Memories from the past - A trip to the Aran Islands - 2023 September

This is a group of three islands off the west coast of Ireland. Brother Barry and Brother Alexius, a member of the Alexian Mission in Hungary, travelled to the largest island, Inishmore, across the Atlantic Ocean. The beautiful, sombre landscape is breathtaking, with castle and church ruins and a colony of seals. Inishmore has a population of only 900, yet it has two primary schools and a secondary school. The driver who led the tour talked a lot about life here, and it makes this little village seem like one big family. Everybody knows everybody and this isolation from the outside world, despite the many tourists, gives the people here a calm, peaceful and happy life. Everyone makes a living from tourism, there are plenty of cyclists, horse rides, scuba diving and the hand-knitted, thick sweaters they sell to visitors are beautiful.

The beautiful natural setting is also popular with film-makers, including the charming adventure movie The Princess Bride (1987), scenes from Harry Potter films and one of the best movie of 2022 the brilliant 9 Oscar nominated irish film, The Banshees of Inisherin was shot here too.

A selection of images taken during the trip.