These islands are three in number: Inishmore, Imishmaan, and Inisheer, and contain among them such a wealth of pagan and Christian antiquities as is excelled by no
[Illustration: THE CHURCH OF THE CANONS, ARAN.]
locality in Ireland of the same area: perhaps fifteen square miles in all.
There is a work published in Dublin, known as "The Illustrated Programme of the Society of Architects," which contains a brief account of the wealth of the architectural and historical lore of these parts. More one could not wish to know unless he were profoundly interested, and less would not even satisfy him if he became at all enamoured of these islands, so full of dreary old places and quaint customs, to say nothing of the wealth of tradition and legend which hangs about it all.
Westward, the nearest land is America, where so many stalwart sons of Galway--and daughters, too--have migrated. Here the peasants still reverently believe in the far-famed land of Hy or O,--Brazil, the paradise of the ancient pagan Irish.
The praises of the "great fictitious island" were sung by the bards of olden time, and tradition has perpetuated its fame as a "land of perpetual sunshine, abounding in rivers, forests, mountains, and lakes. Castles and palaces arise on every side, and, as far as the eye can reach, it is covered with groves, bowers, and silent glades; its fields are ever green, with sleek cattle grazing upon them; its groves filled with myriads of birds. It is only seen occasionally, owing to the long enchantment, which will, they say, now soon be dissolved. The inhabitants seem always young, taking no heed of time, and lead lives of perfect happiness. In many respects this fabulous land resembles the Tirna-n'oge, the pagan Irish Elysium."
Among the chief--and assuredly unique--reliques of these few square miles of _terra firma_ are the ruins of the old fortified Castle of Ardkyne, in which are built the remains of the great church of St. Enna, chief of the Oriels, who, upon his conversion, abandoned his secular rule, and eventually settled (not later than A. D. 489) in Aran, which henceforth became _Ara-na-noamh_, "Aran of the Saints." The church was one of several destroyed by the soldiers of Cromwell; but its plan, about twenty by ten feet, can be traced behind the village. Above the village is the stump of a round tower, and, on the ridge, the oratory of St. Benen, a unique specimen of early Irish church architecture, which has remarkably steep pitched gables. The window in the east wall has its head and splay of a single stone. The narrow north doorway has inclined jambs. If the name refers to the apostle of Connaught, St. Benen of Armagh, it must be a dedication, as he died in 468. The building may with confidence be assigned to the sixth century.