The whole Carney family went back to Ireland for the ceremony. The degree was formally presented at the Blasket Centre by Dr James Walsh, deputy president of the university. Representing the government at the event was the Minister of State for the Office of Public Works, Dr Martin Mansergh. I was flattered, but I was also humbled. I am just a fisherman’s son. I gave a brief acceptance speech in Irish and in English. It was certainly the proudest moment of my life.
My only complaint on the day was that the colour of the academic gown I had to wear for the occasion was red, a Cork colour. I would have preferred green for Kerry!
When I was a youngster growing up in the island, I passed the Preparatory Examination, but was denied admission to college. Now, in my ripe old age, I was awarded an honorary doctorate. It has been quite a journey. I am proud of my own efforts to advance Irish and the history of the island, but I am a poor substitute for the likes of Ó Criomhthain, Ó Súilleabháin and Sayers. They are the real giants of island literature.
The Great Blasket Island Bursary
At ninety-one years of age, I was back at it again. I was worried that, as time goes on, young people in the West Kerry Gaeltacht might be less interested in the island and that the use of Irish might fade. My suggestion was to create a scholarship or bursary. It would be awarded each year to young Irish-speaking people from West Kerry. The funds would be used for the study of some aspect of Irish language or culture. In my mind this was similar to my family donating the land for the school on the island – even today the Carneys push education.
The Great Blasket Island Bursary was established in 2010 in memory of my deceased wife, Maureen Ward Carney. Contributions were solicited from friends of the island both in Ireland and in the United States. The Carney family made an initial contribution to get the bursary going.
I was pleased to participate in ceremonies at the commemoration in September 2011, presenting the first bursary awards to Colm Galvin of Lispole and Aisling Sullivan of Dingle. They both subsequently attended the University of Limerick. I am very pleased that additional contributions have been received and the Bursary is now in a position to continue for many years to come.
Mike Carney congratulates Colm Galvin and Aisling Sullivan, the first recipients of awards from The Great Blasket Island Bursary.
Living Blasket Islanders
In 2012, there were only ten living native islanders, people who actually lived and grew up on The Great Blasket. I am the oldest living islander. The survivors are:
LIVING IN IRELAND: Maureen Dunleavy Boland (Mairín Ní Dhuinnshléibhe Uí Bheoláin) of Dublin; Niamh Crohan Leahy (Niamh Ní Chriomhthain Uí Laoithe) of Baile an Lochaigh; Gearóid ‘Cheáist’ Keane (Gearóid ‘Cheáist’ Ó Cathaín) the last person born on the island and now of Cork; Nell Guiheen O’Shea (Eibhlín Ní Ghuithín Uí Shé) of Comeen, Ballydavid; and Noreen Keane (Nóirín Ní Chatháin) and her sister Margaret Keane Costello (Mairéad Ní Chathaín Uí Choisdealbha) both of Ballyferriter; and my sister Cáit’s son Seán Ó Cearna of Ballydavid who lived on the island for a couple of years as a boy before moving to Muiríoch with his parents.
LIVING IN AMERICA: Mike Carney (yours truly); Maureen Carney Oski (my sister); and Mairéad Kearney Shea (my cousin). All live in Springfield.
Five islanders visit the Blasket Centre in 2009. (L–r) Niamh Uí Laoithe, Mairín Boland, Maureen Carney Oski, Nell O’Shea and Pádraig Keane.
That’s it; only ten of us left. Unfortunately, all the others are now dead. They are certainly not forgotten. I miss them all very much. But time marches on.
A Personal Legacy
At my personal request, the government has installed a plaque on the island in front of the ruins of the schoolhouse. It reads as follows:
The ruins of the Carney home in 2012, showing conservation work by the government. Cáit slept in a loft at the right gable. The school is to the left.
I gcuimhne ar mhuintir an Oileáin seo go léir mar ná beidh a leithéidí arís ann
In English, it reads: ‘In memory of all the people of this island because the likes of them will never be again.’ This, of course, borrows from Ó Criomhthain’s famous words from the last line of The Islandman.
I sincerely appreciate all the opportunities I had in America. As an emigrant from Ireland, it was up to me to make the most of it. And I did. But a part of me still lives on the island. As the islanders pass away, I wanted to see something on the island itself that would perpetuate their memory. The Blasket Centre and The Great Blasket Island National Historical Park will show visitors what it meant to be an islander. They are important parts of my own legacy. I put my heart and soul into preserving the island and promoting the advancement of Irish culture in America and back home in Ireland.
This gravestone in Springfield reflects the different spellings of the family name. In the etching of a naomhóg on the right, the four rowers signify the four brothers to be buried at this site.
I would like to see people of all ethnic backgrounds maintaining their culture, their ideals, the history of their place of birth and, most of all, their heritage. I believe that if you lose your heritage, you might as well lose yourself.
Mike Carney and his son Michael P. Carney visit the island in 2010.
On the granite monument on the Carney family grave in the Gate of Heaven Cemetery in Springfield, we have a drawing of the island and four men rowing a naomhóg. The inscription on the gravestone reads, ‘The Last of the Blasket Islanders’.
Well, it has certainly been a grand adventure. There have been lots of twists and turns over the years. It has been seventy-five years since I left the island. My love for the island has stayed with me all this time. I have done my best to advance the island. And my family has helped too. It’s something in my system. It’s in my soul.
So why am I writing these memoirs at the age of almost ninety-three? There was a poet on the island who once said that he wrote poetry, ‘So that I can be living while dead’. That is my reason for writing these memoirs, to keep the memory of the island and the story of my emigration alive for my descendants and anybody else who might be interested. I can now rest peacefully with my dreams of the island and with the knowledge that the spirit of the island lives on and on through the Blasket Centre, The Great Blasket Island National Historical Park and The Great Blasket Island Bursary.
A restored Blasket home
Now, I can rest easy with the knowledge that the great spirit of The Great Blasket Island will never die. That spirit will live on forever.
The Blasket Sound
The ocean raged and stormed
Crashed upon the rocky shore,
While an old man mourned
His friends and kin the ocean bore.
Waves surged like a beast loosed from its cage.
The desolate islands spoke out to him.
They knew the story of his life and age.
Each wave landed its outlook grim.
Taunting him to come from shore,
Promising all hopes of more,
Death was what the ocean held, nothing more,
Than all dreams of times better than before.
A journey to defeat this beast of impossible power,
To the land of America, the land of opportunity.
Nothing could ever stop the coming of this hour,
A trip of impossible importance to the island community.
From the Blaskets they sailed apart
Leaving behind nothing but wood and stone.
The weight of their memories engulfing their hearts.
They discovered Hungry Hill and called it home.
The stories and legends will live on forever.
His quest had ended, theirs had just begun.
Sometimes the ocean rages still
But for him it always will.
By Devon Bowers, Mike Carney’s grandson
Chronology
1882
Seán Tom Carney is born on The Great Blasket Island
1917
Seán Tom Carney marries Nellie Daly (2 March)
1920
Mary Ward born in Frenchpark, Roscommon (23 March)
1920
Mike Carney born on The Great Blasket Island (22 September)
1922
The Irish Free State established (6 December)
1933
Nellie Daly Carney dies (1 July)
1936
Mike Carney completes school on The Great Blasket Island (June)
1937
Mike Carney leaves home for Cahersiveen (January)
1937
Mike Carney leaves Cahersiveen for Dublin (May)
1940
Mike Carney completes apprenticeship at Malloy’s pub
1941
The Great Blasket Island school closes
1942
Mike Carney completes junior barman service at Davy Byrnes pub
1943
Mike Carney completes senior barman service at Hennessey’s pub
1947
Seán Carney dies (9 January)
1947
Éamon de Valera visits The Great Blasket Island (15 July)
1948
Cáit Uí Chearna moves from The Great Blasket Island to Muiríoch (Easter)
1948
Mike Carney sails for America on Queen Mary (5 May)
1948
Seán Tom Carney moves to Muiríoch to live with Cáit Uí Chearna
1949
Mary Ward arrives in America on the SS America (12 August)
1950
Mike Carney marries Mary Ward (30 September)
1952
Irish government orders The Great Blasket evacuated (November)
1953
The Great Blasket Island is evacuated (17 November)
1954
Mike Carney becomes an American citizen (15 January)
1955
Mary Ward Carney becomes an American citizen – changes her name to Maureen (3 June)
1972
John Boyle O’Reilly Club moves to Progress Avenue in Springfield
1968
Seán Tom Carney dies in West Kerry
1994
The Blasket Centre opens in Dunquin
2005
Management plan for The Great Blasket Island finalised
2008
The Great Blasket Island planning permits are issued (October)
2009
Blasket land acquired by the Irish government (February)
2010
Guided tours of The Great Blasket Island begin
2010
Maureen Ward Carney dies in Springfield
2010
The Great Blasket Island Bursary established
Acknowledgments
Mike Carney – for his incredible life story as well as for his precise memory, great patience, good humour, and his monumental dedication to The Great Blasket Island.
Maureen Ward Carney – for tolerating her islander and his inquisitor as the interviews proceeded over a period of years.
Maureen Carney Hayes – for seemingly endless editing and for moral support when the process turned daunting.
Micheál Ó Cinnéide – for editing, fact checking, expert guidance and constant encouragement over the years while the project came together.
Edna Uí Chinnéide – for her painstaking editing and suggestions to ensure the historical accuracy of the work.
Micheál de Mórdha – for sharing his wealth of knowledge and for providing access to the full resources of the Blasket Centre/Ionad an Bhlascaoid. His enormous contributions and keen insight provided much-needed depth, particularly focused on the events that led to the evacuation and on land transactions.
Dáithí de Mórdha – for historical information, particularly on landownership and related matters as well as in reviewing maps, compiling the photographs and in the use of Irish.
Eilín Ní Chearna – for background information and guidance on the history of the Carney family living in Ireland.
Pam Robbins – for extraordinary professional editing and contributions to the structure of the tale.
The Collins Press, who believed that this story is worth sharing and who collaborated with the authors to present it a compelling fashion.
GERALD W. HAYES
Photograph, Document and Quotation Credits
Material incorporated herein is presented courtesy of the following:
National Geographic Traveler: p. 1
Michael P. Carney: p. 2
National Monuments Service and the Blasket Centre: pp. 3 and 184
Michael E. Hayes: 4, 17, 56, 58, 59, 61, 71, 173, 174 and 178
Blasket Centre Archives: pp. 9, 10, 19, 23, 24, 28, 29, 42, 50, 63, 74 (George Thomson), 75, 91, 94, 107, 120, 124, 125, 128, 187, and 194 (Doncha Ó Conchúir)
Saint Vincent’s Church, Ballyferriter: p. 13
Carney family archive: pp. 14, 81, 102, 117, 130, 142, 148, 149, 151, 162, 166, 171 and 185
National Folklore Collection, University College Dublin: pp. 16 (Carl Von Sydow), 33, 35, 39 (Teach Mhucrois), 46, 48 (George Chambers), 52 (Carl Von Sydow), 76 and 89
Board of Trinity College Dublin: pp. 20 (John Millington Synge Collection) and 26 (Browne Collection)
Thomas H. Mason: pp. 31, 72 and 88
Leslie Matson: p. 57
Oxford University Press: p. 72
Shane Ross: p. 78 and 129
Kim Kane: Kane family archive: p. 84
Gerald W. Hayes: pp. 86, 103, 152, 164, 169, 175, 195 (both) and 196
Houses of the Oireachtas: p. 126
Irish Examiner: p. 137
Cunard Line and Queen Mary Association: p. 140
Office of US Congressman Richard E. Neal: p. 157
Springfield Public Library (Massachusetts): p. 160
Robert Quinn: p. 172
The Republican, Springfield, Massachusetts: p. 177
Roger Hagmann: pp. 181 and 197
Andrew D. Hayes: p. 182
Office of the President of Ireland: p. 189
An Caomhnóir, Fondúireacht an Bhlascaoid: pp. 190, 192, and 193
Devon Bowers: p. 198
Every effort has been made to secure permission from the copyright holders for the use of photographs and other material presented in this book. We apologise for and regret any error or oversight. Please advise the publisher of any corrections that should be made in future editions of this book.
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