Book - Oileán Árainn Mhóir - Arranmore Island

The following Foreword, written by Tony Callaghan, is taken from the book, Oileán Árainn Mhóir - Arranmore Island. The book is the result of the combined efforts of participants on a FÁS Community Response Project on the island from December 1999 to October 2000. The Official Launch took place on 3/4/2006.

The book can be purchased locally or by mail order. For further details, please contact An Comharchumann.

Official Launch of book Arranmore Island



Foreword

Islands are different. From Treasure Island to Tír na nÓg, from Elba to Ellis Island, we have all absorbed the belief that on an island anything can happen. And usually does.

The island of Arranmore is one of the most densely populated of the many off-shore islands of Ireland. And has been for many centuries. And where there are people, there are stories. In English, the word “insular” denotes an inward-looking mentality. But Arranmore has always been looking out to the great world beyond. The Scottish connection is strong and there is also an established connection with identifiable populations in the United States and Canada.

This book explores many of those links at a personal and community level, why those arose, how they evolved and what they represent today. But this is not a sociological document. This book is an armful of historical and mythological gems; stories, poems and songs that tell of people near and far and how they lived and died. There is sadness, as in the history of many Irish communities, with heart-rending stories about famine and repression. The story of the massacre at Uaimh an Air (Cave of Slaughter) is as mysterious and startling an account of casual cruelty as is to be found in the history of any people. Ethnic cleansing is nothing new. And there is the special sadness of islands, with tales of shipwreck and recollections of terrible tragedies at sea, even within living memory.

But there is so much more. This snapshot view of the island from the millennium year takes a broad view. The geography is recorded; each lake and hill is introduced personally. Every bird ever recorded in Arranmore is listed in the excellent chapter on Bird Watching.

In a chapter on their own, every priest who has served the island from the beginning of the 19th century to the present day is recorded and acknowledged individually. Here is the story of Wayne Dickenson, who made a solo crossing of the Atlantic in a 9ft boat and thought he was in the Outer Hebrides when he clambered up the rocks on Arranmore. Arranmore United Football Club and the local Foróige Group are acknowledged. The Arranmore Lighthouse gets a chapter to itself as does the Arranmore Lifeboat, which has a history of lifesaving dating back to 1883.

One of the most puzzling and fascinating stories in the book is that of “The O’Donnell Pearls”, a handful of gems believed to have originated from King Philip of Spain as a gift to the Donegal chieftain, Red Hugh O’Donnell, for helping survivors of the ill-fated Spanish Armada in 1588. And there’s more. About landlords and lovers, the island post office and the remarkable Dr. William Smyth.

Whether you have deep roots in Arranmore, are just passing through, or have never made the 20-minute ferry trip from Burtonport to Leabgarrow, this is a book to treasure.

Tony O’Callaghan