Poets and Poetry of the Great Blaskets (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9781781179611)

Séamas Ó Scannláin has brought together the work of three Blasket Island poets spanning a period of three hundred and fifty years. He has translated their work from the original Irish into English and the poems are presented here in both languages. These classic works paint a picture of a way of life that has almost disappeared from Ireland.Piaras Firtéar (1603- 1653) was a member of the pre-Cromwellian Irish gentry and his poetry carries the hallmarks of his class.Seán Ó Duínnsléibhe (1812- 1889) belonged to the landless labourers of nineteenth century Ireland. His poetry was on the lips of the locals and he was much admired for the beauty and strength of his language and for his joie de vivre.Mícheál Ó Gaoithín (1903- 1974), an file, was a son of Peig Sayers, one of the Blasket Islands' most famous residents.This book makes the work of these poets accessible to poetry lovers and complements the prose literature of that unique community, in both English translation and Modern Irish format.