Idyllic Irish island is looking for new residents

Árainn Mhór (Arranmore) the largest inhabited offshore island in Co Donegal is looking for new new residents to boost its population.

Its population has dropped to just 469 people and the island has recently invited more people particularly families to live on the island. The current inhabitants have also written open letters to the people of the United States and Australia, urging them to relocate there.

New residents will be offered the chance to swap the hustle and bustle of big cities for the calm and beauty of Arranmore.

The island has recently undergone huge technological advancement and has become the recipient of Ireland’s very first offshore digital hub.

Not only are they offering new residents the chance of a delightful place to retire to, the community is trying to make the island a more attractive place for families and business people who work remotely.

Arranmore now boasts of internet speeds that rival Dublin, London and New York City.

Inhabitants on the Island list graphic designers, games developers, photographers and app developers as just some of the professionals who have made successful careers while working on the island.

They say: “Your commute, no matter where you are, will only ever be five minutes. You’ll have the best diving in Ireland on your doorstep and seafood to rival the tastiest New England chowder.

“There are fewer people here than would fit in a couple of Amtrak carriages, but enough musicians and good Irish whiskey to keep the party going well into the night,” the letter continued.

The island is just five miles by three miles wide and is smattered with rocky cliffs, stretched beaches and sea caves.

Historically, traditional industries like farming and fishing have dominated the island, but they’re not enough to keep young people from leaving.

As a result, the population has been dropping rapidly for 30 years and the island is in danger of losing its structure.

The island is twinned with Beaver Island in Lake Michigan. In the 1800s, families evicted from Arranmore relocated to Beaver island and most of the residents who live there today can trace their roots back to the Irish island.

It’s hoped that with the advent of high-speed internet, which has changed the professional landscape of the island, and by reaching out to the likes of America and Australia for residents, Arranmore can attract enough people to not only keep the island’s population up, but also to transform it into one of Ireland’s most attractive places to live.

Ringed by dramatic cliffs, cavernous sea caves and clean sandy beaches, the island measures just 9km by 5km. Irish is the main language spoken on Arranmore Island, although most residents also speak English. 

The People

Last year the community welcomed back from Dublin, islander Fiona Ní Ghloinn, her American husband Jesse Smith, and their three daughters. 

For Fiona and Jesse the move was about a better lifestyle for their family. Like other islanders however, they had to think outside the box when it comes to making a living on Árainn Mhór.

Fiona is a teacher while Jesse is a graphic designer.

Both are passionate about Irish music and now Jesse teaches music to children, runs his own graphic design company, www.blackroguedesign.com from home and works part-time in the community centre, Ionad Chrois Bhealaigh as well. 

The manager of the centre, Eamonn Bonner, well aware of the challenge of finding work on the island, noticed the growth in people like Jesse, people working from home, talented craftspeople with products and services to sell.

He decided to bring them all together and asked Jesse to create a website to promote them, their work, and the many attractions of the island. 

www.madeinarranmore.com is the result and it features people like Jesse who specialises in album covers, posters and webdesign.

Living on an island in the Atlantic Ocean is irrelevant to his work, he can communicate online with customers in Ireland and America and he has the lifestyle he wants, "no red lights" and a community where everyone knows everyone else. 

For islanders like Gearóid Sweeney it's all about creating your own work out of the natural resources around you and the new website gives him a window to the world and the opportunity to sell his craftwork without having to leave home.

Gearóid left Árainn Mhór to join the navy and struggled to find work when he left the service. Stone sculpting was a hobby since his schooldays so he decided to give it a go and now carves beautiful bowls, boats and other pieces from the abundant stone on the island.

The finishing touches for some of his work are floating candles he makes from local heather. 

Rushes are the raw material of Mike Glynn's work, he's a basket-maker who also creates artworks but his main interest is in passing his skills on.

He and his wife, islander, Gráinne, have retired to Árainn Mhór, where Mike says, there is no such thing as ageism.

He works with local transition year students and hopes that some will continue the craft on the island and use it as a means to stay living there. Mike is also planning to run workshops on basket-making for visitors and says he's hopeful about the future of the island, where, he says, there's a great sense of entrepreneurship.

For Eamonn Bonner, that sense of entrepreneurship combined with the strong community spirit is key to securing the future of the island.

Árainn Mhór has a naoinraí, two national schools and a secondary school and two ferry services operate daily between it and the mainland. It is also hoped the new developments with the digital hub will encourage more people to move to live on the Island and that it will create more jobs there.

The ambition is to stimulate employment and reverse over a century of emigration that has seen the island's population drop to just 469 people. In a world where business is more global than ever, and the growing trend towards remote working means we are even more in control of where we choose to live and raise a family. And that's why Americans are also being presented with the unique opportunity of swapping the hustle and bustle of the city for the calm and beauty of Arranmore.

Speaking on the significance of the change, Adrian Begley of Arranmore Island Community Council, said: "For us, this connection is the electrification of the 21st century. It's that big a thing. Whilst the Irish economy is growing, the islands have been neglected; emigration continues and culture gets lost, but we're confident that's all about to change."

Neil Gallagher, CEO of tech company Caped Koala Studios, added: "Moving home has always been a dream but the fundamentals of connectivity for my line of work just made it impossible. The digital hub means people working for tech companies like mine can now work on Arranmore. The set-up is as good as any city in the world, but the view is so much better."

High-speed connectivity has been extended to the island's schools, medical centre and a number of local businesses and community facilities, making Arranmore a more attractive place for families and business people to live and work. 

Anyone wishing to connect with Arranmore’s community can send them a message via their Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/arainnmhor

or check out their website HERE.