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Inisheer ( Inis Oirr "East Island"), at just under two miles across, is the smallest of the Aran Islands. Tourism has a key role here; Inisheer doesn't have the archeological wealth of Inishmore, or the wild solitude of Inishmaan, but regular day-trip ferry services from Doolin bring a constant, if small, flow of visitors. This service also makes for a handy route from County Clare to Connemara. Of course tourism threatens the very stuff of its attraction - the purity of traditions and a romantic isolation - but for the moment Inisheer retains its old character, and for some it's a favourite place. A great plug of rock dominates the island, its rough, pale-grey stone dripping with greenery. At the top the fifteenth-century O'Brien's castle stands inside an ancient ring fort. Set around it are low fields, a small community of pubs and houses, and windswept sand dunes. Half buried in sand just south of the beach is the ancient church of St Kevin ; still in use in the nineteenth century, it is now used only to commemorate him as the patron saint of the island every June 14.
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