Aran Islands are a group of islands in Galway Bay, about 30 miles (48 kilometers) west of Galway, Ireland. They are part of County Galway and the Irish province of Connacht. The islands’ area is about 18 square miles (47 square kilometers). The population is about 1,600. The main islands are Inishmore, Inishmaan, and Inisheer. The Aran Islands—called Oileáin Árann in Irish—are a Gaeltacht, or Irish-speaking, region.
The limestone islands are steep, windswept, and rugged. Patches of land have been cleared by the islanders and divided by dry-stone (made without mortar) walls. The poor soil is made arable (fit for growing crops) by adding sand and seaweed. These fields support potatoes and some vegetables, as well as grasses for cattle and sheep. Tourism, fishing, and the production of world-famous Aran knitwear, made from local wool, are important to the islands’ economy.
Inishmore is the largest and most visited of the islands. It has many prehistoric remains. The most impressive is Dún Aengus, a large semicircular stone fort on the edge of a towering sea cliff. Each day, tourist ferries from the Irish coast arrive at Kilronan, the main village of Inishmore. See also Connacht ; Galway .
