2014 Ireland: Flight to Inis Mór (Inishmore), Aran Islands #6
Aer Arann Islander aircraft - Connemara Airport to Inis Mór
The Aran Islands (Irish: Oileáin Árann—pronunciation: [ˈɪlɑːn ˈɑːrənʲ]) are a group of three islands located at the mouth of Galway Bay, on the west coast of Ireland. They constitute the barony of Aran in County Galway, Ireland.
From west to east the islands are: Inishmore (Árainn Mhór/Inis Mór —[ˈɑːrənʲ woːr], the largest; Inishmaan (Inis Meáin/Inis Meadhóin—[ˈɪnɪɕ mʲɑːn]), the second-largest; and Inisheer (Inis Thiar/Inis Oírr/Inis Oirthir—[ˈiniʃ hiər / iːrʲ / erʲhirʲ]), the smallest.
The 1,200 inhabitants primarily speak Irish, the language used in local placenames. Most islanders are also fluent in English.
The islands' geology is mainly karst limestone, related to the Burren in Co. Clare (to the east), not the granites of Connemara to the north.
This is most obvious in the construction of the walls around the fields.
The limestones date from the Visean period (Lower Carboniferous), formed as sediments in a tropical sea approximately 350 million years ago, and compressed into horizontal strata with fossil corals, crinoids, sea urchins, and ammonites. Glaciation following the Namurian phase facilitated greater denudation. The result is that the Aran islands are one of the finest examples of a Glacio-Karst landscape in the world. The effects of the last glacial period (the Midlandian) are most in evidence, with the islands overrun by ice during this glaciation. The impact of earlier Karstification (solutional erosion) has been eliminated by the last glacial period.
So any Karstification now seen dates from approximately 11,000 years ago and the island Karst is thus recent.
Solutional processes have widened and deepened the grykes 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 sub-terrainean drainage.
Huge boulders up to 25 metres (80 ft) above the sea at parts of the west facing cliffs are in some cases an extreme form of storm beach, cast there by giant waves that occur on average once per century, though more are glacial erratics.
On the cliff tops, ancient forts such as Dún Aonghasa (Dún Aengus) on Inish Mór and Dún Chonchúir (Fort of Conchobar) on Inishmaan are some of the oldest archaeological remains in Ireland. A lacework of ancient stone walls (1,600 km or 1,000 mi in all) enfolds all three islands to contain local livestock.
The islands were first populated in larger numbers probably at the time of the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland in the mid-17th century, when the Catholic population of Ireland had the choice of going "to hell or to Connacht". Many fled to the numerous islands off the west coast of Ireland where they adapted themselves to the raw climatic conditions, developing a survival system of total self-sufficiency.
Their methods included mixing layers of sand and seaweed on top of rocks to create fertile soil, a technique used to grow potatoes and other vegetables. The same seaweed method also provided grazing grass within stone-wall enclosures for cattle and sheep, which in turn provided wool and yarn to make handwoven trousers, skirts and jackets, hand-knitted sweaters, shawls, caps, and hide shoes.
The islands are the home of the Aran sweater, which gained worldwide appeal during the course of the 20th century.
2014 Ireland: Flight to Inis Mór (Inishmore), Aran Islands #6
Aer Arann Islander aircraft - Connemara Airport to Inis Mór
The Aran Islands (Irish: Oileáin Árann—pronunciation: [ˈɪlɑːn ˈɑːrənʲ]) are a group of three islands located at the mouth of Galway Bay, on the west coast of Ireland. They constitute the barony of Aran in County Galway, Ireland.
From west to east the islands are: Inishmore (Árainn Mhór/Inis Mór —[ˈɑːrənʲ woːr], the largest; Inishmaan (Inis Meáin/Inis Meadhóin—[ˈɪnɪɕ mʲɑːn]), the second-largest; and Inisheer (Inis Thiar/Inis Oírr/Inis Oirthir—[ˈiniʃ hiər / iːrʲ / erʲhirʲ]), the smallest.
The 1,200 inhabitants primarily speak Irish, the language used in local placenames. Most islanders are also fluent in English.
The islands' geology is mainly karst limestone, related to the Burren in Co. Clare (to the east), not the granites of Connemara to the north.
This is most obvious in the construction of the walls around the fields.
The limestones date from the Visean period (Lower Carboniferous), formed as sediments in a tropical sea approximately 350 million years ago, and compressed into horizontal strata with fossil corals, crinoids, sea urchins, and ammonites. Glaciation following the Namurian phase facilitated greater denudation. The result is that the Aran islands are one of the finest examples of a Glacio-Karst landscape in the world. The effects of the last glacial period (the Midlandian) are most in evidence, with the islands overrun by ice during this glaciation. The impact of earlier Karstification (solutional erosion) has been eliminated by the last glacial period.
So any Karstification now seen dates from approximately 11,000 years ago and the island Karst is thus recent.
Solutional processes have widened and deepened the grykes 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 sub-terrainean drainage.
Huge boulders up to 25 metres (80 ft) above the sea at parts of the west facing cliffs are in some cases an extreme form of storm beach, cast there by giant waves that occur on average once per century, though more are glacial erratics.
On the cliff tops, ancient forts such as Dún Aonghasa (Dún Aengus) on Inish Mór and Dún Chonchúir (Fort of Conchobar) on Inishmaan are some of the oldest archaeological remains in Ireland. A lacework of ancient stone walls (1,600 km or 1,000 mi in all) enfolds all three islands to contain local livestock.
The islands were first populated in larger numbers probably at the time of the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland in the mid-17th century, when the Catholic population of Ireland had the choice of going "to hell or to Connacht". Many fled to the numerous islands off the west coast of Ireland where they adapted themselves to the raw climatic conditions, developing a survival system of total self-sufficiency.
Their methods included mixing layers of sand and seaweed on top of rocks to create fertile soil, a technique used to grow potatoes and other vegetables. The same seaweed method also provided grazing grass within stone-wall enclosures for cattle and sheep, which in turn provided wool and yarn to make handwoven trousers, skirts and jackets, hand-knitted sweaters, shawls, caps, and hide shoes.
The islands are the home of the Aran sweater, which gained worldwide appeal during the course of the 20th century.