Aran Islands

The Aran Islands are three islands located at the mouth of Galway Bay. The islands are:

• Inis Mór
• Inis Meáin
• Inis Óirr

The names are Irish for 'the big island', 'the middle island', 'the south island' respectivly. Irish is the spoken language on all three islands, but the islanders will happily converse in English with visitors.

(Things to write about: Currachs, Robert J. Flaherty's 1934 classic documentary Man of Aran, Aran Sweater, poet Martin O'Direan (sp?) )

Table of contents

1 Inis Mór 2 Inis Meáin 3 Inis Óirr 4 Getting There

Inis Mór

This is the largest island with a population of 1,281 (Census 2002). The port Kilronan (Cill Rónáin) is the main village of the island.

There are several Iron Age forts on the island, including Dún Aengus (Dún Aonghasa) and Dún Dúchathair.

Inis Meáin

Despite not being the smallest island, it is the least populated and least tourist orientated island.

Inis Óirr

The smallest island. Ferry service from both Rossaveal and Doolin.

Getting There

There is currently no direct service from Galway city. A ferry service operates from Rossaveal and an air service is available from Inverin, both of which have connecting buses from Galway city.