Inisheer has an airport, but we recommend arriving by boat either from Galway via Inishmore, or from Doolin, County Clare. In the summer season, up to 1,000 day-trippers come ashore here every morning at 11 am.
The name Inisheer means ‘The Easternmost Island’, it is also the smallest of the three Aran Islands. Smallest and nicest, we think! The island is approximately circular, with a circumference of 12 km. This is a wonderful place to be! The winds are strong and the weather is steadily unstable, but the village by the harbour is cosy, warm and friendly with myriads of stone fences, green grass and ancient monuments.
The stone fences date partly from the Bronze Age, when the first soil was made from seaweed, kelp and sand. Further subdivision into very small fields came with population growth and potato cultivation some 3000 years later. Nevertheless, it is the remains of ancient graves, forts and churches that make the biggest impression on this island.
The Bronze Age tomb of Cnoc Raithní was well hidden and forgotten until the sand suddenly blew away during a storm in 1885. Excavations revealed urns with cremated bones and a bronze awl. The upper parts were built by early Christian islanders around 500-800 AD.
The highest point on Inishmore is dominated by O’Brien’s Castle (Irish: Caisleán Uí Bhriain). Today’s ruins date from the early 15th century, erected by Clann Teiges, from a branch of the O’Brien family. The castle was taken in 1582 by ‘the O’Flahertys of Connemara‘ and again in 1652 by Oliver Cromwell. O’Brien’s Castle has remained in ruins ever since. But it is beautiful, in all its decline!
Today, there are 260 people living at Inisheer, divided into only 6 surnames. As a result, first names and nicknames are often descriptive, so here you should stay average, not to be ‘doomed by the name‘!
Time moves slowly on Inisheer. Reliable electricity became a fact as late as 1997 (!), and ATMs do not exist (they take credit cards, so there is no crisis without cash). Despite the small population, there are actually several pubs at Inisheer. And Knut was very excited indeed about this one, equipped as it is with a flag quiz in the ceiling:
The first thing that greets you when you arrive in Inisheer is the beach (An Trá), which we highly recommend. Here we had a really nice Easter bath, and it is perfect also for swimming. At lunchtime you will even have the beach all to yourself, and that’s fine too.
