Lore of the Aran Islands: Saints, Ancient Forts, and Sweaters

The Aran Islands lie in Galway Bay off the west coast of Ireland. They're made up of Inis Mór, Inis Mearn, and Inis Oírr. People have likely lived on the islands since c. 3000 BCE. Late Bronze Age and Iron Age ruins scatter the islands, alongside old churches and holy wells. After the era of saints and pilgrimages, Elizabeth I unlawfully seized ownership of the islands in 1565 and in 1588, she sold them to the Lynch family. Oliver Cromwell took them back and passed them to his supporters. Absentee English landlords owned the islands until 1922. They boast such fascinating sights as the Wormhole, believed to be the home of a giant serpent, and the remains of the ancient forts. The Aran Islands are also the home of the world-famous Aran sweaters! Let's find out more about saints, ancient forts, and knitting lore in this week's episode of Fabulous Folklore! Find the images and references on the blog post: https://www.icysedgwick.com/aran-islands-folklore/ Tell me your supernatural encounter: https://forms.gle/hpcscensrDzVcKLk7 Get your free guide to home protection the folklore way here: https://www.icysedgwick.com/fab-folklore/ Become a member of the Fabulous Folklore Family for bonus episodes and articles at https://patreon.com/bePatron?u=2380595 Fabulous Folklore Bookshop: https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/fabulous_folklore Enjoyed this episode and want to show your appreciation? Buy Icy a coffee to say 'thanks' at: https://ko-fi.com/icysedgwick Pre-recorded illustrated talks: https://ko-fi.com/icysedgwick/shop Request an episode: https://forms.gle/gqG7xQNLfbMg1mDv7 Get extra snippets of folklore on Instagram at https://instagram.com/icysedgwick 'Like' Fabulous Folklore on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fabulousfolklore/ Find Icy on BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/icysedgwick.bsky.social Tweet Icy at https://x.com/IcySedgwick