The Aran islands
situated at the mouth of Galway bay, the group consists  of three islands,
Inishmore, Inishmaan (The middle island) and Inisheer (The eastern
island.)
The people of Aran are possessed
of a resilience and serenity, aquired over the generations as they
struggled to wrest a living from the bleak but beautiful land. Robert
Flannery (American Playwright.) Visited
the islands in the 1930's he made the classic film 'Man of Aran'.
This evocation of a family's struggle with the sea and land told
in an innovative way for the time.
Inishmore.
(Big Island)
Inishmore is the largest of
the three islands it is 8 miles long and has one road running the
length of the island, connecting the main village and the harbour,
Kilronan, to the other village. The land on the north side
is quite good with pastures running to the sea, by contrast the
south side is rocky and lined with precipitous cliffs. Situated
on Inishmor's southern shore on the edge of a 210 ft cliff is Dun
Aengus a prehistoric cliff fort defended on the landward side with
three semicircular dry stone battlements and a band of chevaux-de-frise
sharp rocks placed upright to hinder attackers. There are three
other similar forts on the islands. Dun Doocaher (The black fort.)
Another cliff edge fort. Dun Onaght and Dun Eochla are circular
and set in the middle of the island. It is not clear who or when
these forts were built, but they are reckoned to be about 2000 years
old. |
