Arranmore

Árainn Mhór Arranmore
Island
Traditional housing on Arranmore.
Árainn Mhór Location in Ireland
Coordinates: 54°59′22″N 8°31′51″W / 54.98953°N 8.53089°W / 54.98953; -8.53089Coordinates: 54°59′22″N 8°31′51″W / 54.98953°N 8.53089°W / 54.98953; -8.53089
Country	Ireland
Province	Ulster
County	County Donegal
Government
• Dáil Éireann	Donegal South-West
Area
• Total	22 km2 (8 sq mi)
Population
• Total	529
• Density	24/km2 (62/sq mi)
Time zone	WET (UTC+0)
• Summer (DST)	IST (WEST) (UTC-1)
Irish Grid Reference	B665155
Árainn Mhór is the only official name. The anglicized spelling Arranmore has no official status.

Árainn Mhór (English name: Arranmore) is an island off the west coast of County Donegal, Ireland. Arranmore is the largest inhabited island of County Donegal, with a population of 514 in 2011, down from 528 in 2006, 543 in 2002, and over 600 in 1996. The island is part of the Donegal Gaeltacht.

It is also known in English as Aran Island (not to be confused with the Aran Islands off Galway Bay or the Scottish Isle of Arran). In Irish the island was traditionally called Árainn; the adjective mór (large) was added fairly recently. It was also sometimes called in Irish Árainn Uí Dhomhnaill, meaning the 'Aran of the O'Donnells'.

There are 529 people living on Arranmore and 62% are native Irish speakers. During the summer, students of all ages, from all over Ireland travel to the island for a 3-week holiday. It is a very popular way of meeting new people and also learning the Irish language. Students attend school during the day and play games and ceilí dance in the evenings. They are taught about the Irish language through Irish. Irish must be spoken at all times over the 3 week period. The college on Arranmore is known as 'Coláiste Árainn Mhóir', meaning the college of Arranmore.

The island lies 5 kilometres (3.1 miles) off Burtonport, a small coastal village in The Rosses, and is served by two ferry services, a conventional ferry that accommodates up to 96 foot passengers and all sizes of vehicles. This journey takes 15 minutes. In 2007, a fast ferry service commenced which can cover the run to the island in 5 minutes. Both services run daily all year. The trip to the island passes a number of small islands before crossing a stretch of open Atlantic water.

Most of the population lives along the southern and (comparatively sheltered) eastern coast, where the main village, Leabgarrow (Irish: Leadhb Gharbh), is located. The island has been settled since 'pre-Celtic times', and the few remaining signs of early settlement include a promontory fort to the south of the island and shell middens dotted along the beaches. Its position near the Atlantic shipping lanes was exploited, with a coastguard station and a lighthouse positioned on the most north-westerly point, and a World War 2 monitoring post set up to look out for the British, due to possible invasion as were many others along the Irish coast.U-Boats.