Loneliest Boy in the World

Gearoid Cheaist O Cathain was the last child brought up on the Blasket Islands off Ireland’s southwest coast. His childhood was unique, as he was the only child on the island, the nearest in age being his uncle who was thirty years older. A 1951 newspaper article described him as ‘The Loneliest Boy in the World – he has only seagulls as playmates.’