Aran Islands



The three islands of Inishmor, Inishmaan and Inisheer that form the Aran Islands, are long in shape and consist of beautiful, low lying limestone moonscapes. Some of the oldest Christian and pre-Christian remains in the whole of Ireland are found there.

At Dun Aengus, on Inishmaan are several huge Iron Age stone forts, but little is known about the people who built them. Saint Eanna founded some of the earliest monastic settlements there in the 4th and 5th centuries, but the remains that can be seen today, date from the 8th century.

The Aran Islands are very isolated from the rest of Ireland and as a result Irish culture and language survived there, when it had all but disappeared in the rest of the country. Many people on the islands still wore traditional Aran dresses up to the end of the 20th century.

You will see many stone walls on the islands. The walls were built over a period of thousands of years, creating tranquil avenues, sheltered from the ever-blowing wind. The island of Inishmor is the Aran's most popular tourist destination, while Inishmaan is the least visited island. Inisheer is the nearest island to the Irish 'mainland'. It lies only 8 km (5 miles) from Doolin in The Burren. The Aran Islands have ferry connections with Galway City, Rossaveal and Doolin.


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