Inisheer
Encyclopedia
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...
in 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...
, 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...
.
Naming
The official name, , was brought into usage by the Ordnance Survey IrelandOrdnance Survey Ireland
Ordnance Survey Ireland is the national mapping agency of the Republic of Ireland and, together with the Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland , succeeded, after 1922, the Irish operations of the United Kingdom Ordnance Survey. It is part of the Public service of the Republic of Ireland...
. It may be a compromise between the traditional local name and the previous official name . There is no Irish word corresponding to the second element in the official name. It seems from the annals that the island's name always contained the element or in the sense of "rear or back island" and not "west" as is the usual sense of this word. The form , used by the 17th century scholar Rory O'Flaherty, seems to have arisen out of his own misreading of the annals.
Geology and Geography
The island is an extension of The BurrenThe Burren
The Burren is a karst-landscape region or alvar in northwest County Clare, in Ireland. It is one of the largest karst landscapes in Europe. The region measures approximately 250 square kilometres and is enclosed roughly within the circle made by the villages Ballyvaughan, Kinvara, Tubber, Corofin,...
. The terrain of the island is composed of limestone
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
pavements with crisscrossing cracks known as "grikes", leaving isolated rocks called "clints".
The limestones date from the Visean
Viséan
The Visean, Viséan or Visian is an age in the ICS geologic timescale or a stage in the stratigraphic column. It is the second stage of the Mississippian, the lower subsystem of the Carboniferous. The Visean lasted from 345.3 ± 2.1 to 328.3 ± 1.6 Ma...
period (Lower Carboniferous), formed as sediments in a tropical sea approximately 350 million years ago, and compressed into horizontal strata with fossil corals, crinoids, sea urchins and ammonites.
Glaciation following the Namurian
Namurian
The Namurian is a stage in the regional stratigraphy of northwest Europe with an age between roughly 326 and 313 Ma . It is a subdivision of the Carboniferous system or period and the regional Silesian series. The Namurian is named for the Belgian city and province of Namur where strata of this age...
phase facilitated greater denudation. The result is that Inisheer is one of the finest examples of a Glacio-Karst
KARST
Kilometer-square Area Radio Synthesis Telescope is a Chinese telescope project to which FAST is a forerunner. KARST is a set of large spherical reflectors on karst landforms, which are bowlshaped limestone sinkholes named after the Kras region in Slovenia and Northern Italy. It will consist of...
landscape in the world. The effects of the last glacial period (the Midlandian) are most in evidence, with the island overrun by ice during this glaciation. The impact of earlier Karstification (solutional erosion) has been eliminated by the last glacial period. So any Karstification now seen dates from approximately 10,000 years ago and the island Karst is thus recent.
Solutional processes have widened and deepened the grykes of the limestone pavement. Pre-existing lines of weakness in the rock (vertical joints) contribute to the formation of extensive fissures separated by clints (flat pavement like slabs). The rock karstification facilitates the formation of sub-terrainean drainage.
Climate and agriculture
The island has an unusually temperate climate. Average air temperatures range from 15°C in July to 6°C in January. The soil temperature does not usually drop below 6°C (end 2010 recorded a prolonged period of snow, the first in living memory). Since grass will grow once the temperature rises above 6°C, this means that the island (like the neighbouring BurrenBurren
Burren can refer to:*The Burren, a karst landscape in County Clare, Ireland*Burren, County Down, a village in Northern Ireland*Burren College of Art, an art college in Ballyvaughan, County Clare, Ireland*Burrén and Burrena, twin hills in Aragon, Spain...
) has one of the longest growing seasons in Ireland or Britain, and supports diverse and rich plant growth.
Late May is the sunniest time, and also likely the best time to view flowers, with the gentians and avens peaking (but orchid species blooming later).
Flora and fauna
The island supports arcticArctic
The Arctic is a region located at the northern-most part of the Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean and parts of Canada, Russia, Greenland, the United States, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Iceland. The Arctic region consists of a vast, ice-covered ocean, surrounded by treeless permafrost...
, Mediterranean and alpine
Alps
The Alps is one of the great mountain range systems of Europe, stretching from Austria and Slovenia in the east through Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany to France in the west....
plants side-by-side, due to the unusual environment. Like the Burren, the Aran islands are renowned for their remarkable assemblage of plants and animals.
The grikes (crevices) provide moist shelter, thus supporting a wide range of plants including dwarf shrubs. Where the surface of the pavement is shattered into gravel, many of the hardier Arctic or Alpine plants can be found. But when the limestone pavement is covered by a thin layer of soil, patches of grass are seen, interspersed with plants like the gentian and orchids.
Notable insects present include the butterfly the Pearl-bordered Fritillary
Pearl-bordered Fritillary
The Pearl-bordered Fritillary is a butterfly of the Nymphalidae family.It is orange with black spots on the upperside of its wing and has a wingspan of 38–46 mm. On the underside of the wings there is a row of silver pearly markings along the edge, which give the species its name...
Boloria euphrosyne, Brown Hairstreak
Brown Hairstreak
The Brown Hairstreak is a butterfly in the family Lycaenidae. The range includes most of the Palaearctic.-Subspecies:...
Thecla betulae, Marsh Fritillary
Marsh Fritillary
The Marsh Fritillary, Euphydryas aurinia, is a butterfly of the Nymphalidae family.It is widespread in the Palaearctic region from Ireland in the West to Yakutia in the East, and to North-west China and Mongolia in the South.E. aurinia is represented by many subspecies.The most widely accepted...
Euphydryas aurinia and Wood White Leptidea sinapis; the moths, the Burren Green
Calamia tridens
The Burren Green is a moth of the Noctuidae family. It is found in Europe.The wingspan is 37-42 mm. The length of the forewings is 17-18 mm. The moth flies in one generation from late June to September ....
Calamia tridens, Irish Annulet Odontognophos dumetata and Transparent Burnet Zygaena purpuralis; and the hoverfly Doros profuges.
History
St Caomhán, patron saint of Inisheer, was the elder brother of St KevinKevin of Glendalough
Saint Cóemgen , popularly anglicized to Kevin is an Irish saint who was known as the founder and first abbot of Glendalough in County Wicklow, Ireland.-Life:...
, who founded Glendalough
Glendalough
Glendalough or Glendaloch is a glacial valley in County Wicklow, Ireland. It is renowned for its Early Medieval monastic settlement founded in the 6th century by St Kevin, a hermit priest, and partly destroyed in 1398 by English troops....
.
The island has a medieval O'Brien castle
Castle
A castle is a type of fortified structure built in Europe and the Middle East during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars debate the scope of the word castle, but usually consider it to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble...
built in an ancient stone fort on top of the hill, and various church ruins including a church named Teampall Chaomháin, which has to be uncovered annually as the floor of it is well below the level of the sand.
The cargo vessel Plassey
MV Plassy
MV Plassy, or Plassey, was a steam trawler launched in late 1940 and named HMS Juliet in 1941. She was renamed Peterjon and converted to a cargo vessel in 1947. She was acquired by the Limerick Steamship Company in 1951 and renamed Plassy . On her final voyage she was sailing through Galway Bay...
was shipwrecked off Inis Oírr in the 1960s, and has since been thrown above high tide mark at Carraig na Finise on the island by strong Atlantic waves. The islanders rescued the entire crew from the stricken vessel using a breeches buoy
Breeches buoy
A breeches buoy is a crude rope-based rescue device used to extract people from wrecked vessels, or to transfer people from one location to another in situations of danger. The device resembles a round emergency personal flotation device with a leg harness attached...
- an event captured in a pictorial display at the National Maritime Museum
National Maritime Museum of Ireland
The National Maritime Museum of Ireland opened in 1978 in the former Mariners' Church in Haigh Terrace, near the centre of Dún Laoghaire town, southeast of Dublin city.The church was built in 1837 for seafarers and remained open until 1971...
in Dún Laoghaire
Dún Laoghaire
Dún Laoghaire or Dún Laoire , sometimes anglicised as "Dunleary" , is a suburban seaside town in County Dublin, Ireland, about twelve kilometres south of Dublin city centre. It is the county town of Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County and a major port of entry from Great Britain...
, County Dublin
County Dublin
County Dublin is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Dublin Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the city of Dublin which is the capital of Ireland. County Dublin was one of the first of the parts of Ireland to be shired by King John of England following the...
.
Transport
The island is reached by ferry from RossavealRossaveal
Ros an Mhíl or Ros a' Mhíl is a Gaeltacht village in the Connemara area of County Galway, Ireland. It is the main ferry port for the Aran Islands in Galway Bay...
in Connemara
Connemara
Connemara is a district in the west of Ireland consisting of a broad peninsula between Killary Harbour and Kilkieran Bay in the west of County Galway.-Overview:...
and Doolin
Doolin
Doolin is a coastal village in County Clare, Ireland, on the Atlantic coast. It borders the spa town of Lisdoonvarna. It is a noted centre of traditional Irish music, which is played nightly in its pubs, making it a popular tourist destination. There are numerous nearby archaeological sites, many...
in County Clare
County Clare
-History:There was a Neolithic civilisation in the Clare area — the name of the peoples is unknown, but the Prehistoric peoples left evidence behind in the form of ancient dolmen; single-chamber megalithic tombs, usually consisting of three or more upright stones...
as well as from the other Aran Islands; or by plane from Connemara Regional Airport.
Language
Irish is still today the daily language of the 300 residents. In addition, many school pupils come to the island to learn Irish in an environment where it is a living language.Sport
Some of the limestone sea cliffs have attracted interest from rock-climbersClimbing
Climbing is the activity of using one's hands and feet to ascend a steep object. It is done both for recreation and professionally, as part of activities such as maintenance of a structure, or military operations.Climbing activities include:* Bouldering: Ascending boulders or small...
, though the bigger islands of Inishmore and Inishmaan
Inishmaan
Inishmaan is the middle of the three main Aran Islands in Galway Bay on the west coast of Ireland. It is part of County Galway in the province of Connacht. Inishmaan has a population of about 160, making it the smallest of the Aran Islands in terms of population. It is also quieter and less...
are more popular.
Diving is possible.
In the media
The island gained some televisionTelevision
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
exposure in the 1990s when it (and the Plassey) appeared in the opening credits
Opening credits
In a motion picture, television program, or video game, the opening credits are shown at the very beginning and list the most important members of the production. They are now usually shown as text superimposed on a blank screen or static pictures, or sometimes on top of action in the show. There...
of the sitcom
Situation comedy
A situation comedy, often shortened to sitcom, is a genre of comedy that features characters sharing the same common environment, such as a home or workplace, accompanied with jokes as part of the dialogue...
Father Ted
Father Ted
Father Ted is a comedy series set in Ireland that was produced by Hat Trick Productions for British broadcaster Channel 4. Written jointly by Irish writers Arthur Mathews and Graham Linehan and starring a predominantly Irish cast, it originally aired over three series from 21 April 1995 until 1 May...
masquerading as the fictional Craggy Island.
Inisheer is mentioned in the song 'The Return of Pan' by the band 'The Waterboys
The Waterboys
The Waterboys are a band formed in 1983 by Mike Scott. The band's membership, past and present, has been composed mainly of musicians from Scotland, Ireland and England. Edinburgh, London, Dublin, Spiddal, New York, and Findhorn have all served as homes for the group. The band has played in a...
'.