WHAT TO WATCH:
Man of Aran, a 1934 blend of documentary and fiction by pioneering filmmaker Robert Flaherty follows local islanders as they face off against the everyday trials and triumphs of living on the Aran Islands.
Interested in further exploring the works of JM Synge? Check out Druid Theatre Company’s 2005 production of another one of his famous works Playboy of the Western World. This classic comedy follows protagonist Christy Mahon as he attempts to install himself as the hero of County Mayo after claiming to have killed his father.
WHAT TO READ:
The Aran Islands was first performed by Brendan Conroy at the Irish Rep in 2017. Learn more about how Conroy and director Joe O’Byrne brought the words of JM Synge to the stage in this TheaterMania piece.
Learn more about Irish Rep’s original production of The Aran Islands, which The Huffington Post called “a hypnotic performance.”
Learn more about what the Aran Islands are like today in this New York Times travel review. Explore evocative photos of the islands, and learn about how the islands shaped the writings of a young JM Synge.
Read where it all began in JM Synge’s The Aran Islands. See the islands through Synge’s eyes as he chronicles his visits to the Aran Islands between 1898 and 1901.
Read a more modern chronicle of the island in Andrew McNeillie’s An Aran Keening. See the islands as they were when McNeillie lived there in 1968, as the islanders tried to hold on to a way of life that was facing increasing pressure from the modern world.
WHAT TO LISTEN TO:
Listen to the voices of a vanishing world in this episode of Irish History Podcast, as you will be transported back to the summer of 1901. Based upon the accounts of JM Synge during this time, the podcast details island life at the turn of the 20th century.
Find yourself transported back to 1957 with these field recordings, which document some of the vocal traditions of the Aran Islands. Sung mostly in Gaelic, these songs detail what life was like on Inishmore, Inisheer, and Inishmaan.
WHAT TO EAT AND DRINK:
Enjoy the taste of the Aran Islands in this Irish Aran Islands Fisherman’s Pie!
After a blustery evening on the Aran Islands, warm yourself up with this Bailey’s Irish Coffee!
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