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200 during the summer population boom), Inishmaan (Inis Meáin) is a rocky respite. Early Christian monks seeking solitude were drawn to Inishmaan, as was the author JM Synge, who spent five summers here over a century ago (see the boxed text, Click here). The island they knew largely survives today: stoic cows and placid sheep, impressive old forts, and warm-hearted locals, who may tell you with a glint in their eye that they had a hard night on the whiskey the previous evening (there are no gardaí on the island to enforce closing times). Inishmaan’s scenery is breathtaking, with a jagged coastline of startling cliffs, empty beaches, and fields where the main crop seems to be stone.

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ARTISIC ARAN

The Aran Islands have sustained a strong creative streak, partly as a means for entertainment during long periods of isolation and partly, in the words of one local composer, to ‘make sure the rest of the country doesn’t forget we’re here’. Artists and writers from the mainland have similarly long been drawn to the elemental nature of island life.

Dramatist JM Synge (1871–1909) spent a lot of time on the islands (listening to the local dialect through the floorboards of his room), and his play Riders to the Sea (1905) is set on Inishmaan. His book The Aran Islands (1907) is the classic account of life here and remains in print. His drama The Playboy of the Western World also drew upon his experiences on the Arans.

American Robert Flaherty came to the islands in the early 1930s to film Man of Aran, a dramatic account of daily life. He was something of a fanatic about the project and got most of the island’s people involved in its production, and even set up an entire film studio. One of the cottages built for the film is today a B&B (Man of Aran Cottage, Click here). The film is a classic and is regularly screened in Kilronan on Inishmór.

The map-maker Tim Robinson has written a wonderful two-volume account of his explorations on Aran, called Stones of Aran: Pilgrimage and Stones of Aran: Labyrinthe. His book The Aran Islands: A Map and Guide is superb.

Two other excellent publications are The Book of Aran, edited by Anne Korf, consisting of articles by 17 specialists covering diverse aspects of the islands’ culture, and Aran Reader, edited by Breandán and Ruaírí O hEither, with essays by various scholars on the islands’ history, geography and culture.

Local literary talent includes the writer Liam O’Flaherty (1896–1984) from Inishmór. O’Flaherty, who wandered around North and South America before returning to Ireland in 1921 and fighting in the Civil War, is the author of several harrowing novels, including Famine.

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Orientation & Information

Inishmaan is roughly 5km long by 3km wide. Most of its buildings are spread out along the road that runs east–west across the centre of the island. The principal boat landing is on the eastern side of the island, while the airstrip is in the northeastern corner. Inishmaan’s down-to-earth islanders are largely unconcerned with the prospect of attracting tourists’ euros, so facilities are few and far between. In An Córa, the helpful Inishmaan Island Co-operative ( 099-73010; 9am-1pm & 2-5pm Mon-Fri), northwest of the pier and post office, dispenses limited tourist information. There’s no ATM; the bank visits on the second Tuesday of each month.

Sights

Glorious views of Inishmaan’s limestone valleys extend from the elliptical stone fort Dún Chonchúir, which is thought to have been built sometime between the 1st and 7th centuries AD.

Teach Synge ( 099-73036; admission €3; by appointment), a thatched cottage on the road just before you head up to the fort, is where the writer JM Synge spent his summers between 1898 and 1902.

Cill Cheannannach is a rough 8th- or 9th-century church south of the pier. The well-preserved stone fort Dún Fearbhaigh, a short distance west, dates from the same era. On a hill, St Mary’s Church has excellent stained-glass windows.

At the desolate western edge of the island, Synge’s Chair is a lookout at the edge of a sheer limestone