The Aran Islands were formed some 350 million years ago, as part of the complex of limestone terraces that make up the Burren in western County Clare. As one of the softer minerals, limestone is quite susceptible to the forces of erosion, and this has helped to create one of the strangest and yet most beautiful landscapes in the world. Limestone tends to erode in rectangular or linear patterns, creating in some places cliffs that seem to be constructed of giant stone blocks, and in others expanses of stone etched by lines of green, where hardy plants have taken up residence in the soil-filled gaps in the rock. In some places, the rectangular fractures of the rock have created breathtaking natural structures such as this natural stone arch by the sea.
The biggest influence on the Arans as we see them today was the most recent Ice Age. As the glaciers covering northern Europe scoured the surface of the islands, they deposited a great deal of foreign material such as granite and sandstone boulders and soil pushed down from the mainland. After the glaciers retreated, the islands were re-seeded from the mainland (since the Arans lie only a few miles south of Connemara or west of the Burren, seeds could be easily carried to the islands by wind, birds, and insects). Since the first humans did not arrive in Ireland until about six thousand years ago, the ecosystem of the islands established and built itself for several thousand years without human influence.
When the first inhabitants of the Arans, probably coastal fishers from the Connemara region, arrived on Inis Mór, they found it divided into two distinct regions, much as it is today. The southern part consisted of rocky terraces that dropped off into the Atlantic in cliffs up to three hundred feet high. The flatter and less rocky northern part contained fertile soil, trees, and several harbors with sandy beaches. A fortunate accident of geography had made the island an ideal place for a small fishing and farming community. The highest parts of the island faced the Atlantic, sheltering the fertile lowlands from the violent storms that lash the western coast of Ireland. From their safe harbors facing the Connemara coast, the islanders could send out boats to catch the abundant fish of Galway Bay or the Atlantic, and they could build houses and farms on the sheltered lowlands.
The early Aran settlers found the islands largely covered by forests, which provided a ready source of both building material and fuel. However, the trees provided another benefit which the islanders didn't realize until it was too late. The roots of the trees helped to hold the soil of the islands in place, and with the trees gone, the powerful Atlantic winds and storms quickly eroded much of the arable land. Within a few centuries, the islands threatened to turn back to desolate patches of rock and sand.
That the islands remained inhabited is a tribute to human tenacity and resourcefulness. Forced to rebuild their environment from the materials at hand, the islanders literally created new soil by hand, by mixing beach sand with seaweed, fish meal, and manure. Each patch of new soil was painstakingly tended and used to grow potatoes and other vegetables, while the less fertile grasslands and rocky uplands were used for cattle and sheep grazing. Fish, of course, were always abundant, although catching them in the stormy ocean was a harsh and often deadly task. The islands maintained contact and trade with the Connemara coast, which allowed them to import some valuable non-native items. The most important import was peat from the Connemara bogs, used as fuel to heat the islanders' homes. After fish, the most important product of the islands was kelp. The seaweed was both used as a fertilizer for the islands' soil, and burned to recover iodine and other minerals.
Looking Across Galway Bay to the Irish Mainland.
While the major activities on the Aran Islands -- farming, fishing, and kelp harvesting -- remained largely the same throughout its history, the cultural identity of the inhabitants was influenced to some degree by the currents of history. The first inhabitants of the islands were Celtic tribes who built the monumental stone forts at the islands' highest and most strategic points. When Ireland converted to Christianity, several churches and monasteries were built on the islands. To the Irish clerics, as to many visitors today, the desolate beauty and remote location of the islands made them an ideal location for quiet contemplation of the mysteries of Creation. And the forces of English empire did not leave the islands untouched. Cromwell's troops reached Inis Mór in the late 17th century, plundering several local forts and churches to build their own stronghold at Castle Arkin. For the most part the English hand touched this region only lightly. They probably found the islands as unappealing as the Burren, an area which one of Cromwell's generals famously remarked contained neither enough wood to burn a man, nor enough rope to hang him, nor enough water to drown him.
The harsh living conditions on Inis Mór were never conducive to the support of a large population, but before the Great Famine, the island was home to more than 2500 inhabitants. This dropped drastically after the potato blight destroyed the major staple crop and made life harder still for the few who remained. Today fewer than a thousand people live on Inis Mór, many of them still making their living as farmers or fishermen. Tourism has brought more money into the local economy, along with the attendant downsides of increased crowding and pollution. Both the Irish Government and the European Community have contributed development funds to the islands, and living conditions in the year 2000 are probably more pleasant than at any time in the islands' history. The islanders today are treading the fine line between membership in the global community and preservation of their unique cultural heritage. Irish (Gaelic) is still the first language for many of the inhabitants, and local education is bilingual. Several museums and heritage parks have been established to educate the local population and visitors about the history and traditions of the islands.
Looking to the future, I would hope to see the Aran communities become more prosperous while preserving as much of their heritage as possible. Tourism and global communications are, as mentioned before, blades that can cut both ways. But wise use of the islands' natural and cultural resources, and the information resources of the Internet, certainly have the potential to enhance the strength of this already ancient and proud community.
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