Meet the Locals of Inis Mór: Island Stories and Traditions
Curious about life on the Aran Islands? We headed to Inis Mór to hear local stories from people who’ve turned their passions into thriving businesses, while celebrating the islands’ culture and traditions.
Frances Beatty: crafting a legacy with Aran knitwear
After visiting Inis Mór on holiday over 50 years ago, Frances Beatty fell in love and set up An Púcán sweater shop.
“I was born in Meath, but I came here on holidays in 1972. I met my husband Bartley and never looked back. I decided to open the shop in the front room of our family home, a thatched cottage. It was more of a hobby, while I was raising the children. As they got older it became a year-round business with everyone involved. We mainly sell hand-knit sweaters, but we’ve expanded into other handmade items like soaps, prints, and painted cottages on stones. I’m 86 but I still love making things, though the arthritis is catching up with my hands!
The shop has been open 47 years and in that time there have been many changes. The Aran sweater has become an iconic piece of fashion in a world of machine-made things. Sadly, we have very few knitters now and most are getting on in years like myself. The hours of work and craftsmanship that go into an Aran sweater has never held the interest of younger people, unfortunately.
“The shop has been open 47 years and in that time there have been many changes. The Aran sweater has become an iconic piece of fashion in a world of machine-made things.”
The sense of community on the island is strong. We are blessed with the best neighbours who look out for us and vice versa. I don’t think there is anything I dislike about living on the island, maybe the very bad weather in winter and the power going!”
Niamh Faherty: celebrating authentic Irish island culture
Niamh Faherty is an artist and jarvey, who gives horse and carriage tours of the Island to people from all over the world.
“I was actually born in Rhode Island, but we moved back to Inis Mór when I was three and I did all of my schooling here until I was 18. I studied Animation and Motion Design at Limerick School of Art & Design. My family have been working with horses and providing tours of the island for generations now.
When I was growing up, my dad, Thomas, was doing the tours, and I loved spending time with the horses. When I was in college he asked me if I would learn to drive the horses, I wasn’t sure because no other girls were doing it. But Dad insisted I give it a go, and I loved it! I’ve been doing it for nine years now. It is the nicest job, being out in the fresh air, meeting lovely people and showing them our island. I never know who I’ll spend the day with. We have people from all over the world, but it’s also lovely to see more Irish people coming to the island.
We provide tours from March until October, and during the winter months I work on my animation and illustration projects. I live on the island during the summer and in Tipperary with my boyfriend during the winter. I love the flexibility of being able to live in both places.”
Niamh and Bertie Donohue: delicious homemade seafood
Niamh and Bertie Donohue run Aran Seafood Cafe, a family-run food truck, with produce they catch on their own boat.
“My husband Bertie and I are both from the island. We have six children, two boys and four girls aged between 14 and 24. Bertie started fishing when he was just 14 and has been ever since. When the kids were born he bought a small potting boat and started fishing crab and lobster.
We started by selling off the island to wholesalers and restaurants on the mainland. We still do, but last year we were finding it more difficult to sell our produce, so we decided to do it ourselves here on the island. We bought our food truck and were very lucky to be able to lease a spot in Kilmurvey, just under Dún Aonghasa. We sell fish and chips which we source from a local fishing boat, and crab rolls, lobster rolls and a crab claw salad which is all from our own boat. We also do homemade seafood chowder which sells out nearly every day.
It’s a lot of work and it keeps us very busy but we’ve absolutely loved it so far. We were lucky to have three of our daughters working with us for the summer too, so it really is a family business from start to finish.”
Fionn Ó Flaithearta and Maírín Ní Chonceannáin: a new chapter on the island
Fionn Ó Flaithearta and Maírín Ní Chonceannáin left their jobs on the mainland and moved home to open a café together last year.
“Maírín and I were in the same class in school. We started going out in 2016 and both moved to Limerick for college. I studied to be a woodwork teacher at University of Limerick and Máirín studied Law and French. I was working in a Gaelscoil in Maynooth and Máirín was working in the pensions sector. After two years, we decided to move back to the island where I would pursue my carpentry, with Dóite Wood Design.
Like most island teenagers, Máirín had spent summers in the hospitality sector and loved the idea of getting back into a more customer-facing role. We decided on a café and craft shop! We opened Minnie’s Café in July last year and stayed open until October. We sell my wooden crafts, things like vases, lamps, bowls, and chopping boards. We started with home-baked goods and coffee, and this year we added açaí bowls to our menu. These have been very popular with both tourists and islanders.
Seeing how everyone is so genuinely happy to see us set up our business has just been so lovely. We all want each other to succeed, and you can always rely on someone here to give you a hand or advice - something we didn’t have when we lived on the mainland. The sense of community on the island can’t be overstated.”
Gearoid Browne and Cobie van Rijn: craft and coffee with a personal touch
Gearoid Browne and Cobie van Rijn run Man of Aran craft and coffee shop, and are proud that the Italian tourists really rate their coffees.
“I moved to the island in 1987, my family had a fish-smoking plant here at the time. I loved it and I’ve been here ever since. Local crafts always interested me and I thought I could do something to showcase that. In Italy, you go into shops and they have coffee stands and I thought that would be interesting to try here too. The Italian tourists love it! As they say ‘supremo!’ They tell me it’s just like they have it at home.
“The shop slows people down and you get a chance to have a conversation and maybe end up selling a few crafts too.”
I met my partner Cobie in the Galway market, we’ve been together over 12 years and she moved here full-time two years ago. The shop slows people down and you get a chance to have a conversation and maybe end up selling a few crafts too. We have people from all over coming here, a lot of Americans, thankfully – our craft industry would be in an awful state without them! Lots of locals come in too, they like to sit upstairs and have a scone and a cup of tea and watch the world go by, or they’ll pick up a gift for someone.
Some shops here are owned by big companies, so if we can survive here we’re very happy. There’s been a lot of changes over the years but I love the people, I’m so happy here.”
Photography by Nathalie Marquez Courtney.
Delivered straight to your inbox every month.
