What do you think of when you think of Ireland? Maybe you think of Dublin and sitting in temple bar drinking a Guinness. Maybe you think of the rolling hills of Munster and the funny accent of Cork. Maybe you think of the Troubles and northern Ireland. Or maybe you think of traditional Ireland along Atlantic West coast with aran sweaters and Irish Gaelic. Sadly a lot of this traditional Irish culture has been lost due to colonization by the British. Irish is only spoken as a first language in small communities in the west and with it traditional Irish culture has shrunk. Ireland has also been modernized with a switch from farming to working in offices. If you visit Ireland, this vision of a traditional Ireland is difficult to find. Its a society just like ours, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t a way to step back in time and see the Ireland our ancestors left. The Aran Islands have preserved traditional Ireland within its shores. This is what you can expect from a trip to the Aran Islands, but more specifically, Inís Mor or Inishmore.
There are a few different ways to get to the Aran Islands, from tours to ferries. Through Aran Island Ferries, you can get a ferry right from Galway in the Summertime, but after September that route closes and you have to go from Rossaveel. I booked this Rossaveel ferry because it was the cheapest option, but I was able to add to my ticket a bus ride from Galway to the port which was really nice. The bus left from the city center and it was probably only about a 45 minute ride. We went to the top of the bus and sat in the front with the big window looking out at the road and the surroundings. It was a bit dreary as it was raining, but its just added to the feeling of Ireland on a great Ireland day trip.
Once we arrived at the port, we hopped onto the ferry. It was actually pretty big and there were a quite a few people on the boat. There was an upper deck, but we sat in the bottom where we could secure ourselves with seatbelts and watch the waves hit the windows. It was a really windy day out on the sea. I could actually see it being a bit scary for people who are not very comfortable on water. I thought it felt like a roller coaster, but some of my friends got seasick. I mean, I felt it a little bit, but it was mostly fun.
We arrived at Inishmore around 11:30 am. The only plan we had was to get to the Island and then walk around and explore. It turns out that Inís Mor isn’t really the kind of place you can just stroll and sightsee. You can get bikes to bike around, but that obviously was not an option with the way the rain was coming down that day. Luckily a man in a white van showed up and told us to hop in! I’m just kidding, sort of. Yes there was a guy waiting at the docks and telling people to get in his van, but it was because he was a guide bringing people around the island. Given our limited options, this is what we did. There are many people waiting at the docks to give tours around the island which is something I did not come across in my research for the day trip. It makes sense though and it was really convenient, so I appreciated it!
If you are unfamiliar with Inís Mor, it is the largest of the Aran Islands. It is about 10 miles long (which would have made walking it really difficult) and has a population of about 800. You might have seen parts of the island if you have seen the movie The Banshees of Inisherin, which was mostly filmed on the island, especially at Dún Aonghasa. This was our first stop. Our guide dropped us off at the little village by it where there was a restroom, a restaurant, and a cafe. We were going to go to the restaurant for lunch because it looked so cute and it had a great menu of traditional Irish foods, but they were full. Instead we wandered down the road a little bit to a cafe where we got crepes and tea. It wasn’t the same as sitting down somewhere, but it worked because we needed to walk the fort anyway before our tour took off again.
Dún Aonghasa is an ancient stone fort and probably the most amazing thing I saw during my time in Ireland. Its located on top of the cliffs of Inís Mor and dare I say they are actually better than the Cliffs of Moher? The fort is 3,000 years old and is made up of three drystone walls that were layered and used as a defense in ancient times. There is a little bit of a walk to get from the visitor center to these walls, but it is not bad. It is packed with excitement at what you are about to witness.
Once you are at the top of the fort you can see the whole of the island laid out before you (seriously the best view I have seen in all my travels). Then there is the cliff, but you have to be careful because there is no railing and Inishmore can get pretty windy or rainy like when we were there. I definitely freaked out my parents with the video I sent them from the fort. I obviously at 19 years old didn’t think anything of it but I could see how them showing my grandma that video could cause a panic attack.
After seeing the main attraction of Inís Mor we hopped back in the van and our guide took us to see the sea where the tide was out. Because of this we were able to walk where the sea would be if there was high tide, which you could really tell from all the seaweed lying around. It was a bit slippery, so I guess my main point is to have good grippy boots and shoes at the Aran Islands! My friends got pretty close to the water. I did not because I was really nervous about the slippery rocks, so I looked from a distance and took pictures of them. We also saw a seal which was definitely a highlight from the day.
Not too far away from where we were dropped off by the sea we came to our last stop, an old church. Before I talk about the church though I want to make a note about the drive in this area of the island. We were now on the other side of the island (the eastern part rather than the western part where we arrived). Here we drove by and saw the homes of residents. It was really interesting because up until that point the island didn’t really feel like somewhere people lived. It really felt like a tourist place where people visit to see old parts of Ireland as well as the traditional culture. Now we were seeing homes that looked just like the ones on the main of Ireland or even at home in the states. They had basketball hoops and playgrounds, which are so normal, but felt out of place here.
Anyway back to the church, Teampall Chiaráin. It is the church of St. Ciarán as he was the one who founded the church in the 12th century. It is a ruin now as there is no longer a roof and there is grass growing where the floor once was. There was a cemetery surrounding it where many monks from the island are buried. This may sound odd, but cemeteries in Ireland are really cool to visit because of their gravestones of the celtic cross, a symbol of Ireland’s unique Catholic and Celtic identity. Once we left the church we drove a bit more along the east looking at more of the shore and homes. It was fun though because our guide kept talking about all the people on the island. Its pretty small so everybody knows each other. I love stuff like that.
At around 3pm he dropped us back off where we began and we paid him for his service. We explored Kilronan Village, which is one of the three villages on Inís Mor and the little town by the port. Here we were able to do a bit of shopping. I of course needed to get my Aran Sweater, so we checked out the Aran Sweater store. It is the same store as the one in Galway and other parts of Ireland, but it just felt like something I had to buy on the island. They are so fun to look at because there are so many unique designs made by a range of women from the Aran Islands and Ireland. I ended up getting one from the clearance rack because they can run a bit expensive, but I found one I like for only 50 euros. It was more of a cardigan style with its buttons and it definitely wasn’t as soft as some of the other sweaters, but I didn’t care. When I checked out, the woman at the desk told me all about caring for the sweater. I still don’t think I have washed it to this day because it scares me too much. They are supposed to be washed in cold water and air dried.
A short distance from the Aran Sweater store we stopped at a souvenir store for some postcards. Although I am sure the island and especially this store gets a lot of tourists, the store clerk was very interested in us. He was really nice and I think he enjoyed having a group of American girls like us at his store, because we talked for awhile. He even gave us some lessons in the Irish language, which is something I still remember to this day, because what a wholesome and unique experience. I had someone from the Aran Islands teaching my words in Irish.
After eventually leaving the store we headed to the only restaurant in the village. We didn’t have much time to eat before our ferry left, but we really needed some food. I ordered a Cajun chicken sandwich, which is definitely not very Irish, but there are actually a lot of restaurant foods consisting of this Cajun seasoning that I decided my stomach can not handle. I am not sure what makes it different from American cajun seasoning, but every time I had cajun seasoning my stomach decided it was not having it, so I don’t eat Cajun food in Ireland anymore. At least it tasted good though!
After finishing our food and a quick stop at Spar for snacks we were back on the ferry to go back to Galway. The weather had calmed down so we sat on the top of the ferry deck this time. Yes, it was cold, but the view made up for it. At one point we saw a dolphin jumping through the water, which was another wholesome experience in Inís More. We ate our snacks and one of my friends went around offering people on the boat her cookies which was cute. We all got a kick out of it.
The ferry ride back was great. There was actually something kind of magical about being on this sea. I can’t explain it but it hit me that almost 200 years ago my ancestors sailed this sea to leave Ireland and come to America. Now I am in Ireland on these same waters, but this time I am sailing to Ireland. I am returning to the homeland. I am returning to our home. I was returning to my home. That is what this place had become for me. It was home and I was so excited to see what other adventures I was going to have here.
If you enjoyed reading about my day in Inís Mor, be sure to check out my Ireland page for more of my travels from my study abroad in Ireland and since. They are always my favorite stories to tell. 🙂
The Journal of Wanderlust 