Galway - The Aran Islands
Tuesday 18th September, 2007
Did you ever see the classic black and white film, Man of Aran? Made in 1934, this documentary, which has been criticized for being emotionless, does show a way of life that was disappearing. These tough islands of stone and cliffs, towering waves and barren rock, harboured a traditional lifestyle that was as extreme and full of hardship as much as it was courageous and filled with the stuff myths grow out of. The cinematography is sensational with amazing footage of enormous crashing waves and storm swept ocean, rugged cliffs and boats launched in perilous seas and we meet these resilient island people who created earth from sand and seaweed so they could grow food. The fishermen would often put out to sea in unbelievable conditions in their traditional boats, the curragh.
Canoes of lath and canvas (once hide), they are ancient in origin. In some areas along the west coast, including the Arans, the fishermen traditionally hunted the sun fish in their tiny boats. Sun fish are basking sharks – the second largest fish in the world, and they dwarf the little boats.
In the 1930s the Dublin museum consigned the islanders to make sets of clothing (Some of these are now on display at the Museum for Country Life in Co Mayo.). The islands were still living in part the old ways that had receded into the mists of the past in many other areas. The islands are part of the Gaeltacht area ( Irish speaking ) and have some wonderful old sites to visit.
There are 3 islands: Inis Mor, Inis Meain, and Inis Oirr. The names are Irish for Big, Middle and the South. They are located at the mouth of Galway Bay and can be reached by ferry departing from Rossaveal to Kilronan, the main village on Inis Mor. When you book your ticket, it should include the coach ride to the harbour. There are 2 ferry companies, Aran Island Ferries is one that runs a regular service each day. www.aranislandferries.com, .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) +353 91568903.
Kilronan, on Inis Mor (the biggest island) has an abundance of folk traditions and music. As in many areas of the west, Irish hard shoe – also known as step or set dancing, accompanied by traditional instruments, is enjoyed regularly on the island. Once upon a time these dances were enjoyed throughout the night at crossroads with neighbours dancing around a fire to music played by the musicians who turned up. Often these gatherings were for festivals and other special events – births, weddings, etc.
Kilronan is a perfect starting place to explore this island, or all three. You can rent a bike which is not only safe there but also inexpensive and scenic. There are also mini buses which meet the ferries. Driven by locals this is a great guided tour and a great way to hear the stories of the places you visit. For the romantic there are pony cart rides around the main streets with friendly local guides.
Tim Robinson, author of the wonderful “Stones of Aran”, writes of Inis Mor,
“… what captivated me in that long winter were the immensities in which this little place is wrapped: the processions of grey squalls that stride in from the Atlantic horizon, briefly lash us with hail and go sailing off toward the mainland trailing rainbows; the breakers that continue to arch up, foam and fall across the shoals for days after a storm has abated; the long wind rattled nights, untamed then by electricity below, wildly starry above.”
These islands have provided inhabitants from the Neolith, the Celt, and the Christian monks, to the fence making grazier of all ages, with one material only, stone. The record in stone of human presence on the islands covers nearly 4,000 years. (Tim Robinson, Stones of Aran: Labyrinth (Stones of Aran), pg 4). The huge stone cashels on the highlands of all three islands are the grandest and they date from around 100 – 200 AD. The two largest coastal forts, or duns ( both on the Atlantic cliffs of Inis Mor ), precede these by perhaps several hundred years, Duchathair ( Black Fort ) and Dun Aonghasa. They are amongst the most impressive prehistoric remains in Europe.
Going in to the west in Ireland is associated with going to the Otherworld. The west is the place of the ancestors and death, the Islands of the Otherworld lay off the west coast and, the entrance to the otherworld is not far beyond the western shores. Until the 16th century, the mythical island of Hy Brasil, the Island of the Blessed, was still marked on maps, and some folk claim they have seen an island off the seaward cliffs of Inis Mor, when the light of the setting sun is just right.
Inis Mor has an excellent visitors centre with a great introduction to the history and culture of the island. There are seven great forts on the islands and four are on Inis Mor. East of the village are the remains of an old monastery where there are also very early Celtic Christian remains and a holy well that would pre date these.
A formidable place, Dun Dubhchathair is built on the neck of a promontory undercut by the sea. The huge walls of the dun are terraced on three levels and inside are small circular beehive huts called clochans. The limestone here is black and foreboding enhancing the daunting, powerful atmosphere of the place.
Perched spectacularly on the edge of a 100 metre (300 foot) cliff that falls away into the North Atlantic, Dun Aonghasa, is enclosed by three concentric stone walls, each ending at the cliff edge. These walls create an impenetrable barrier facing inland, the inner most wall being approximately 20 foot thick and fifteen foot high. Between the 2nd and 3rd walls is a wide ring of stone pillars driven in at different angles to make any straight forward approach to the cashel walls impossible. 
They are dry stoned and terraced on the inside. Inside the inner fort, accessed through a deep archway, you are cut off from the rest of the island. There are a number of dwelling sites there and one which is preserved has round walls with a paved floor and stone hearth, with a stone trough nearby. Bone found close by has been dated at the bronze age and moulds for casting bronze have been found there indicating habitation during the bronze age era.
At the back of the inner sanctum is simply the clifftops. When you are standing there, on the edge of that cliff, take a deep, long look – you really are on the edge, at the most westerly seaboard in Europe.
The origins of these forts remain a mystery and what little we know indicates strong connections to the dreamtime of the ancestors. Dun Aonghasa, ( also spelt Aenghus, Aonghus ) is the Fort of Aongus. Aongus is the Irish God of Love and healer of souls. He married the Swan Goddess of sleep and dreaming, Caer – but that is another article!
For me the Arans are dreamy. When ever I have been there I have experienced a great sense of slipping in between the veils and touching the Dreamtime.