Arranmore
Encyclopedia
Árainn Mhór is the largest inhabited island
of County Donegal
, and the second largest in all of Ireland
, with a population of 528 in 2006, down from 543 in 2002, and over 600 in 1996. The island is part of the Donegal Gaeltacht
. The island lies off the west coast of County Donegal, part of the Province
of Ulster
in the northern part of Ireland.
It is also known in English
as Aran Island (not to be confused with the Aran Islands
off Galway Bay
or the Scottish Isle of Arran
). In Irish
the island was traditionally called Árainn, the adjective mór (large) was added fairly recently. It was also sometimes called in Irish Árainn Uí Dhomhnaill, meaning the 'Aran of the O'Donnells'.
, a small coastal village in The Rosses
, and is served by two ferry
services, a conventional ferry that accommodates up to 96 foot passengers and all sizes of vehicles. This journey takes 15 minutes. In 2007, a fast ferry service commenced which can cover the run to the island in 5 minutes. Both services run daily all year. The trip to the island affords spectacular views, passing a number of small islands before crossing a stretch of open Atlantic water.
(Irish
: Leadhb Gharbh), is located. The island has been settled since 'pre-Celtic
times', and the few remaining signs of early settlement include a promontory fort
to the south of the island and shell midden
s dotted along the beaches. Its position near the Atlantic shipping lanes was exploited, with a coastguard station and a lighthouse
positioned on the most north-westerly point, and a World War 2
monitoring post set up to look out for U-Boats
.
The permanent population is 650, but this rises to well over 1,000 during the summer months. A large proportion of the housing stock are holiday homes, with both native islanders and their descendants, as well as non locals, being attracted to the beauty of the island.
to get electricity from the Rural Electrification Scheme
, run by the E.S.B.
, in 1957, but was amongst the last places in the country to get universally reliable piped water (in 1973-75) and an automatic phone exchange (in 1986). It went directly from a manual switchboard to an ISDN-enabled system, which had to be upgraded within weeks due to massive demand for consumer phone lines, as the previous exchange had been limited to issuing numbers to business ventures only, and only had 47 internal lines.
It relies mostly on tourism
for its income (fishing
was the island's mainstay up to the 1980s but is no longer a significant industry), as well as the traditional Gaeltacht summer schools. In recent years, a local development co-op
has encouraged the development of other industries on the island, such as a call centre
and teacher training for Irish
teachers. The island's many lakes provide rod fishing opportunities.
and Highland Radio
to provide coverage to the island and much of The Rosses
which are shielded by mountains from the main transmissions. Two towers exist, the smaller of which belongs to Highland, and the significantly larger to RTÉ Networks. The EIRP
of the stations transmitted by RTÉ Networks is amongst the highest of any relay station. The site is 125 m above sea level, with the RTÉ antenna standing at 45 metres.
The construction of the RTÉ mast in the 1990s was controversial for a number of reasons, one of them being that the allocated television frequencies (which had been reserved and known for some time) interfered with then-unlicenced relay broadcasts of British television channels in parts of County Donegal.
A 1 kW transmitter, on 104.0 MHz, has been proposed for the i102-104FM
radio station which launched in February 2008. Both O2 Ireland
and Vodafone Ireland
have transmission stations on the RTÉ mast.
UHF 45 is allocated to but unused by TV3
. 41, 44, 47 and 51 are allocated for Digital terrestrial television
but as yet have not been used in DTT trials or for full services, with the island's transmitter being a List B (secondary level of importance) transmission site in the 2007 DTT process documents. It is expected to serve 0.4% of the country's population when configured
, partly through its separation from the mainland and partly through its diaspora
outside Ireland. The island, in common with many communities at the edge of Europe
, has shed people to many parts of the English-speaking world
. These are not lost, however, and many return for the summer school holidays, doubling the resident population. The influx of young people during the summer gives rise to an active youth culture.
The result is that a visitor is not conscious of being in the Gaeltacht
and soccer (often known locally as football) is preferred to Gaelic games
.
The island is 'twinned' with Beaver Island
, an island in northern Lake Michigan
where a large number of former residents gathered after being evicted from Arranmore in the mid-1800s. There are still today a number of families on Beaver Island that trace their roots to Arranmore.
The island hosts the Arranmore Challenge, an annual soccer competition every June bank holiday weekend where 16 teams compete over 2 days. The competition has increased in popularity every year since it was introduced in 2001, and it hosts teams from all over Ireland and Great Britain
.
The Arranmore RNLI
Station, with its Severn class lifeboat
, is the best equipped in the county.
Island
An island or isle is any piece of sub-continental land that is surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, cays or keys. An island in a river or lake may be called an eyot , or holm...
of County Donegal
County Donegal
County Donegal is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Border Region and is also located in the province of Ulster. It is named after the town of Donegal. Donegal County Council is the local authority for the county...
, and the second largest in all of Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
, with a population of 528 in 2006, down from 543 in 2002, and over 600 in 1996. The island is part of the Donegal Gaeltacht
Gaeltacht
is the Irish language word meaning an Irish-speaking region. In Ireland, the Gaeltacht, or an Ghaeltacht, refers individually to any, or collectively to all, of the districts where the government recognises that the Irish language is the predominant language, that is, the vernacular spoken at home...
. The island lies off the west coast of County Donegal, part of the Province
Provinces of Ireland
Ireland has historically been divided into four provinces: Leinster, Ulster, Munster and Connacht. The Irish word for this territorial division, cúige, literally meaning "fifth part", indicates that there were once five; the fifth province, Meath, was incorporated into Leinster, with parts going to...
of Ulster
Ulster
Ulster is one of the four provinces of Ireland, located in the north of the island. In ancient Ireland, it was one of the fifths ruled by a "king of over-kings" . Following the Norman invasion of Ireland, the ancient kingdoms were shired into a number of counties for administrative and judicial...
in the northern part of Ireland.
It is also known in English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
as Aran Island (not to be confused with the Aran Islands
Aran Islands
The Aran Islands or The Arans are a group of three islands located at the mouth of Galway Bay, on the west coast of Ireland. They constitute the barony of Aran in County Galway, Ireland...
off Galway Bay
Galway Bay
Galway Bay is a large bay on the west coast of Ireland, between County Galway in the province of Connacht to the north and the Burren in County Clare in the province of Munster to the south. Galway city is located on the northeast side of the bay. It is about long and from to in breadth...
or the Scottish Isle of Arran
Isle of Arran
Arran or the Isle of Arran is the largest island in the Firth of Clyde, Scotland, and with an area of is the seventh largest Scottish island. It is in the unitary council area of North Ayrshire and the 2001 census had a resident population of 5,058...
). In Irish
Irish language
Irish , also known as Irish Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family, originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish people. Irish is now spoken as a first language by a minority of Irish people, as well as being a second language of a larger proportion of...
the island was traditionally called Árainn, the adjective mór (large) was added fairly recently. It was also sometimes called in Irish Árainn Uí Dhomhnaill, meaning the 'Aran of the O'Donnells'.
Location
The island lies 5 km (3 mi) off BurtonportBurtonport
Ailt an Chorráin or Ailt a' Chorráin is a Gaeltacht fishing village about 7 km northwest of Dungloe in County Donegal, Ireland....
, a small coastal village in The Rosses
The Rosses
The Rosses is a geographical and social region in the west of County Donegal, Ireland, centred around the town of Dungloe, which acts as the educational, shopping and civil centre for the area...
, and is served by two ferry
Ferry
A ferry is a form of transportation, usually a boat, but sometimes a ship, used to carry primarily passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo as well, across a body of water. Most ferries operate on regular, frequent, return services...
services, a conventional ferry that accommodates up to 96 foot passengers and all sizes of vehicles. This journey takes 15 minutes. In 2007, a fast ferry service commenced which can cover the run to the island in 5 minutes. Both services run daily all year. The trip to the island affords spectacular views, passing a number of small islands before crossing a stretch of open Atlantic water.
Habitation
Most of the population lives along the southern and (comparatively sheltered) eastern coast, where the main village, LeabgarrowLeabgarrow
An Leadhb Gharbh is a Gaeltacht village on Arranmore Island, which is to the west of County Donegal about three miles from Burtonport. The islands post office, secondary school and ferry port are located in Leabgarrow....
(Irish
Irish language
Irish , also known as Irish Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family, originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish people. Irish is now spoken as a first language by a minority of Irish people, as well as being a second language of a larger proportion of...
: Leadhb Gharbh), is located. The island has been settled since 'pre-Celtic
Pre-Celtic
The term pre-Celtic refers to the period in the prehistory of Central and Western Europe postdating the emergence of Proto-Celtic and predating the expansion of the Celts, or Celtic culture, in the course of the earlier Iron Age . The area involved is that of the maximum extent of Celtic languages...
times', and the few remaining signs of early settlement include a promontory fort
Promontory fort
A promontory fort is a defensive structure located above a steep cliff, often only connected to the mainland by a small neck of land, thus utilizing the topography to reduce the ramparts needed. Although their dating is problematic, most seem to date to the Iron Age...
to the south of the island and shell midden
Midden
A midden, is an old dump for domestic waste which may consist of animal bone, human excrement, botanical material, vermin, shells, sherds, lithics , and other artifacts and ecofacts associated with past human occupation...
s dotted along the beaches. Its position near the Atlantic shipping lanes was exploited, with a coastguard station and a lighthouse
Lighthouse
A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses or, in older times, from a fire, and used as an aid to navigation for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways....
positioned on the most north-westerly point, and a World War 2
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
monitoring post set up to look out for U-Boats
U-boat
U-boat is the anglicized version of the German word U-Boot , itself an abbreviation of Unterseeboot , and refers to military submarines operated by Germany, particularly in World War I and World War II...
.
The permanent population is 650, but this rises to well over 1,000 during the summer months. A large proportion of the housing stock are holiday homes, with both native islanders and their descendants, as well as non locals, being attracted to the beauty of the island.
Infrastructure and economy
The island was the first offshore island in the Republic of IrelandRepublic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
to get electricity from the Rural Electrification Scheme
Rural electrification
Rural electrification is the process of bringing electrical power to rural and remote areas. Electricity is used not only for lighting and household purposes, but it also allows for mechanization of many farming operations, such as threshing, milking, and hoisting grain for storage; in areas...
, run by the E.S.B.
Electricity Supply Board
The Electricity Supply Board , is a semi-state electricity company in Ireland. While historically a monopoly, the ESB now operates as a commercial semi-state concern in a liberalised and competitive market...
, in 1957, but was amongst the last places in the country to get universally reliable piped water (in 1973-75) and an automatic phone exchange (in 1986). It went directly from a manual switchboard to an ISDN-enabled system, which had to be upgraded within weeks due to massive demand for consumer phone lines, as the previous exchange had been limited to issuing numbers to business ventures only, and only had 47 internal lines.
Tourism
Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes".Tourism has become a...
for its income (fishing
Fishing
Fishing is the activity of trying to catch wild fish. Fish are normally caught in the wild. Techniques for catching fish include hand gathering, spearing, netting, angling and trapping....
was the island's mainstay up to the 1980s but is no longer a significant industry), as well as the traditional Gaeltacht summer schools. In recent years, a local development co-op
Cooperative
A cooperative is a business organization owned and operated by a group of individuals for their mutual benefit...
has encouraged the development of other industries on the island, such as a call centre
Call centre
A call centre or call center is a centralised office used for the purpose of receiving and transmitting a large volume of requests by telephone. A call centre is operated by a company to administer incoming product support or information inquiries from consumers. Outgoing calls for telemarketing,...
and teacher training for Irish
Irish language
Irish , also known as Irish Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family, originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish people. Irish is now spoken as a first language by a minority of Irish people, as well as being a second language of a larger proportion of...
teachers. The island's many lakes provide rod fishing opportunities.
Arranmore transmitter
The Arranmore Island transmitter is a relay station used by RTÉ Network LimitedRTÉ Network Limited
RTÉ Transmission Network Limited is a wholly owned subsidiary of Raidió Teilifís Éireann which runs Ireland's principal terrestrial television and radio broadcast signal transmission networks. They operate 10 main sites, and over 100 smaller relays and transposers, which carry either television,...
and Highland Radio
Highland Radio
Highland Radio is an Irish radio station operating under a licence from the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland, and is the licenced local radio service for the County Donegal franchise. It began broadcasting on March 15, 1990, and is currently franchised until 2014. Highland's headquarters are...
to provide coverage to the island and much of The Rosses
The Rosses
The Rosses is a geographical and social region in the west of County Donegal, Ireland, centred around the town of Dungloe, which acts as the educational, shopping and civil centre for the area...
which are shielded by mountains from the main transmissions. Two towers exist, the smaller of which belongs to Highland, and the significantly larger to RTÉ Networks. The EIRP
Equivalent isotropically radiated power
In radio communication systems, Equivalent isotropically radiated power or, alternatively, Effective isotropically radiated power is the amount of power that a theoretical isotropic antenna would emit to produce the peak power density observed in the direction of maximum antenna gain...
of the stations transmitted by RTÉ Networks is amongst the highest of any relay station. The site is 125 m above sea level, with the RTÉ antenna standing at 45 metres.
The construction of the RTÉ mast in the 1990s was controversial for a number of reasons, one of them being that the allocated television frequencies (which had been reserved and known for some time) interfered with then-unlicenced relay broadcasts of British television channels in parts of County Donegal.
A 1 kW transmitter, on 104.0 MHz, has been proposed for the i102-104FM
I102-104FM
i 102-104FM was a regional station in the Republic of Ireland launched on 7 February 2008. The station won the licence for a 'youth' orientated station that would broadcast across seven counties in the northwest and west of Ireland, targeting listeners aged between 15 and 34; and was part of a...
radio station which launched in February 2008. Both O2 Ireland
O2 Ireland
Telefónica Ireland is a broadband and telecommunications provider in Ireland. The company is marketed and trades as O2...
and Vodafone Ireland
Vodafone Ireland
Vodafone Ireland Limited, part of the Vodafone Group, is the largest mobile phone company in Ireland in terms of active subscribers, and was previously called Eircell. The mobile phone system in use is a digital GSM 900 system, and also a third-generation UMTS system...
have transmission stations on the RTÉ mast.
UHF 45 is allocated to but unused by TV3
TV3 Ireland
TV3 is a free-to-air commercial television network in the Republic of Ireland. Launched on 20 September 1998 it was Ireland's first commercial broadcaster. The channel is owned by TV3 Group a subsidiary of Doughty Hanson & Co.-The TV3 Group:...
. 41, 44, 47 and 51 are allocated for Digital terrestrial television
Digital terrestrial television
Digital terrestrial television is the technological evolution of broadcast television and advance from analog television, which broadcasts land-based signals...
but as yet have not been used in DTT trials or for full services, with the island's transmitter being a List B (secondary level of importance) transmission site in the 2007 DTT process documents. It is expected to serve 0.4% of the country's population when configured
Other
For a visitor, the island has a character distinct from the rest of County DonegalCounty Donegal
County Donegal is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Border Region and is also located in the province of Ulster. It is named after the town of Donegal. Donegal County Council is the local authority for the county...
, partly through its separation from the mainland and partly through its diaspora
Diaspora
A diaspora is "the movement, migration, or scattering of people away from an established or ancestral homeland" or "people dispersed by whatever cause to more than one location", or "people settled far from their ancestral homelands".The word has come to refer to historical mass-dispersions of...
outside Ireland. The island, in common with many communities at the edge of Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, has shed people to many parts of the English-speaking world
English-speaking world
The English-speaking world consists of those countries or regions that use the English language to one degree or another. For more information, please see:Lists:* List of countries by English-speaking population...
. These are not lost, however, and many return for the summer school holidays, doubling the resident population. The influx of young people during the summer gives rise to an active youth culture.
The result is that a visitor is not conscious of being in the Gaeltacht
Gaeltacht
is the Irish language word meaning an Irish-speaking region. In Ireland, the Gaeltacht, or an Ghaeltacht, refers individually to any, or collectively to all, of the districts where the government recognises that the Irish language is the predominant language, that is, the vernacular spoken at home...
and soccer (often known locally as football) is preferred to Gaelic games
Gaelic games
Gaelic games are sports played in Ireland under the auspices of the Gaelic Athletic Association. The two main games are Gaelic football and hurling...
.
The island is 'twinned' with Beaver Island
Beaver Island (Lake Michigan)
Beaver Island is the largest island in Lake Michigan and part of the Beaver Island archipelago. Once home to a unique American monarchy, the island is now a popular tourist and vacation destination....
, an island in northern Lake Michigan
Lake Michigan
Lake Michigan is one of the five Great Lakes of North America and the only one located entirely within the United States. It is the second largest of the Great Lakes by volume and the third largest by surface area, after Lake Superior and Lake Huron...
where a large number of former residents gathered after being evicted from Arranmore in the mid-1800s. There are still today a number of families on Beaver Island that trace their roots to Arranmore.
The island hosts the Arranmore Challenge, an annual soccer competition every June bank holiday weekend where 16 teams compete over 2 days. The competition has increased in popularity every year since it was introduced in 2001, and it hosts teams from all over Ireland and Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
.
The Arranmore RNLI
Royal National Lifeboat Institution
The Royal National Lifeboat Institution is a charity that saves lives at sea around the coasts of Great Britain, Ireland, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man, as well as on selected inland waterways....
Station, with its Severn class lifeboat
Severn class lifeboat
At long, the Severn class lifeboat is the largest lifeboat operated by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution . Introduced to service in 1996, the class is named after the River Severn, the longest river in Great Britain...
, is the best equipped in the county.
Places and villages on Arranmore Island
- Aphort
- Fallagowan
- allintra,
- BallardBallard-Places:*Ballard, California*Ballard, Utah*Ballard, Seattle, Washington, a neighborhood that was once a city before being annexed by Seattle in the early 20th century*Ballard County, Kentucky*Ballard Down, an area in Dorset, England*Ballardvale, Massachusetts...
- Illion
- LeabgarrowLeabgarrowAn Leadhb Gharbh is a Gaeltacht village on Arranmore Island, which is to the west of County Donegal about three miles from Burtonport. The islands post office, secondary school and ferry port are located in Leabgarrow....
(main settlement) - Leabrannagh
- Pollawaddy
- Scraigatoke
- Torries