Memoir of Blasket romance

MIKE CARNEY describes his birthplace as the ‘’most beautiful place on earth’’.

Many would agree. Islands have a mystique and sense of romance about them — none more than the Great Blasket, lying serenely in the Atlantic three miles off the Dingle Peninsula.

It was there Mike came into the world in 1920. Resident in the US since 1948, he is now the oldest living islander and confesses to still dreaming about the place almost every night.

He has penned a memoir that portrays island life in a vanished era. Despite the exquisite surroundings, that life was not easy. In fact, it was the death of his younger brother, without medical or spiritual aid, in 1947, that sparked a chain of events that led to the eventual evacuation of the island in 1953.

The youth had flown and, without modern services or communications, even a motorised ferry, the ageing population was living in increasingly desperate conditions: they could no longer tolerate the isolation.

The island has in recent years been acquired by the State with the aim of converting it into a National Historic Park. Progress has been painfully slow: they have not yet got round to building proper piers on the island and at Dunquin, on the mainland, to allow for easier visitor access.

The people have gone, but the Blasket is an internationally recognised seabird colony and is also known for its seals. The park plans have to take account of all that and visitor numbers will be restricted.

My last trip to the Blasket was on a glorious summer day, a few years ago. About 3.5 miles long and a half-mile wide, the island comprises 1,100 acres and is about 1,000ft above the sea at it highest point. You can walk for hours, taking in heavenly sights.

In his book, From The Great Blasket To America, Mike’s nostalgia is tempered with reality for he, like many others, was forced to leave in search of a better life in the so-called ‘’next parish’’ beyond the waves. Along with other family members and neighbours, he settled in Springfield, Massachusetts, and has worked all his life to preserve the Blasket legacy.

‘’This island is my homeland. Even at almost 93 years of age, I dream about it almost every night,’’ he says, also pointing out he was happy to make the most of his opportunities in America.

Co-authored with his son-in-law Gerald Hayes and published by the Collins Press, this is a heartfelt account in a simple, charming style of a long and varied life — a valuable addition to the ever-growing Blasket library.