An File (The Poet), Micheal O Gaoithin, The Blasket Painter

Mícheál Ó Gaoithín was a poet and writer born on the Great Blasket island in 1904. He moved to Springfield, Mass., in the USA, in search of work but returned to the Blasket Islands due to lack of work and poor health. He took an interest in painting and drawing with the encouragement of Maria Simonds-Gooding and his paintings appeared in an exhibition on the Dingle peninsula in 1974. This book is published to coincide with a special exhibition of Peig Sayers at the Museum of Literature Ireland in 2022.

Format: Hardback
Length: 144 pages
Publication date: 03 November 2022
Publisher: The Lilliput Press Ltd

Mícheál Ó Gaoithín, a renowned poet and writer, was born on January 3, 1904, on the picturesque Great Blasket island, one of the six surviving children of the legendary storyteller Peig Sayers and her husband, Pádraig 'Flint Ó Guithín. Growing up, Mícheál followed in his mother's footsteps and became a skilled fisherman, working on the family farm until around 1930 when he decided to embark on a journey to Springfield, Massachusetts, in the United States, in search of employment opportunities. However, his arrival in the new country was met with challenges, as he was jobless and in poor health. Undeterred, he returned to the Blasket Islands, where his passion for literature and folklore began to flourish.

Like his mother, Peig, Mícheál was a captivating storyteller, and his interest in art grew steadily over the years. Approximately six years before his passing, he was encouraged by the artist Maria Simonds-Gooding to explore his artistic talents. This led to his involvement in painting and drawing, resulting in a remarkable body of work that was showcased in an exhibition titled 'An ghaeltacht bheo' on the Dingle peninsula in 1974.

Mícheál entrusted his paintings to Simonds-Gooding, who now holds them at the Muckross House Folk Museum in Killarney. This captivating collection of 55 paintings and drawings, selected from his extensive collection of 200, is accompanied by insightful written responses to the artwork provided by the renowned novelist Éilís Ní Dhuibhne and art historian Catherine Marshall. The publication of this book coincides with a special exhibition of Peig Sayers at the Museum of Literature Ireland (MoLI) in 2022, highlighting the enduring legacy of this remarkable woman and her artistic contributions.

Weight: 1214g
Dimension: 279 x 287 x 24 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781843518556