In 1948, an Irish Times feature was headlined "The loneliest boy in the world".
It focused on Geraoid 'Cheast' OCathain - the last child left on the Great Blasket Island, off Ireland's west coast in Co Kerry. The school had closed, and families and individuals had been emigrating - most to the USA.
Geraoid was left as the only youngster in an ageing population of around 20 families who were struggling to maintain the harsh lifestyle based on fishing and subsistence farming. As the article put it, his only friends were the seals.
I thought of Gearoid when I read of the death of Norman John Gillies, one of the last 'natives' of St KiIda, which was evacuated in 1930. The difference was that St Kilda's population eventually succumbed to the island's remoteness, whereas the Blasket Islanders, less than two miles off shore, could watch the lights in the houses of relatives across the sound, they went to market and church on the mainland, they were an integral part of the west Kerry community.
For all that, when the final families evacuated the Great Blasket they were relieved, despite their sadness at the loss of tradition - especially in the Irish language, folklore, and literature. A community, that had never reached more than 170 souls in modern times had produced a number of acclaimed authors , all writing in the islanders' 'pure' Irish.
They were glad to 'escape' because most were too old to pursue the demanding way of life, but also because of an incident over new year in 1948 when stormy seas meant no doctor could reach a young islander suffering from meningitis and the Government supplied, unreliable, phone link failed. In the end, a lifeboat had to bring a coffin to Great Blasket and the same vessel took the body to the mainland for burial.
It was the final straw for the islanders who petitioned the Government to 'get them off Great Blasket'. It was not lost on them that, ironically, De Valera's government trumpeted its support for the Irish language and traditions, of which they were possibly the truest extant example. Eventually, in November 1953, mainland homes and land were found for the remaining families and the evacuation was completed.
However, the improved infrastructure and communication which was becoming feasible: helicopters, a fast boat stationed nearby, may have allowed the islanders to feel safer. It may still have lost its population, but certainly, with support, other islands have flourished.
Great Blasket was depeopled, ultimately, not solely by its harsh living conditions, but by the inability, or unwillingness of a Government to react to their needs. Feeling abandoned, it is unsurprising that the opportunities of emigration won out.
It is a cautionary tale of the need for government to be connected to all the people it serves. That connection - or lack of it, should be in people's minds as they decide on the independence referendum.
If they feel Westminster listens to Scotland and understands its needs, then they will vote No. On the other hand, if their suspicion is that decisions made in Edinburgh are more likely to reflect the wishes and needs of people in Scotland, they will vote Yes.
Nearly time for Celtic connections……..
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