irish Folklore Commission in St Anne’s Hospital, Dublin. She was more than happy to be recorded, and pleased to be visited by old friends, all of whom spoke fluent Kerry Irish. In Not the Final Word these interviews are published for the first time, in both Irish and English, along with a substantial introduction and detailed annotation. Here Peig tells her versions of international folktales, a Fenian tale, some prayers, migratory legends and historical and supernatural lore, illustrated in paintings by her son, Micheál Ó Gaothín. She emerges as a warm and authentic storyteller, with a ready sense of humour, a deep knowledge of traditional narrative and highly skilled in its presentation. This collection reaffirms Peig Sayer’s position in the first rank of Irish storytellers and firmly establishes her tales in the canon of Irish oral literature.
Publisher New Island | ISBN 9781848408463 | Pages 325 | First published 2020
