JOYCEAN PICS 2005
Inis Oirr, the Aran Islands
Contents of This Page

  Rossaveal
  Inisheer (Inis Oirr), viewed from the ferry
  The Pier
  O'Brien's Castle (Caislean Ui Bhriain)
  "An Shamrock" (guesthouse)
  The football field
  "Ostan Inis Oirr" Hotel (hotel, bar & restaurant)
  An Baile Thiar
  Baile an tSeipeil
  Port na Cille
  Baile an Chaisleain
  St. Kevin's Church (Teampall Chaomhain), Baile an Chaisleain
  Cnoc Raithnghe
CONTENTS 2005
   1  Prague IASIL 2005
   2  Prague, Jews and Joyce
   3  Prague: miscellanea
   4  Ceske Budejovice (Post-Conference Tour)
   5  Cesky Krumlov (Post-Conference Tour)
   6  Trebon (Post-Conference Tour)
   7  Jindrichuv Hradec (Post-Conference Tour)
   8  Cervena Lhota (Post-Conference Tour)
   9  Dublin and Joyce
  10  Dublin: miscellanea
  11  Limerick
  12  Galway
  13  Inis Oirr, the Aran Islands
  14  Cork
  15  Blarney
  16  Belfast

Inis Oirr, the Aran Islands

5-6 August 2005

  
  Over the years the Aran Islands have attracted a number of writers and artists, including J. M. Synge (1871-1909), who learned Irish on Inishmaan and wrote his play Riders to the Sea about his people.  The film Man of Aran, made on Inishmore in 1932 by the American director Robert Flaherty, is a classic documentary recording the islanders' dramatic battles with sea and storm.  Since those days the islanders have benefited enormously from 20th-century progress; they now have multi-channel television, a daily air service to Galway (subsidized by the government), outboard motors on their currachs, and all the modern conveniences in their homes.  Yet these island folk retain a certain distinctness from the mainland people, preferring a simpler kind of home decor, very plain food, and a strong sense of community.  Crime is virtually unknown on the islands; you will find no locks on the doors of your B&B, and its front-door latch is left permanently open.  Many of the islanders have sampled life in Dublin or the cities of the United Kingdom and the United States, but they often return home by choice, some of them in time to raise their families on the islands, where the population remains stable.
  It is possible to explore Inisheer (Inis Oirr), the smallest and flattest of the islands, on foot in an afternoon, though if the weather is fine you may be tempted to linger on the long sandy beach that lies between the quay and the airfield.  In the summer, Inisheer's population of 300 is augmented by high school students from all over Ireland attending its language school.  Only one stretch of road, about 450 meters (500 yards) long, links the airfield and the village.
  The Church of Kevin, signposted to the southeast of the quay, is a small early Christian church that gets buried in sand by the storms every winter.  Every year the islanders dig it out of the sand for the celebration of St. Kevin's Day on June 14.  A pleasant walk through the village takes you up to O'Brien's Castle, a ruined 15th-century tower open free to the public, which sits on top of a rocky hill -- the only hill on the island. (Ed. Caroline V. Haberfeld, Fodor's Ireland 1995, New York: Fodor's Travel Publications, Inc., 1994)

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Rossaveal
  
   Rossaveal, a port to the Aran Islands, viewed from the ferry
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 (Friday 5 August) Rossaveal, viewed from the ferry
  
  
   
Inisheer (Inis Oirr)
  
   Inisheer (Inis Oirr), viewed from the ferry
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 (Friday 5 August) Inisheer (Inis Oirr)
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 (Friday 5 August) Inisheer (Inis Oirr)
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 (Saturday 6 August) Inisheer (Inis Oirr), viewed from the ferry
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 (Saturday 6 August) Inisheer (Inis Oirr), viewed from the ferry
  
  
   
Pier
  
   The Pier of Inisheer (Inis Oirr)
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 (Friday 5 August) Sign of "An Ghaeltacht" (Gaelic Speaking Area), the Pier
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 (Friday 5 August) "Aran Seabird" a ferry to the Aran Islands (Inis Mor & Inis Oirr) from Rossaveal; the Pier
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 (Friday 5 August) A currach, near the Pier
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 (Saturday 6 August) A house near the Pier
  
  
   
O'Brien's Castle
  
   O'Brien's Castle (Caislean Ui Bhriain)
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 (Friday 5 August) O'Brien's Castle (Caislean Ui Bhriain)
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 (Friday 5 August) O'Brien's Castle (Caislean Ui Bhriain)
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 (Saturday 6 August) O'Brien's Castle (Caislean Ui Bhriain)
  
  
   
"An Shamrock"
  
    "An Shamrock" (the guesthouse where I stayed one night) near the football field, the hall & the school
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 (Friday 5 August) "An Shamrock" (the guesthouse where I stayed one night) near the football field, the hall & the school
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 (Saturday 6 August) A rear view from "An Shamrock" (guesthouse)
  
  
   
The football field
  
   The football field of Inisheer (Inis Oirr).
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 (Friday 5 August) The football field of Inisheer (Inis Oirr)
  
  
   
"Ostan Inis Oirr"
  
   "Ostan Inis Oirr" Hotel (hotel, bar & restaurant)
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 (Friday 5 August) "Ostan Inis Oirr" Hotel (hotel, bar & restaurant)
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 (Friday 5 August) My starter (seafood salad & cider), "Ostan Inis Oirr" Hotel
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 (Friday 5 August) My main dish (herring, chips & boiled vegetables), "Ostan Inis Oirr" Hotel
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 (Friday 5 August) Entrance to "O Flatharta" or "Ostan Inis Oirr" Bar
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 (Friday 5 August) "O Flatharta" or "Ostan Inis Oirr" Bar
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 (Friday 5 August) Traditional Irish music, "O Flatharta" or "Ostan Inis Oirr" Bar
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 (Friday 5 August) Traditional Irish music, "O Flatharta" or "Ostan Inis Oirr" Bar
  
  
   
An Baile Thiar
  
   An Baile Thiar and the Pier, viewed from the campsite
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 (Friday 5 August) A house between the hotel and the football field, the hall & the school
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 (Friday 5 August) ?The national school down Baile an Chaisleain
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 (Friday 5 August) An Baile Thiar and the Pier, viewed from the campsite
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 (Saturday 6 August) A scene from the campsite
  
  
   
Baile an tSeipeil
  
   Baile an tSeipeil
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 (Saturday 6 August) Houses in Baile an tSeipeil
  
  
   
Port na Cille
  
   Port na Cille
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 (Saturday 6 August) A house near the airstrip (by Port na Cille)
  
  
   
Baile an Chaisleain
  
   Baile an Chaisleain
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 (Saturday 6 August) Houses in Baile an Chaisleain
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 (Saturday 6 August) A house in Baile an Chaisleain
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 (Saturday 6 August) the sign of "An Ghaeltacht" (Gaelic Speaking Area) in Baile an Chaisleain
  
  
   
St. Kevin's Church
  
   St. Kevin's Church (Teampall Chaomhain), Baile an Chaisleain
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 (Saturday 6 August) The graveyard (the entrance to the site of St. Kevin's Church), Baile an Chaisleain
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 (Saturday 6 August) Information board of St. Kevin's Church (Teampall Chaomhain), Baile an Chaisleain:
  
  The patron, St. Caomhan, was brother to the great St. Kevin, and is not without interest that the ground plan of the church is so similar to that of Trinity Church at Kevin's Glendalough.  To a 10th (?) century church (present chancel) was added, a century or so later, a wider nave.  The lintelled doorway of the old church was re-inserted in the west gable, being replaced by a chancel arch.  The head of chancel arch, the pointed doorway in the south wall of the nave, and the sacristy or priest's residence are of Late Medieval date.  North east of the church, now covered by several feet of blown sand, is the grave or "leaba" of St. Caomhan.
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 (Saturday 6 August) St. Kevin's Church (Teampall Chaomhain), Baile an Chaisleain
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 (Saturday 6 August) St. Kevin's Church (Teampall Chaomhain), Baile an Chaisleain
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 (Saturday 6 August) St. Kevin's Church (Teampall Chaomhain), Baile an Chaisleain
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 (Saturday 6 August) St. Kevin's Church (Teampall Chaomhain), Baile an Chaisleain
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 (Saturday 6 August) St. Kevin's Church (Teampall Chaomhain), Baile an Chaisleain
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 (Saturday 6 August) St. Kevin's Church (Teampall Chaomhain), Baile an Chaisleain
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 (Saturday 6 August) St. Kevin's Church (Teampall Chaomhain), Baile an Chaisleain
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 (Saturday 6 August) St. Kevin's Church (Teampall Chaomhain), Baile an Chaisleain
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 (Saturday 6 August) St. Kevin's Church (Teampall Chaomhain), Baile an Chaisleain
  
  
   
Cnoc Raithnghe
  
    "Cnoc Raithnghe," near "O Flatharta" or "Ostan Inis Oirr" Bar:
  
  This is one of the most significant sites on Aran as it confirms occupation, at least on Inisheer, during the Bronze Age, say, around 1500 B.C.  Following gales in 1885 a dry-stone wall was noted, encircling a low mound, in the lowest level, towards the south-east two pottery urns were found inverted over cremated human bones, together with a small bronze pin or awl.  Thirty yards away some fragments of smaller highly decorated urns were found, also containing burnt bones.
  The urns were deposited in the National Museum, Dublin.  At a higher level in the north-west quadrant, enclosed by a dry-built wall, upwards of twenty-four stone lined graves were discovered, each lying east-west and covered by a stone slab.  These, perhaps, denote a re-use of a pagan burial place in the Early Christian Period.  The revetment wall was repaired by the Board of Works about 1896.
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 (Saturday 6 August) "Cnoc Raithnghe," near "O Flatharta" or "Ostan Inis Oirr" Bar:
  
  This is one of the most significant sites on Aran as it confirms occupation, at least on Inisheer, during the Bronze Age, say, around 1500 B.C.  Following gales in 1885 a dry-stone wall was noted, encircling a low mound, in the lowest level, towards the south-east two pottery urns were found inverted over cremated human bones, together with a small bronze pin or awl.  Thirty yards away some fragments of smaller highly decorated urns were found, also containing burnt bones.
  The urns were deposited in the National Museum, Dublin.  At a higher level in the north-west quadrant, enclosed by a dry-built wall, upwards of twenty-four stone lined graves were discovered, each lying east-west and covered by a stone slab.  These, perhaps, denote a re-use of a pagan burial place in the Early Christian Period.  The revetment wall was repaired by the Board of Works about 1896.




        


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