Arranmore

Árainn Mhór is an island off the west coast of County Donegal in Ulster, 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, with most of the inhabitants speaking Ulster Irish.It is also known in English as Aran Island . In Irish the island was traditionally called Árainn; the adjective mór was added fairly recently. It was also sometimes called in Irish Árainn Uí Dhomhnaill, meaning the 'Aran of the O'Donnells'.See more about Arranmore: http://www.arainnmhor.com/Irish languageThere 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'. See more here on Coláiste Árainn Mhóir's website for further details: http://colaistearainnmhoir.com/LocationThe island lies 5km 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.