Árainn Mhór (English name: Arranmore)[2][3] is an island off the west coast of County Donegal in Ulster, the northern province in Ireland.
In Irish it was traditionally called Árainn; the adjective mór (large) was added fairly recently.
[5] In 2022, following the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, the island became a refuge for Ukrainian refugees who were resettled in Ireland.
[9] The island lies 5 km (3 mi) off Burtonport, a small coastal village in The Rosses.
[5] Most of the population lives along the southern and (comparatively sheltered) eastern coast, where the main village, Leabgarrow (Irish: Leadhb Gharbh), is located.
A large proportion of the housing stock is holiday homes, with both native islanders and their descendants, as well as nonlocals.
Due to the long decline in population, in 2019, the local government began trying to entice Americans and Australians to move to the island.
It relies mostly on tourism for its income (fishing was the island's mainstay up to the 1980s but is no longer a significant industry), as well as the traditional Gaeltacht summer schools.
A co-working facility was opened in 2019 in partnership with 3 Ireland, providing high-speed internet access which the island did not previously have.
[18] A helipad was constructed in Aphort in the early 2000s which can land a Sikorsky S-92 aircraft as used by the Irish Coast Guard.
Patients are transferred to either the RNLI Lifeboat or Irish Coast Guard helicopter at Leabgarrow or Aphort as required; or can be brought by ferry in non-urgent cases.