At present, the greatest vibrancy in the arts is within local communities. The upsurge in vernacular art is perhaps a measure of our improved prosperity. It is noteworthy, however, that some of the greatest art we produced, in terms of literature, the visual arts and so on, appeared during some extremely tough times. The works of Peig Sayers, Tomás O'Crohan, etc., which are among the high points of the Irish language literature, came from difficult circumstances in the remotest part of the country, but they still shine as a beacon. In many respects, they could be compared to the works of Greek literature from the golden age in that they reflect the same insight into the human psyche and condition.