Arranmore (Árainn Mhór) is an island of seven square miles situated just three miles off the coast of Donegal. The car ferry en route from the mainland port of Ailt an Chorráin ( Burtonport ) passes between a cluster of smaller islands on its swift twenty-minute crossing.
Some 600 people are resident on the island, though the population rises to 1,500 in the summer as migrant workers return and tourists visit. Most of the islanders are native Irish speakers.
Formerly known as Ára Uí Dhomhnaill ( O'Donnell's Aran ), Arranmore was controlled by the O'Donnell clan in the Middle Ages. The Gaelic chieftains were ousted by English forces, and the Plantation of Ulster began in 1609. In the middle of the 17th century the greater part of west Donegal, including Árainn Mhór was granted to Lord Conyngham, who built and lived in Slane Castle in County Meath.
In the 19th century, the island was bought by John Stoupe Charley of County Antrim, who built and took up residence in Glen House in 1855. He also built a Protestant church and founded a school.
Following the collapse of landlordism and the break-up of the great estates, the island was transferred to the Irish Land Commission ( in 1893 ) and ownership was returned to the people.
Interestingly, the island's Roman Catholic church, St Crone's Church, built in 1825, also catered for the people of Inis Caorach ( Inishkerragh ), a nearby island abandoned in 1955.
Tourism projects by the island community are based around the island's natural resources, the sea, lakes, wildlife, walks and cultural interests.
