An Blascaod Mór – Lost & Found Part 2 Dissertation 2015 Ryan Dempster Northumbria University Newcastle | UK “Then the cliff breaks to the sea, and three miles out lie the islands. They are the peaks of hills sundered from their mainland brothers, and seen thus from above you would think them sea-monsters of an antique world languidly lifting time-worn backs above the restless and transitory waves.” Robin Flower (1978)The Blasket islands lie 1.8 treacherous miles off the South-West coast of Kerry, Ireland. Lying at the most westerly point of Europe, the islands act as stepping stones out of Europe. In contrast to popular belief that the islands were inhabited since ancient periods they were in fact, populated only for a couple of hundred years by a native Gaelic community of subsistence fishermen and farmers. This came to an end in December 1953. After years of hardship and an equally suffering population, the islanders were forced to evacuate under orders of the State. This thesis is a phenomenological study into how the Islanders developed a site specific culture that allowed them to survive in such treacherous conditions. The authors examines this on both a macro & micro scale through a series map drawings & 3d analysis tools. Ryan Dempster Tutor(s) Ruth Conroy Dalton