Shrine to the Blessed Virgin Mary at Lough Shore
Lough Shore is the largest lake on Aranmore Island. It is located on an elevated area overlooking much of the island. The lake has a curious stone feature which is an almost complete circular wall with the statues of two animals on top of each side. One side has a beaver statue, while the other side has a some animal which I can’t identify. This is a memorial to the people who emigrated from Aranmore Island to Beaver Island across the Atlantic in the United States. Apparently there is a story which goes with this.
Beaver Island Memorial at Lough Shore
In the late 1800, there was potato blight which was ravaging the crops across Ireland. This caused potatoes to rot and with potatoes being a staple of Irish dinner tables, there was widespread starvation. It was so bad that the occupying British feared rebellion because they were unable to managed this properly. Aid which managed to make it all the way to Aranmore Island were few and far in between. As a result, people can only do one thing, run away from the island. Waves of people emigrated out of Aranmore with lots of them somehow settling in Beaver Island in the United States. Perhaps Beaver Island reminded them of Aranmore Island. The descendants of those migrants are still in Beaver Island and some of them have even come back to visit their roots. I think they might be surprised to see how little has changed.
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