Some of our offshore islands are reversing the long-term trend of depopulation. People who have returned to Inis Mór tell Brian O'Connell why it's now easier to live and raise a family there

Picture a land with traffic-free roads, minimal crime statistics, low class sizes and panoramic views from every square inch. Utopian idealism? Well, for an increasing number of people in Ireland, the above are everyday realities. Bucking a trend that stretches back to the mid-19th century, Ireland's island populations are on the rise.

This month's census is expected to confirm that some of Ireland's offshore islands have halted their rate of depopulation and are beginning to reverse a declining population trend. Islands such as Tory off Co Donegal, Sherkin and Cape Clear off west Cork, and the Aran Islands off Co Galway, are all showing evidence of either stabilising or increasing their indigenous populations.

At present, out of 65 offshore islands that have been inhabited at one time or another over the past half-century, 61 remain inhabited, while five islands which were totally uninhabited over a decade ago now boast fledgling communities.

Forty minutes outside Galway city, Connemara Regional Airport is evidence of the rising prosperity on the Aran Islands, with upward of 10 flights a day now available to the islands. Currently building a new passenger building, Aer Arann is thriving in Galway thanks to the increased demand for easier access to and from the islands. Enhanced communication and access links signal a bright future for Ireland's offshore communities, with the Aran Islands well placed to benefit from technological advances.

With rising populations, though, come new challenges. On Inis Mór, the largest of the Aran Islands, the two biggest issues concerning the islanders are planning and childcare, proving that the islands are not entirely immune to the stresses of mainland life.

A mile from the runway in Kilronan on Inis Mór, Pat Hernon is putting the finishing touches to a new two-storey house for his returning brother-in-law. Pat and his wife Catherine are among a new wave of islanders, who, having left the island during the 1980s and 1990s, are now returning to put down their roots.

"There comes a point when you get tired of being on the mainland," says Pat. "It's a better place to live here for the kids, and the whole island has changed since we left a decade ago." The Hernons left the island at a time when mainland life seemed a far more attractive prospect. Nowadays, the opposite is true.

"Since we've come back we've seen many positive changes on the island. Tourism has changed the island a lot. Years ago, it wasn't as easy to get in and out to the island on a daily basis. But if I need to get to Galway in the morning, I can go at eight or 12 in the morning - that service wasn't there years ago."

BACK LIVING ON the island for almost a decade, the Hernons couldn't imagine raising their family elsewhere. Pat points to the fact that if the opportunities were there a decade ago, they would never have left.

"We didn't move off the island because it was barren and there was nothing to do here," says Pat. "Some people go to the mainland and leave parts of an island uninhabited - that will never be the case here - it just became a trend that the easier thing to do was to live on the mainland. There are a lot of people who could be on this island but moved away and never came back. Some young couples go away and see a bit of life for a few months here and there and then come back, which is a good thing. The opportunities for employment are a lot more varied nowadays also."

With the steady decline in the fishing industry over the past two decades, many islanders have come to rely less and less on traditional sources of income on the island.

"It's certainly harder to make a living through fishing," says Pat, "it has been steadily declining in the last 15-20 years and has come to the stage that everything is bogged down with regulations and restrictions. It doesn't make it in any way attractive for young lads to get involved in. There was a time when you came out of school and only thought about going fishing or picking up a trade - that's changed now."

Two miles from Pat Hernon, Angela Goggin is giving life to her first Guinness of the day in Joe Watty's bar. Angela runs the bar with her Australian husband Dave, having returned to live on the island three years ago. With the help of her brother, who owns the premises, the bar has been completely refurbished, and plans are in place to start serving food this summer.

Like many returning islanders, Angela says the availability of year-round employment and thoughts of raising a family were key factors in returning to island life.

"It's a good place to bring up a family, but when we left we had no choice, there were no jobs here. When we came back first, the opportunity came up to run a restaurant, which we did for a while, and now I'm running a bar for my older brother, which is working out great.

"My husband loves it here, although he'd like more things to do, being from a city himself."

With three young children, Angela says services on the island need to match people's increased needs and expectations if the population is to continue to stabilise.

"We definitely need more facilities here. Some kids are great at football and running, but they have to do it on a soggy field. Outside of that they have karate once a week and Irish dancing and music once a week if the weather is okay. It's very limited - if a child is not into music, dance or sport, then there's nothing for them to do."

While a playschool has existed on the island since 1979, there are no playground or creche facilities available, despite funding applications by the local co-op.

"The addition of a creche is very important if the island is to continue to attract people back. If there was a creche here I'd definitely use it, and there are a lot more like me," says Angela.

For many returning islanders, the planning process remains a deterrent to resuming island life.

Building a house is a long, drawn-out process," says Angela. "It used to take years and you were lucky if you got planning in the end. It seems to be getting easier, most of the island is protected, which is fine, but at the same time it's no good protecting it if people have to leave.

"What are you protecting it for? We have a site and know it will take two years to get planning. They will keep changing our plans until we end up with a house we didn't want, but it'll be our home here on the island, which is really all that matters."

Despite such drawbacks, Angela takes comfort in the knowledge that her children will be brought up in a safe environment, less susceptible to the ills of modern society. It's for this reason, she says, that many people are choosing to return and helping to rejuvenate island life.

'I KNOW AS my kids get a bit older, if they are cycling down the road and fall off their bike, someone they know will see them and help them. There are always people they know seeing them and minding them when you aren't there. It's just a good feeling.

"When they become teenagers, it's safer too with drugs and all that stuff. It's going to be much less a problem here and easier to keep them on the right track. I wouldn't swap the peace of mind you get living here for anywhere else in the world."

Island numbers

The six islands with the largest populations off the Irish coast:

Achill (Co Mayo) 2,620

Gorumna (Co Galway) 1,015

Inis Mór 831 (Co Galway)

Valencia (Co Kerry) 690

Aran (Co Donegal) 543

Lettermore (Co Galway) 497

Source: CSO Principal Statistics - Population of inhabited islands off the coast, 2002 census