Book to be part of national heritage celebration on May 24.
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Springfield resident Gerald W. Hayes, left, holds the recently published book, âFrom the Great Blasket to America: The Last Memoir by an Islander,â that he helped father-in-law Michael J. Carney, of East Longmeadow, right, write. Michael J. Carney was 16 when he left the Great Blasket Island, a mile off the mainland of Ireland, in 1937, leaving behind eight siblings and his parents to find better opportunities, including in Dublin and later in Western Massachusetts.
Only 10 people today who lived on that main island (one of six islands known as the Blaskets in County Kerry) are still alive, and Carney is the oldest living native from an isolated dot of land in the Atlantic central to the entire country’s cultural heritage. Its isolation helped preserved the language and ancient stories of Gaelic-Irish along with the preservation of music and dance.
His memory of life on the Great Blasket, home to no more than 175 people during its heyday and evacuated in the 1950s, still resonates with the 92-year-old Carney.
Four years ago Carney began to tell in detail his life story to son-in-law, Gerald W. Hayes of Springfield, who worked with him on the newly published book, “From the Great Blasket To America: The Last Memoir by an Islander.”
The book, which includes family photos and a family tree, is being launched during what is being called a “Gathering” seven-day event through May 29 at the Blasket Island Centre that faces the Great Blasket from the Dingle Peninsula. Carney and other family members are in attendance.
The Gathering Ireland 2013 is a year-long celebration being held in hopes many of the 70 million people worldwide who claim Irish ancestry will visit the Republic of Ireland and enjoy gatherings in “villages, towns and cities.”
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Michael Carney, author of "From the Great Blasket to America: The Last Memoir by an Islander" The Republican currently has a group of travelers being escorted around the Ireland by Kevin O’Hara, the JFK Award winner for the 2012 Holyoke St. Patrick’s Parade, and author of “Last of the Donkey Pilgrims” and “A Lucky Irish Lad,” and his wife, Belita, both of Pittsfield, in conjunction with the recent publication of The Republican’s book, “The Irish Legacy: The History of the Irish in Western Massachusetts.” O’Hara was to present the Blasket Centre with a copy of the book, since many area immigrants came from the Great Blasket and the West of Ireland.
In an interview prior to his journey across the Atlantic, Carney recalled that when he departed the island off the West Coast of Ireland, his father, who had very little money, gave him five shillings and told him he hated to see him leave but said, “we got to have a beginning.”
The younger Carney’s plan in leaving was so there would be “one less mouth to feed in the family” and he would periodically send money home after he got work.
“He put his hand on my head and he said, ‘Mike, whatever you say and whatever you do make sure you do it right,’” said Carney, who lives in East Longmeadow. “That statement stayed with me all my life.”
Carney, the third of 10 children, said he was motivated to share his story at this point in his life after receiving encouragement from Hayes, who was impressed with the “history of the island, the writers, the people, the way they lived and the beauty of the island,” Carney said.
For years, Hayes, a retired vice president at Westfield State University, heard his wife Maureen’s father tell stories of living on the island and his experiences in Dublin and later moving to Springfield.
As someone who enjoys writing, Hayes said he was more than happy to collaborate on the project when he “realized this book was worthy of preservation.”
“Mike gave me a terrific gift and that was the gift of the story of his life. I took my interest in writing and paired it with Mike’s very own personal story,” Hayes said. “And we were able to craft together what we hope is a fitting tribute to an extraordinary life.”
What’s different about Carney’s book is that it discusses the evacuation in 1953 of the island due to deteriorating conditions for the remaining 22 residents from the point of view of an islander who emigrated to the U.S. and became somewhat of an “activist” to preserve the island’s history, culture and legacy, Hayes said.
“All the other books by islanders focus on island life. So this has two dimensions and since he is the oldest living islander this is probably the last book that will be written by an islander,” Hayes said.
The island is known for its tradition of producing great storytellers such as Peig Sayers, Muiris Ó Suilleabhain and Tomas Ó Criomhthain, all of whom Carney talks about in his memoir.
Life was often hard on the island due in part to rough weather, which isolated it from the mainland and impacted fishing, the livelihood of many of the residents, he said.
In the book, Carney describes the island as a “bare-knuckle” place with “no police department, no courthouse, no post office, no general shop, no doctor, no electricity, no running water, no church and no pub.”
For many years while living in Springfield, Carney advocated for the evacuation and preservation of the island because of the declining population, lack of effective communications, and the increasing isolation of the islanders, he said.
The death of his brother, Sean, at age 24 on the island in 1947 without a priest or a doctor also played a large role. Carney’s and others’ efforts led to the Irish government’s establishment of the Blasket Island Centre, a museum that now attracts 50,000 visitors a year.
Before moving to the Hungry Hill section of Springfield in 1948, Carney lived and worked in Dublin for 11 years, including as a barman at a well-known pub called Davy Byrnes, a hangout for writers, actors and other artists and made famous in James Joyce’s book “Ulysses.”
While in Dublin he learned to speak English. He also met his future wife, Mary Ward, at a dance hall.
“I asked her to dance and we were together for 63 years,” he said. “She was a hell of a woman. I didn’t think there is anyone else who would put up with me.”
The couple was married in Springfield in 1950 and raised four children: Kathleen Bowers, Maureen C. Hayes, Noreen McNamara and Michael P. Carney. His wife passed away in July 2010.
While living in Springfield his jobs included working as a security officer at the Hampden County Hall of Justice and as a longtime grocery store manager for the A&P supermarkets.
He was also president of the John Boyle O’Reilly Club in Springfield for 16 years.
These days, Carney likes to listen to Internet radio programs in Gaelic in his apartment, enjoys visits with family and friends and feels proud about his involvement in keeping the Great Blasket Island memories alive.
“I always believed that people should maintain their heritage, ideals and culture. If you don’t you might as well lose yourself,” Carney said. “I’ve never forgotten it. It’s something that’s within me.”
In 2009, Carney received an honorary doctoral degree in Celtic literature from the National University of Ireland, Maynooth.
Copies of his book can be ordered online at www.collinspress.ie or amazon.com
Related:
Area release set for June 15
East Longmeadow resident Michael J. Carney, and other family members, are in Ireland where Carney’s book, “From The Great Blasket to America: The Last Memoir of an Islander,” as told to son-law-Gerald Hayes, will be launched on May 24 at the Blasket Island Centre in Dunquin, a village on Ireland’s Dingle Peninsula that faces the island.
The book’s North American launch will be held June 15 at 10:30 a.m. at the Alumnae Library at Elms College. Jointly hosted by the Irish Cultural Center at the Elms, the event is free and open to the public.
An interview with Carney, a native speaker of Gaelic-Irish, is also part of an exhibit that opens June 11 at the Wood Museum of Springfield History.
The interview was conducted by Mary Ellen Lowney, chair of the communication and new media department of American International College, who also interviewed Carney for The Republican’s “The Irish Legacy: A History of the Irish in Western Massachusetts.”
The exhibit is based on the book and includes artifacts from the Irish Cultural Center.
Some excerpts from Carney’s book:
“This island is my homeland. Even at almost 93 years of age, I see in my dreams is the white and sandy beach (an traigh bhain) on the coast of the island facing the mainland. When we were children, we used to roll up our trousers and run in the surf or play Gaelic football and other sports on the beach we call ‘the strand.’”
“The practice on the island was for babies to be born at home with the help of a midwife. There was no doctor on the island unless there was a serious problem of some nature, and only then if the weather was such that the doctor could get over the island. I was delivered by Meini Ui Dhuinnshleibhe who assisted at most of the island births in them days.”
“The island was a great place for learning, storytelling, literature, music and dancing. It was a great place for our way of life. But, most of all, we took great pride in our use of the Irish language.”
“The island wakes were held in the home of the deceased. The midwife or specially trained women on the island prepared bodies for wakes; the lamenting women, mna caointe, the called them. There was no embalming. Bodies were dressed in either their best clothes or a long brown gown that looked like a religious habit. They used whatever they had at the time. The body was laid out in the bedroom with rosary beads around the hands. They used to hang white sheets from the ceiling in the bedroom for decoration and to remind you of the heavens, I suppose. They used to burn candles too.”