Blasket
| Native name: An Bhlascaod Mór | |
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Great Blasket from Dunmore Head
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 Great Blasket
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| Geography | |
| Location | Atlantic Ocean |
| Coordinates | 52°5.37′N 10°32.16′W / 52.08950°N 10.53600°WCoordinates: 52°5.37′N 10°32.16′W / 52.08950°N 10.53600°W |
| Archipelago | Blasket Islands |
| Major islands | Great Blasket Island, Beginish, Inishnabro, Inishvickillane, Inishtooskert, Tearaght Island |
| Area | 4.29 km2 (1.66 sq mi) |
| Highest elevation | 292 m (958 ft) |
| Highest point | An Cró Mór |
| Administration | |
| Province | Munster |
| County | Kerry |
| Demographics | |
| Population | 0 (2011) |
| Pop. density | 0 /km2 (0 /sq mi) |
| Additional information | |
| inhabited until 1953 | |
Great Blasket (An Blascaod Mór in Irish) is the principal island of the Blaskets, County Kerry, Ireland.
The island lies approximately 2 km from the mainland at Dunmore Head, and extends 6 km to the southwest, rising to 292 metres at its highest point (An Cró Mór). The nearest mainland town is Dunquin; a ferry to the island operates from a nearby pier during summer months. Despite its close proximity to the mainland, visitors to the Dingle coast can often not see the island through the notorious sea mist.
The most easterly extremity of the island, Garraun Point at 52°06′16″N 10°30′27″W / 52.1045°N 10.5074°W has been incorrectly cited as being the most westerly point of the Irish mainland.
The island was inhabited until 1953, when the Irish government decided that it could no longer guarantee the safety of the remaining population, however the islanders had been requesting that they be relocated since 1947. It was the death of Seánín Ó Cearnaigh that acted as a catalyst in the island's evacuation. Sean had become ill and as a result of poor weather, no doctor or priest could reach the island. Inclement weather prevented his body being taken to the consecrated graveyard across the Blasket Sound in Dunquin for a number of days. It was this tragic event that led the islanders to contact the Irish government and request that they be evacuated.
It was the home of three noted Irish writers: Tomás Ó Criomhthain, Peig Sayers and Muiris Ó Súilleabháin. Their works were all written in Irish, and have all been translated into English, as well as other languages. The homes of Tomás Ó Criomhthain and Muiris Ó Súilleabháin are now in ruins but the house in which Sayers once lived has been restored, and used to form part of the hostel which previously functioned on the island.
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Wikipedia