The Aran Islands (Irish: Oileáin Árann — Aran Islands pronunciation: ) or The Arans (na hÁrainneacha — ) 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 they are: Inishmore (Árainn Mhór/Inis Mór — or ), the largest; Inishmaan (Inis Meáin/Inis Meadhóin — ), the second-largest; and Inisheer (Inis Thiar/Inis Oírr/Inis Oirthir — or ), the smallest. Irish is the main spoken language on all three islands, and is the language used naming the islands and their villages and townlands. There are 1,200 people living on the islands and the overwhelming majority are Irish speakers.
Read more about Aran Islands: Location and Access, Geology, Climate and Agriculture, Flora and Fauna, Traditional Life and Irish Language, Sport, Popular Culture
Famous quotes containing the word islands:
“Consider the islands bearing the names of all the saints, bristling with forts like chestnut-burs, or Echinidæ, yet the police will not let a couple of Irishmen have a private sparring- match on one of them, as it is a government monopoly; all the great seaports are in a boxing attitude, and you must sail prudently between two tiers of stony knuckles before you come to feel the warmth of their breasts.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)