Aran

Aran, SOUTH ISLES OF, Ireland. These are three small islands lying NE. and SW. across the entrance to Galway Bay. Total area, 11,287 acres. The principal or west island, Inishmore or Aranmore, is 7 miles long and 2 broad; Inishmaan, or 'Middle Isle,' comes next; and then Inishere to the SE. The islands consist of carboniferous limestone, and rise to the height of from 200 to 354 feet on the west side, ending in cliffs facing the Atlantic. Most of the land is rudely cultivated. Inishmore is still known as Aran-na-naomh, or 'Aran of the Saints,' and many pilgrims still visit the old shrines and remains of churches scattered through the islands, as also the little beehive stone huts of the monks of the 6th and 7th centuries. There are several circular cyclopean fortresses of unhewn uncemented stones, of which the largest is Dun Aengus, on Inishmore. Pop. (1891) 2907, mostly on Inishmore. See a book by O. Burke (1887).