The Last Blasket King: Pádraig Ó Catháin, An Rí

by Gerald W. Hayes, Eliza Kane

There is something magical about the notion of a king on a small isolated island. Few would look at the ruins on the Great Blasket and imagine a king had lived there. Yet the King was a very forceful presence on this island. The last was Pádraig Ó Catháin, known as ‘Peats Mhicí,’ who served for about twenty-five years until his death in 1929. To islanders, he was arguably the most important citizen and was the central figure on the island during its literary flowering. He helped islanders navigate through life and national and world events such as the 1916 Rising and The Great War. He collaborated with the other ‘elders’ in planning the transfer of ownership of the island from the Earl of Cork to the Congested Districts Board in 1907 and, in turn, to the islanders themselves. They also participated in the reorganisation of the field system between 1907 and 1917.

This is the first account of his extraordinary life, written in collaboration with the King’s descendants in the USA and Ireland. It tells of the very special, unique man, his many contributions to the island and his extended legacy.

Genres: Ireland

344 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2015

Reviews

[Pat Murphy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got this book when I was in Ireland last September. We went to Dingle and visited the Blasket Island Visitor Center. I found the center to be very interesting and the history of the Island and its inhabitants as well. I'm talking mid 1800's to the 1950's. That is why I gave the book 4 stars. The writing is fine. Easy to understand and the stories were interesting and some were fascinating. The Island is small and three miles from the mainland. The people lived a spartan life but they loved their independence and freedom. This book centers on a person who was in charge of certain things such as rowing to Ireland and bringing back the mail. Her also acted as an arbiter when there were conflicts. He was a working man as well as you would imagine in such a small community. (Never reached 300 people if I recall it right) Anyway, if you like offbeat history and Irish flavor then you might enjoy this book. There is a lot of what we used to call Gaelic writing in it but they call it the Irish language. It isn't integral to the read, it is generally translated just before or after. And it doesn't interrupt the flow of the book. So if you want to be exposed to the Irish language this might be for you.

[Paul Quick · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is not a book so much about Great Blasket but about the ancient local Irish patriarchies/rundales. The concept of 'King' on Blasket Islands is to be understood in that context - he is all of the following
(1) Not Royal - does not hold life/death over others (2) he is 'first' among equals (3) he is fisherman, bed-breakfast operator (4) he holds some unique duties in the community - postman, spokeman, frontman for tourism (5) the title was not granted but evolved i.e. when he had a critical mass of unique duties he was referred to as 'King'.

The book also gave insight into Irish clan organizations and how they are rapidly evolving in the world of today - most such so-called 'Irish Kings' have disappeared except for 'Tory Island'. Blasket island position of King ended in the 1929s and the Island inhabitants were evacuated in 1953 - part of movement in Ireland away from local rule facilitated by Congested Division Board.
Finally this is a book about a disadvantaged group outside of normal society who are yet proud. Unusual that such a group of accomplishments normal society would say are 'few' the islanders feel otherwise and writes about what it values. Keen insight into its inner thinking by descendants of that community.

Finally, the book describes in-detail how Great Blasket life was both improved and degraded by outside forces - natural, political and events. It was a retreat for many scholars to learn traditional gaelic i.e. from Sweden, Ireland, France, Spain, England. Major visitors inlcluded Robin(Robert) Flowers -inquist and historian (whose ashes were scattered from mount An Din), John Milton Synge (Playwright) , Brian Kelly (University Professor). In the end 22 were evacuated to Dunquin in Nov, 1953 where they were given 6 houses and land. The Great Blasket Cetre was built there to honor the Blasket heritage not far from where their beloved King was buried.

[A. Mary · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is an exhaustively researched book, and the writing painstakingly includes every bit of data. It is a thoroughly academic project. Its problem is that there is so little particular detail about Padraig O Cathain. In order for that little to occupy a book-length project, the authors have to repeat it in every possible context and include much that is not exactly relevant to the king's story. In many ways, it is a family story spanning several generations, but then, it shouldn't be titled *The Last Blasket King*. It tries to be about him, and about his island kingdom, but it would need to be considerably shorter to hold to that. I'd like to have seen more research on the practice of small regional kingships. That's the link this book has to the larger view of Irish history, and it's an important and fascinating link that wants to be exploited.