HISTORY

Inis Oírr, a name derived from "Inis Oirthir" meaning island of the east, is the smallest and most easterly of the Aran Islands. The island has a rich natural and cultural heritage including natural landscape archaeology, Christian heritage, history, folklore, flora and island life. Inis Oírr has been inhabited for more than 5,000 years; arrowheads and flint from the Stone Age have been recovered at various locations on the island. Later evidence, from the Bronze Age, comes from urns and bones excavated at Cnoc Raithní.

Inis Oírr's history is strongly linked to the sea; the sea provided food for islanders to live on, and protected them from famine. The cargo vessel Plassey was shipwrecked off Inis Oírr in the 1960s, and has since been thrown above high tide mark at Carraig na Finise on the island by strong Atlantic waves. The islanders rescued the entire crew from the stricken vessel - an event captured in a pictorial display at the National Maritime Museum in Dún Laoghaire, County Dublin.

The island gained some television exposure in the 1990s when it (and the Plassey) appeared in the opening credits of the sitcom 'Father Ted' masquerading as the fictional Craggy Island.

Although the island's population has dropped from 532 in 1861 to approximately 252 at present, the island is thriving like never before. Inis Oírr has a daily service to the mainland, by both ferry and plane. The island is no longer as isolated as it once was, and essential services such as health services have improved greatly.