Inishmore
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...
in Ireland and has an area of 31 square kilometres (12 sq mi). The island is famous for its strong Irish culture
Culture of Ireland
This article is about the modern culture of Ireland and the Irish people. It includes customs and traditions, language, music, art, literature, folklore, cuisine and sport associated with Ireland and Irish people today. However, the culture of the people living in Ireland is not homogeneous...
, loyalty to the Irish language
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...
, and a wealth of Pre-Christian and Christian ancient sites including Dún Aengus
Dún Aengus
Dún Aonghasa is the most famous of several prehistoric forts on the Aran Islands, of County Galway, Ireland. It is located on Inishmore at the edge of an approximately 100 metre high cliff....
, described as "the most magnificent barbaric monument in Europe" by George Petrie.
Name
Prior to the 20th century, the island was more commonly called Aranmore, or as Árainn na Naomh (i.e. "Great Aran") in English; from the traditional Irish name, leading to confusion with ArranmoreArranmore
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...
, 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...
. The Irish word means "long ridge" which is an apt description for the island. The name Inishmore was established by the British
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the formal name of the United Kingdom during the period when what is now the Republic of Ireland formed a part of it....
Ordnance Survey
Ordnance Survey
Ordnance Survey , an executive agency and non-ministerial government department of the Government of the United Kingdom, is the national mapping agency for Great Britain, producing maps of Great Britain , and one of the world's largest producers of maps.The name reflects its creation together with...
in the mid-19th century. The new name is grammatically incorrect in standard Irish: because "island" is a feminine noun, a following adjective must be lenited
Irish initial mutations
Irish, like all modern Celtic languages, is characterized by its initial consonant mutations. These mutations affect the initial consonant of a word under specific morphological and syntactic conditions...
, so the expected name would be . Árainn is still the official Irish name.
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 Inishmore and the othere islands are 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
Wood White
The Wood White , is a butterfly of the Pieridae family.-Distribution and ecology:It is found in Europe and eastwards across the Caucasus, Asia Minor, the Middle East, Middle Asia, Kazakhstan and South Siberia to the Baikal region....
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.
Tourism
Inis Mór is a major tourist destination, with bed and breakfast accommodation scattered across the island. Private minibuses, horse-drawn carriages and bicycles are the main methods of getting about for the numerous tourists who visit the island in the summer months, the majority of which are the Irish themselves- but with an extraordinary amount of British, French and German holiday makers. There is a small museum illustrating the history of Dún Aenghusa and its possible functions. Nearby are a NeolithicNeolithic
The Neolithic Age, Era, or Period, or New Stone Age, was a period in the development of human technology, beginning about 9500 BC in some parts of the Middle East, and later in other parts of the world. It is traditionally considered as the last part of the Stone Age...
tomb and a small heritage park at Dún Eochla, featuring examples of a traditional thatched cottage
Thatching
Thatching is the craft of building a roof with dry vegetation such as straw, water reed, sedge , rushes, or heather, layering the vegetation so as to shed water away from the inner roof. It is a very old roofing method and has been used in both tropical and temperate climates...
and an illegal poteen
Poitín
Poitín , anglicised as poteen, is a traditional Irish distilled, highly alcoholic beverage . Poitín was traditionally distilled in a small pot still and the term is a diminutive of the Irish word pota, meaning "pot"...
distillery.
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...
.
Diving is possible .
Transport
The island is serviced by Aran Direct 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...
and by Aer Arann from Inishmore Aerodrome
Inishmore Aerodrome
-External links:* at Airliners.net...
to Connemara Airport
Connemara Airport
-Accidents and incidents:*On 5 July 2007 a Cessna 208 crashed on approach to the airport due to rough weather conditions, killing two and injuring seven. The plane was a charter plane, and was returning from a day trip to Inis Meáin.-External links:...
.
Notable inhabitants
- Saint Fanchea, abbessAbbessAn abbess is the female superior, or mother superior, of a community of nuns, often an abbey....
of KilleaneyKilleaneyIn the 5th century the Great Island was given by Aengus, King of Cashel, to St. Endeus or St. Enda of Aran, who founded several monasteries, and built several churches, of which the principal was named after him Kill-Enda, now called Killeany...
, fl. 500. - Enda of AranEnda of AranSaint Enda of Aran is an Irish saint in the Roman Catholic Church. His feast day is March 21.-Overview:...
, early Christian missionaryMissionaryA missionary is a member of a religious group sent into an area to do evangelism or ministries of service, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care and economic development. The word "mission" originates from 1598 when the Jesuits sent members abroad, derived from the Latin...
, died c. 530. - James Concannon, (born 17 March 1847-after 1883), Irish Vintner.
- Maura DerraneMaura DerraneMaura Derrane is an Irish television presenter and journalist. She has worked for RTÉ, TV3 and TG4.Derrane is a from Inishmore, County Galway. She previously worked as a researcher for RTÉ News in Galway. In 1996 she moved to TG4 as a news reporter. From 1998 she worked for TV3 News...
, RTERTERTÉ is the abbreviation for Raidió Teilifís Éireann, the public broadcasting service of the Republic of Ireland.RTE may also refer to:* Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, 25th Prime Minister of Turkey...
television presenter, born 1970. - Bridget DirraneBridget DirraneBridget Dirrane, Irish centenarian, -Early life:Dirrane was born Bridget Gillan to Joseph Gillan and Margaret Walsh in the townland of Oatquarter, Inishmore, 15 November 1894. She was the youngest of eight children - Pat , Mary, Julia, Joseph, John, George and Margaret Anne...
, Centenerian. - Máirtín Ó DireáinMáirtín Ó DireáinMáirtín Ó Direáin born in Sruthán on Inismór in the Aran Islands was an Irish language poet.The son of a small-farmer, Máirtín Ó Direáin spoke only Irish until his mid-teens. He worked as a civil servant from 1928 until 1975...
, Irish language poet, 1910–1988. - Liam O'FlahertyLiam O'FlahertyLiam O'Flaherty was a significant Irish novelist and short story writer and a major figure in the Irish literary renaissance, born August 28, 1896, died September 7, 1984.-Biography:...
, novelist and short story writer, 28 August 1896 – 7 September 1984. - Mahon mac Turlough Mantach Ó BriainMahon mac Turlough Mantach Ó BriainMahon mac Turlough Mantach Ó Briain, Chief of the Name of the Clan Teige Ó Briain of Aran, died 1565.-Family background:Ó Briain was the senior member of the Mac Taidhg, or Clann Taidhg Ó Briain, of Inishmore in Galway Bay. They were descended from Tadhg Ó Briain, great-grandson of Brian Boru ,...
, Chief of Inishmore, died 1565. - Murrough mac Toirdelbach Ó BriainMurrough mac Toirdelbach Ó BriainMurrough mac Toirdelbach Ó Briain, Chief of the Name, the Clan Tiege of Aran, fl. 1575 - 1588.-Family background:Ó Briain was the senior member of the Mac Teige, or Clan Teige Ó Briain, of Inishmore, in Galway Bay. They were descended from Teige Ó Briain, great-grandson of Brian Boru, from whom...
, Chief of Inishmore, fl. 1575–1588. - Pat MullenPat MullenPat Mullen, Irish actor and writer, before 1901 - after 1976.Mullen was a native of Inishmore, County Galway. He emigrated to Boston, Massachusetts where his daughter, the actress Barbara Mullen , was born...
, actor and writer, bef.1901- a.1976. - Breandán Ó hEithirBreandán Ó hÉithirBreandán Ó hEithir was an Irish writer and broadcaster.He was born in Galway City, but grew up on Inishmore , County Galway. His parents were national school teachers and Ó hEithir attended their school in Kilronan. He received his secondary school education at Coláiste Éinde in Galway...
, writer and broadcasterPresenterA presenter, or host , is a person or organization responsible for running an event. A museum or university, for example, may be the presenter or host of an exhibit. Likewise, a master of ceremonies is a person that hosts or presents a show...
, 1930–1990. - Tim Robinson (cartographer), author, born 1935.
- Conchobar Mac Con RíConchobar Mac Con Rí-Biography:Based on earlier accounts, James Hardiman relates that:"This year Conchubhar Mac-an-Righ, alias Connor King, an inhabitant of Arran, died at the extraordinary age of two hundred and twenty years. He remembered when there were but three stone houses, together with the abbey, the red...
, reputed SupercentenarianSupercentenarianA supercentenarian is someone who has reached the age of 110 years. This age is achieved by about one in a thousand centenarians....
, died 1580. - Murrough na dTuadh Ó FlaithbheartaighMurrough na dTuadh Ó Flaithbheartaigh-Ancestry:Great-great-great-grandson of Brian na Noinseach, son of Donall na Comthach Ó Flaithbheartaigh . Appointed Chief of the Name by Elizabeth I. Included in the 1585 Composition of Connacht....
, Chief of Iar Connacht, fl. 1569–1593. - CeannanachCeannanachCeannanach aka Gregory, early Irish missionary, fl. c. 490-500?-Biography:Ceannach's original name is said to have been Gregory, the former name only associated with him after his death....
, early Irish missionary, fl. c. 490–500?
Abbots and Bishops of Aran
- 530 – Enda of AranEnda of AranSaint Enda of Aran is an Irish saint in the Roman Catholic Church. His feast day is March 21.-Overview:...
, died. - 654 - St Nem Moccu BirnNem Moccu Birn-Biography:Nem was one of the few known successors of Enda of Aran, and appears to be the first such abbot listed in the Irish annals after Enda himself.The noun moccu in names such as Nem Moccu Birn indicates he was of a people called the Moccu Birn....
, successor of Enne, of Ara, died on the 14th of June. - 751 – Repose of Colmán mac CománColmán mac CománColmán mac Comán, Abbot of Aran, died 751.Nem was one of the few known successors of Enda of Aran, and appears to be the second such abbot listed in the Irish annals after Enda himself.-Annalistic reference:From the Annals of the Four Masters:* 751...
, in Ára. - 755 – GaimdibhlaGaimdibhlaGaimdibhla, Abbot of Aran, died 755.Gaimdibhla is one of the few attested successors of Enda of Aran. Nothing is known of Gaimdibhla's life or background.-External links:* http://www.ucc.ie/celt/online/T100005A.html* "The Monastic School of Aran"...
, Abbot of Aran, died. - 916 – EgnechEgnech-Biography:Egnech is one of the few attested successors of Enda of Aran, and only the second named as such since the saint's death in 530. His death is recorded laconicly in the Irish annals, without details...
, successor of Enda of Ara, bishop and anchorite, died. - 1110 – Flann Ua AedhaFlann Ua Aedha-Biography:Flann Ua Aedha is one of the few named successors to Enda of Aran. He died during the fourth year of the reign of King Tairrdelbach Ua Conchobair of Connacht, and was succeeded by Maelcoluim Ua Cormacain....
, successor of Énna of Ára, died. - 1114 – Maelcoluim Ua CormacainMaelcoluim Ua CormacainMaelcoluim Ua Cormacain, Abbot of Aran, died 1114.Ua Cormacain is one of the few named successors to Enda of Aran, dying early in the reign of King Tairrdelbach Ua Conchobair of Connacht...
, successor of Ende of Ara, died. - 1167 - Gillagori Ua DubhacanGillagori Ua Dubhacan-Biography:Gillagori appears to be otherwise unknown. His surname may be an early form of Ó Dubhagáin. They were a bardic family from Baile Uí Dhubhagáin , near Loughrea, County Galway....
successor of Einde of Ara, died.
Annalistic references
AI=Annals of InisfallenAnnals of Inisfallen
The Annals of Inisfallen are a chronicle of the medieval history of Ireland. There are more than 2,500 entries spanning the years between AD 433 and AD 1450, but it is believed to have been written between the 12th and 15th centuries...
. (AF)M=Annals of the Four Masters
Annals of the Four Masters
The Annals of the Kingdom of Ireland or the Annals of the Four Masters are a chronicle of medieval Irish history...
.
- AI1016.6 The slaughter of Ára, in which Ua Lochlainn, royal heir of Corcu Modruad, was killed in Port Ciaráin in Ára. It was the Conmaicne who slew him. Death of Muiredach son of Cadla, king of Conmaicne Mara.
- AI1019.4 A great pestilence, i.e. a colic, in Ára in the above year, and many people died there.
- M1186. Conchubhar Ua Flaithbertaigh was killed by Ruaidhri Ua Flaithbertaigh, by his own brother, in Ara.
- M1560.8. Mahon, the son of Turlough, son of Teige, son of Donough, son of Donnell, son of Turlough Meith O'Brien, went into Desmond with the crew of a ship and boat, from the island of Aran. He took prisoners in the southern country, but some assert that the taking of them was of no advantage, and that they only accompanied him through friendship. On his return with his spoils, the wind became rough, and the sky angry; and the ship and boat were separated from each other; and when the ship was making for Aran in the beginning of the night, the sail was swept away from the hands of the men and warriors, and torn to rags off the ropes and tackles, and wafted into the regions of the firmament; and the ship afterwards struck upon a rock, which is at the mouth of Cuan-an-fhir-mhoir, in West Connaught, where she was lost, with her crew, except Mahon and three others. Upwards of one hundred were drowned in that harbour, among whom was Tuathal O'Malley, the best pilot of a fleet of long ships in his time.
- M1565.3. Mahon, the son of Turlough Mantagh, son of Donough, son of Donnell, son of Turlough Meith, was treacherously slain in his own town of Aircin, in Aran, by his own associates and relations. When the chief men of Galway heard of this, they set out to revenge this misdeed upon the treacherous perpetrators, so that they compelled them to fly from their houses; and they the fugitives went into a boat, and put to sea; and where they landed was in the harbour of Ross, in West Corca-Bhaiscinn. Donnell, the son of Conor O'Brien, having heard of this, he hastened to meet them with all the speed that he could exert; and he made prisoners of the greater number of them, and carried them in close fetters to Magh Glae, in the upper part of Corcomroe, in order that their sorrow and anguish might be the greater for being in viev of the place where they had perpetrated the crime; he hanged some of them, and burned others, according as their evil practices deserved.
See also
- List of abbeys and priories in County Galway