Inisheer, Aran Islands in Ireland
June 20th, 2004
Three islands make up the Aran Islands: Inisheer, Inishmaan,
and Inishmore. The islands are an outcropping of the Burren
(layers of limestone) and served as guard to the mainland.
Inisheer, the first island, is an enjoyable 20 minute ferry ride
from Doolin. The wind was pretty chilly, but luckily the sun was shining
so I could stand out on the boat and enjoy the view.
Inisheer, the smallest of the three islands (1400 acres),
was definitely geared towards tourism. As we got off the
ferry, there were a plethora of horse drawn carriages just
waiting to take the tourists on a sightseeing tour across
the island. We decided to pass up the horses and explore
on our own. Which we did start to regret a little later in
the day.
As we took off down the main road, all the horse carriages
drove by full of tourists. I don't even think there were
many cars on the island. We saw a couple of tractors driving
around and only one car. Anyway, first we came upon a Bronze
age burial mound dating from 2000 B.C., but I didn't take a
picture because it was just a mound of dirt really. Next
we came to this graveyard and church called Teampall Chaomhain.
It's a 10th Century church which was almost burried in the hill.
It was so beautiful and peaceful being up on the hill and looking
out over the ocean.
Continuing west along the shoreline, we headed for an old shipwreck.
On the way we got a little sidetracked... These fences of rock are
everywhere you look for miles and miles. It's almost like being in a
maze. We walked down a series of them till we came to the water again.
These little guys had escaped from their fence, but ran back when we
approached...
At the top of the island, is O' Brien's Castle and a Signal Tower.
We walked along more rock fences, up hill, down hill, and up hill,
around a corner and then came out at the signal tower. The tower was part
of a chain of signal towers around the coast dating from the Napoleonic wars.
O'Brien's Castle dates from the 15th century and was built within an cashel
(ancient ring fort) thousands of years old.
The views looking back down at the island were great. We stopped and
rested on the soft grass just enjoying the view, but the growling of our
tummies drove us on. We headed back down the hill for some lunch, with
only an hour to spare. Needless to say, lunch was a little rushed.
It took a little longer then we hoped, and we ended up jogging most of
the way back to the pier. I'm sure the locals got a good giggle out of that!
The Back to Ireland page
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Back to Doolin page
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This is the pretty little beach at the pier. It looked
really inviting, but too cold for me!
This freighter wrecked on the rocks and washed ashore in 1960.
Looks like something that should be in Scooby Doo Mystery.
End