Q 01/05

The rusting wreck of the MV Plassy on Inisheer appears in the opening credits of which 1990s sitcom?

A) Men Behaving Badly

B) Father Ted

C) Absolutely Fabulous

D) The Vicar of Dibley

Answer · why

B) Father Ted

Father Ted used the stranded ship to set the scene for its fictional Craggy Island. Since 2007 fans have gathered on Inishmore for Ted Fest, dressed a...

Q 02/05

Which 2022 Martin McDonagh film, starring Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson, was partly shot on the largest Aran island?

A) The Quiet Girl

B) Seven Psychopaths

C) The Banshees of Inisherin

D) The Killing of a Sacred Deer

Answer · why

C) The Banshees of Inisherin

The Banshees of Inisherin is set in 1923 on an invented island. Its costume designer used only homespun cloth and Irish wools and linens, so that noth...

Q 03/05

A popular myth claims each Aran Islands family knitted its own jumper pattern for which grim purpose?

A) Warding off sea spirits

B) Marking family debts

C) Mourning lost fishermen

D) Identifying the drowned

Answer · why

D) Identifying the drowned

Identifying the drowned by their knitwear is a legend that may have grown from a 1904 play, in which a lost fisherman is recognised by the stitches of...

Q 04/05

Which American pop star gave the Aran jumper a fashion moment in 2020 by wearing one in her album photos?

A) Taylor Swift

B) Billie Eilish

C) Lana Del Rey

D) Ariana Grande

Answer · why

A) Taylor Swift

Taylor Swift wore the cream cable-knit in the photo shoot for her album Folklore. Vogue had already carried articles on the garment in the 1950s, as e...

Q 05/05

With no natural topsoil on the Aran Islands, farmers made fields by layering sand with what from the shore?

A) Crushed shells

B) Seaweed

C) Driftwood ash

D) Fish bones

Answer · why

B) Seaweed

Seaweed and sand, spread in layers over bare rock, made soil rich enough to grow potatoes. Drystone walls were then built around the plots to protect ...