1. What was it like as a child growing up on Arranmore? Was your primary school very small and is there a secondary school on the island?
Growing up on Arranmore was really fun – there are a lot of beaches and fields that we used to play in all day. During the summer, sometimes we would go to the beach to go swimming in the morning, and we wouldn’t go home until the evening! Arranmore is a very safe place – everybody looks out for everybody and there isn’t a lot of traffic or anything, so when we were children we were allowed to go off and play wherever we wanted to, and not come back until quite late. Everybody knows each other on Arranmore, so all of us who were around the same age used to all play together in a big group.
There are two primary schools on the island – when I was in school there were about 30 people in my school, and only about 10 in the other school! Because the schools are so small, everybody knows everyone else and everybody plays together. There is a secondary school on the island – when I was in school there were about 50-60 pupils in the school, and now it has grown to about 80. The reason there are more pupils there now is because a lot of students have started to come to our school from the mainland, because our school has a reputation as a very good school! (probably to do with the small class sizes – there were only 10 people in my class).
Arranmore is a Gaeltacht, so we get students come here every summer to go to the Irish college – there are about 200-300 students every summer.
2. Are there more children or adults living on Arranmore?
There are more adults living on Arranmore. There are a lot of older people living on Arranmore, and not a lot of younger people with children. This is because a lot of younger people have to leave Arranmore after they’re finished with school, because there aren’t many job options on the island.
3. When did electricity come to Arranmore?
Electricity came to Arranmore in 1957 – it was the first island in Ireland to get electricity!
4. If the power goes out on Arranmore, does it take a long time to come back?
It can take a long time sometimes. Usually when the electricity goes out, it’s because the weather is very bad, and when the weather is very bad on Arranmore, we don’t have any ferry boats! So that means that the ESB can’t come to the island to fix the electricity until the weather gets a bit better. We’ve gone days without electricity before!
5. How often did you go to the mainland when you were younger?
We went to the mainland quite often. There are only small newsagents in Arranmore, so anytime we need to do a shop for a lot of groceries, or clothes or appliances, we have to go to the mainland. The ferry boat runs every hour from 9am till 6pm, so it’s not too difficult to get to the mainland.
6. What do you miss most about Arranmore when you're in college?
I miss the sea! My house is only across the road from the beach so I’m used to a lovely sea view every day from my house – it took a while to get used to not having that anymore when I moved to college. I also miss my family and friends – I don’t get to go home very often as it would take me a very long time to get home from Galway.
7. What is the weather like in Arranmore? Is the sea very rough?
The weather does get very bad sometimes and the sea does get very stormy. When the sea is very stormy the ferry doesn’t run, so we can be stranded sometimes! But we do get some lovely sunny days during the summer, and the beaches and the sights are lovely when it’s sunny.
8. What are the facilities for young people like on the island?
There is a community centre on the island where children can go to play sports, play computer games, read books, or just hang out. There’s also a playground, a tennis court, basketball court, and a soccer pitch. And if the weather’s nice, most young people spend the day swimming at the beach!