Inishmore

Inishmore (Irish: Árainn [ˈaːɾˠən̠ʲ] , Árainn Mhór [ˈaːɾˠən̠ʲ woːɾ] or Inis Mór [ˈɪnʲɪʃ mˠoːɾ]) is the largest of the Aran Islands in Galway Bay, off the west coast of Ireland. With an area of 31 km (12 sq mi) and a population of 820 (as of 2016), it is the second-largest island off the Irish coast (after Achill) and most populous of the Aran Islands.
The island is in the Irish-speaking Gaeltacht and has a strong Irish culture. Much of the island is karst landscape and it has a wealth of ancient and medieval sites including Dún Aonghasa, described as "the most magnificent barbaric monument in Europe" by George Petrie. The island is a civil parish of the same name.
Before the 20th century, the island was usually called Árainn or Árainn Mhór, which is thought to mean 'kidney-shaped' or 'ridge'. It was anglicized as Aran, Aran More, or Great Aran. This has caused some confusion with Arranmore, County Donegal, which has the same Irish name. The name "Inishmore" was "apparently concocted by the Ordnance Survey for its map of 1839" as an Anglicization of Inis Mór ('big island'), as there is no evidence of its use before then.
Because the island is in the Gaeltacht, Árainn is the only legal placename in Irish or English as declared in the Official Languages Act 2003.
During the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland, Inishmore was, similarly to Inishbofin, used by the New Model Army as a prison camp for Roman Catholic priests who were arrested while continuing their priestly ministry in nonviolent resistance to the Commonwealth of England's 1653 decree of banishment. The last priests held in both islands were finally released following the Stuart Restoration in 1662.
The island is an extension of the Burren. The terrain of the island is composed of limestone pavements with crisscrossing cracks known as "grikes", leaving isolated rocks called "clints". The limestones date from the Visean stage of the Carboniferous period, formed as sediments in a shallow tropical sea approximately 330-350 million years ago, and compressed into horizontal strata with fossil corals, crinoids, and sea urchins.
The effects of the last glacial period (the Midlandian) are evident, with the island overrun by ice. The result is that Inis Mór and the other islands are among the finer examples of Glacio-Karst landscape in the world. 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 grikes 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 subterranean drainage.
The island supports arctic, Mediterranean and alpine plants side by side, due to the unusual environment. Like the Burren, the Aran islands are known for their unusual 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. Insects present include the butterfly the pearl-bordered fritillary (Boloria euphrosyne), brown hairstreak (Thecla betulae), marsh fritillary (Euphydryas aurinia) and wood white (Leptidea sinapis); the moths, the burren green (Calamia tridens), Irish annulet (Gnophos dumetata) and transparent burnet (Zygaena purpuralis); and the hoverfly Doros profuges.
Inis Mór today 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.
There is a small museum illustrating the history of Dún Aonghasa and its possible functions, while the Aran Sweater Market is a focal point for visitors who can trace the culture and history associated with the Aran sweater through the on-site museum. Nearby are a Neolithic tomb and a small heritage park at Dún Eochla, featuring examples of a traditional thatched cottage and poteen distillery. The Tempull Breccain (Church of Brecan), commonly called the Seven Churches of Aran, is a complex of churches and other buildings dedicated to the 5th-century Saint Brecan, once a popular destination for pilgrims. In the centre of the island, at its highest point is the Inishmore Lighthouse, it was decommissioned in 1857 and replaced by the lights at Eeragh and Inisheer.
The island plays host to Ted Fest each year. First celebrated in 2007, it is a celebration of the sitcom Father Ted. Festival-goers dress as their favourite characters, watch their favourite episodes and take part in various Ted related events and competitions.
Some of the limestone sea cliffs have attracted interest from rock-climbers. Diving is possible with a particularly popular location at Poll na bPéist ('hole of worms/sea monsters'), a large rectangular pool communicating via underground channels with the sea, located on the southern coast of the island. Since 2012, Inis Mór has hosted an event as part of the Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series.
The island is serviced by Aran Ferries ferry from Rossaveal and Doolin. These are passenger-only ferries; cars and heavy goods are transported on unscheduled services.
Aer Arann Islands runs daily scheduled flights from Inis Mór Aerodrome to Connemara Airport using Britten Norman Islander aircraft.
The island features heavily in Martin McDonagh's play The Lieutenant of Inishmore. McDonagh also used Inishmore as a location for his film The Banshees of Inisherin.
Inis Mór was used as a recording location for the 1997 film The Matchmaker and the 2010 film Leap Year.
The first story in These Precious Hours by Michael Corrigan has a scene set on Inis Mór.
The island appeared on the premiere episode of The Amazing Race 12 with teams needing to find Teampall Bheanáin after they arrived.
The music video for Dermot Kennedy's "For Island Fires and Family" (video released 10 January 2019) was filmed entirely on Inis Mór.
Inishmore is the name of the tenth album by the New York heavy metal forefathers Riot (now going under Riot V moniker) and loosely based on tales of Irish famine and emigration, employing many Celtic/Irish sounding passages, as well as an instrumental cover of a well known Irish song Danny Boy.
From the Annals of Inisfallen (AI):
The table below reports data on Inis Mór's population taken from Discover the Islands of Ireland (Alex Ritsema, Collins Press, 1999) and the census of Ireland.
AI=Annals of Inisfallen. (AF)M=Annals of the Four Masters.