Blasket Centre

The Great Blasket, three kilometres off the Dingle peninsula, never held more than about 175 people and was evacuated in 1953 when the population had fallen too far to sustain itself. What makes it extraordinary is what those people wrote. Encouraged by visiting scholars who came for the Irish, islanders produced a shelf of autobiographical books in the 1920s and 30s - Tomas O Criomhthain's An tOileanach, Muiris O Suilleabhain's Fiche Blian ag Fas, Peig Sayers's Peig - which are now translated widely and are among the best first-hand accounts of a European subsistence community written from inside it. The centre, a striking modern building by Ciaran O'Connor pointing at the island, covers the literature, the daily life and the evacuation. A long window frames the Blaskets themselves. Boats to the island run from Dunquin in summer, weather permitting, and are booked separately.

What you actually see

• The island literature - O Criomhthain, O Suilleabhain and Sayers, written from inside.
• The evacuation story - a community that ended in 1953.
• The building - a modern museum aligned on the island itself.
• The window - the long view framing the Blaskets across the sound.

When to go

April to October; the centre is seasonal and closed in winter. Island boats run in summer only and cancel in swell - book those separately.

Honest expectations

Seasonal opening. The island itself is a separate boat trip that frequently cancels for weather. Peig Sayers's book has a difficult reputation in Ireland from decades of compulsory school study, which the centre addresses directly.

Nearby

Dunquin pier is below; Coumeenoole and Slea Head are south.