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==Name==
Before the 20th century, the island was usually called ''{{lang|ga|Árainn''}} or ''{{lang|ga|Árainn Mhór''}}, which is thought to mean "'kidney-shaped"' or "'ridge"'. It was anglicized as 'Aran', 'Aran More', or 'Great Aran'.<ref>{{cite web |title=Árainn/Inishmore |url=https://www.logainm.ie/en/938 |publisher=[[Placenames Database of Ireland]]}}</ref> This has caused some confusion with [[Arranmore]], County Donegal,<ref>{{cite book|author=Fodor's Travel Publications, Inc.|title=Fodor's See It Ireland|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NY5yD-9pz38C&pg=PA207|year=2011|publisher=Fodor's Travel Publications|isbn=978-1-4000-0553-6|page=207}}</ref> which has the same Irish name. The name '"Inishmore'" was "apparently concocted by the [[Ordnance Survey Ireland|Ordnance Survey]] for its map of 1839" as an anglicizationAnglicization of ''{{lang|ga|Inis Mór''}} ("'big island"'), as there is no evidence of its use before then.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Smyth |first1=Gerry |title=Space and the Irish Cultural Imagination |date=2001 |publisher=Springer |page=53}}</ref>
 
Because the island is in the [[Gaeltacht]], ''{{lang|ga|Árainn''}} is the only legal placename in Irish or English as declared in the [[Official Languages Act 2003]].
 
==History==
During the [[Cromwellian conquest of Ireland]], Inishmore was, similarly to [[Inishbofin, County Galway|Inishbofin]], used by the [[New Model Army]] as a prison camp for [[Roman Catholic priest]]s who were arrested while continuing their priestly ministry in [[nonviolent resistance]] to the [[Commonwealth of England]]'s 1653 decree of banishment. The last priests held in both islands were finally released following the [[Stuart Restoration]] in 1662.<ref>Nugent, Tony (2013). ''Were You at the Rock? The History of Mass Rocks in Ireland''. Liffey Press. Pages 51-52.</ref>
 
== Geology and geography ==
The island is an extension of [[the Burren]]. The terrain of the island is composed of [[limestone]] pavements with crisscrossing cracks known as "grikes", leaving isolated rocks called "clints".
The limestones date from the [[Visean]] stage of the [[Carboniferous]] period, formed as sediments in a shallow tropical sea approximately 330-350 million years ago, and compressed into horizontal strata with fossil [[coral]]s, [[crinoid]]s, and [[sea urchin]]s. Glaciation following the [[Namurian]] stage facilitated greater denudation.
 
The effects of the [[last glacial period]] (the Midlandian) are evident, with the island overrun by ice. The result is that Inis Mór and the other islands are among the finer examples of Glacio-[[Karst]] landscape in the world. The effects of the [[last glacial period]] (the Midlandian) are most in evidence, with the island overrun by ice during this glaciation. The impact of earlier [[Karstificationkarstification]] (solutional erosion) has been eliminated by the last glacial period. So any Karstification now seen dates from approximately 10,000 years ago and the island Karst is thus recent.
 
Solutional processes have widened and deepened the grikes of the limestone pavement. Pre-existing lines of weakness in the rock (vertical joints) contribute to the formation of extensive fissures separated by clints (flat pavement like slabs). The rock karstification facilitates the formation of subterranean drainage.
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==Flora and fauna==
The island supports [[arctic]], [[Mediterranean]] and [[Alps|alpine]] plants side by side, due to the unusual environment. Like the Burren, the Aran islands are known for their unusual assemblage of plants and animals.<ref>{{cite journal |title = Noteworthy Plants of the Burren: A Catalogue Raisonné|last = Webb |first = D. A. |journal = [[Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy, Section B]] |publisher = [[Royal Irish Academy]] |issn = 0035-8983 |volume = 62 |year = 1961–1963 |pages = 117–34 |jstor = 20494847 }}</ref>
|title = Noteworthy Plants of the Burren: A Catalogue Raisonné
|last = Webb
|first = D. A.
|journal = [[Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy, Section B]]
|publisher = [[Royal Irish Academy]]
|issn = 0035-8983
|volume = 62
|year = 1961–1963
|pages = 117–34
|jstor = 20494847
}}</ref>
The grikes (crevices) provide moist shelter, thus supporting a wide range of plants including dwarf shrubs. Where the surface of the pavement is shattered into gravel, many of the hardier Arctic or alpine plants can be found.
 
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==Tourism==
[[File:Teampall Brecan - geograph.org.uk - 1471024.jpg|thumb|Na Seacht dTeampaill (The Seven Churches), Inis Mór]]
[[File:Poll na bPéist.jpg|thumb|Poll na bPéist]]
[[File:2017-06-16_4904x7356_inishmore_gravestone.jpg|alt=Gravestone|thumb|upright|A gravestone]]
 
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The ''Tempull Breccain'' (Church of Brecan), commonly called the Seven Churches of Aran, is a complex of churches and other buildings dedicated to the 5th-century [[Saint Brecan]], once a popular destination for pilgrims.<ref>{{cite book|last=Harbison|first=Peter|title=Pilgrimage in Ireland: The Monuments and the People|pages=93ff |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TyDiLU70TREC&pg=PA243|date=1 April 1995|publisher=Syracuse University Press|isbn=978-0-8156-0312-2}}</ref> In the centre of the island, at its highest point is the [[Inishmore Lighthouse]], it was decommissioned in 1857 and replaced by the lights at [[Eeragh Lighthouse|Eeragh]] and [[Inisheer Lighthouse|Inisheer]].<ref name=rowlett>{{cite rowlett|irlw|access-date=7 June 2020 }}</ref>
 
The island plays host to [[Ted Fest]] each year. EstablishedFirst celebrated in 20042007, it is a celebration of the sitcom ''[[Father Ted]]''. Festival -goers dress as their favourite characters, watch their favourite episodes and take part in various ''Ted'' related events and competitions.<ref>{{cite web | last=Brennan | first=Ciaran | title=“Well here we are now, all the lads”: TedFest returns to Inis Mór after COVID lay off | website=Hotpress | date=26 January 2022 | url=https://www.hotpress.com/culture/well-here-we-are-now-all-the-lads-tedfest-returns-to-inis-mor-after-covid-lay-off-22888809 | access-date=4 June 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title=Fr. Ted Festival 2025 on Inis Mór, Aran Islands, Galway | website=Galway Tourism | date=12 March 2024 | url=https://www.galwaytourism.ie/event/tedfest-fr-ted-festival/ | access-date=4 June 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | last=Mullen | first=Paul | title=Everything you need to know about TedFest | website=The Aran Islands Co Galway Ireland | date=25 February 2014 | url=https://www.aranislands.ie/uncategorized/tedfest-entertainment-at-the-hotel | access-date=4 June 2024}}</ref>
 
==Sport==
Some of the limestone sea cliffs have attracted interest from [[climbing|rock-climbers]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://wiki.climbing.ie/index.php/Aran_Islands|title=Aran Islands - Irish Climbing Online Wiki|website=wiki.climbing.ie}}</ref>
Diving is possible with a particularly popular location at Poll na bPéist ('hole of worms/sea monsters'), a large naturally formed rectangular pool communicating via underground channels with the sea,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tempoweb.com/diveireland/arans.htm |title=Scuba diving ireland |access-date=8 October 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130517045827/http://www.tempoweb.com/diveireland/arans.htm |archive-date=17 May 2013 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> located on the southern coast of the island. Since 2012, Inis Mór has hosted an event as part of the [[Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series]].
 
==Transport==
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The island appeared on the premiere episode of ''[[The Amazing Race 12]]'' with teams needing to find [[Teampall Bheanáin]] after they arrived.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.realitytvworld.com/news/ari-bonas-staella-gianakakos-eliminated-from-the-amazing-race-12-6035.php|title=Ari Bonas, Staella Gianakakos eliminated from 'The Amazing Race 12'|work=Reality TV World|last=Rocchio|first=Christopher|date=5 November 2007|access-date=8 January 2020}}</ref>
 
The music video for [[Dermot Kennedy]]'s "For Island Fires and Family" (video released 10 January 2019) was filmed entirely on Inis Mór.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.joe.ie/music/dermot-kennedy-for-island-fires-and-family-video-654401|title=WATCH: Dermot Kennedy's stunning new video set on the Aran Islands|website=JOE.ie|language=en|access-date=2019-01-21}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journalnews|date=13 January 2019|title=Dermot Kennedy releases new video filmed on Inis Mór|url=https://www.rte.ie/entertainment/2019/0113/1022918-dermot-kennedy-releases-new-video-filmed-on-inis-mor/|publisher=[[RTÉ]] |language=en}}</ref>
 
[[Inishmore (album)|Inishmore]] is the name of the tenth album by the New York heavy metal forefathers Riot (now going under [[Riot V]] moniker) and loosely based on tales of Irish famine and emigration, employing many Celtic/Irish sounding passages, as well as an instrumental cover of a well known Irish song [[Danny Boy]].
 
==Notable inhabitants== <!-- sorted by birth date -->
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* [[Murrough mac Toirdelbach Ó Briain]], Chief of Inis Mór, fl. 1575–1588
* [[Murrough na dTuadh Ó Flaithbheartaigh]], [[Tigerna|Lord]] of [[Iar Connacht]], fl. 1569–1593
* [[Pat Mullen]], actor and writer, bef.1901-assistant a.1976director ''[[Man of Aran]]'', 1893-1972▼
* [[Bridget Dirrane]], [[centenarian]], died[[nurse]], 2004[[memoirist]], 1894-2003<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/news/2004/jan/02/guardianobituaries|title=Bridget Dirrane|first=P. J.|last=Gillan|date=1 January 2004|via=The Guardian}}</ref>▼
* [[Liam O'Flaherty]], [[bilingual]] playwright, novelist and short story writer, 28 August 1896 – 7 September 1984
▲* [[Bridget Dirrane]], [[centenarian]], died 2004<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/news/2004/jan/02/guardianobituaries|title=Bridget Dirrane|first=P. J.|last=Gillan|date=1 January 2004|via=The Guardian}}</ref>
▲* [[Pat Mullen]], actor and writer, bef.1901- a.1976
* [[Elizabeth Rivers]], artist and author, 1903-1964
* [[Máirtín Ó Direáin]], Irish language poet and highly important figure in [[Modern literature in Irish]], 1910–1988
* [[Breandán Ó hEithir]], writer and broadcaster, 1930–1990
* [[Tim Robinson (cartographer)|Tim Robinson]], author, born 19351935–2020
* [[Maura Derrane]], [[RTÉ]] television presenter, born 1970
* Barbara Feeney (née Curran), mother of director [[John Ford]] (né John Feeney) was born in the town of [[Kilronan]]<ref name=Eyman>Eyman, Scott. [http://partners.nytimes.com/books/first/e/eyman-legend.html ''Print the Legend: The Life and Times of John Ford'']. New York: Simon & Schuster. 1999. {{ISBN|0-684-81161-8}} (excerpt c/o ''[[New York Times]]'')</ref>
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[[Category:Gaeltacht places in County Galway]]
[[Category:Aran Islands]]
[[Category:Islands of Connemara]]
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