Sligo City Ireland

Ireland's greatest poet, W. B. Yeats, spent his childhood summers in Sligo, most of the time staying with his uncle at Rosses Point, a peninsula at the entrance to the harbor. Fortunately for Sligo and for the county of which it is the principal city the passion he developed for this rare land inspired verse that immortalized many of the secret places he discovered and explored during his wanderings among the woodlands and on the lake shores and mountains.

Yeats, who won the Nobel Prize for literature in 1923, once declared: The place that really influenced my life was Sligo. His brother, Jack Yeats, who may well be the greatest painter produced by Ireland, also found that Sligo fired his artistic soul and impelled him to enshrine its countless charms on canvas.

Yeats died in France in 1939. When his remains were brought back to Ireland after the war, it was to Sligo that he was carried as the Irish nation mourned. Beneath the noble brow of Ben Bulben, in the churchyard of Drumcliffe, just outside the city, he rests today with the epitaph he wrote. It is the final three lines of Under Ben Bulben.

Sligo City, set on a verdant, wooded plain, sprawls across the banks of a river that rushes from Lough Gill to the Atlantic Ocean. On all but its ocean side, timeless mountains rise up to form majestic ramparts against the everchanging western sky. Here, amid these pleasantly watered woodlands and mighty shouldered mountains, Yeats discovered the poetic soul of Ireland's Celtic past.

That past, with its mystical legends and sagas of heroic deeds, haunts the enchanted countryside and crowds the pavements of Sligo City itself. The country dominates the town: While walking the city streets, it's impossible to ignore its brooding presence.

Unlike some other Irish cities, Sligo has no abundance of relics and monuments to chronicle the march of its history, but nearby is a truly astonishing record of its prehistoric past, just 2 miles south of the city, at Carrowmore, lies a sprawling megalithic burial ground dating from before the Bronze Age. Its primitive rock monuments provide dramatic evidence that there once lived a race of people capable of transporting massive boulders and raising enormous slabs of stone to mark the resting place of their dead.

Modern scholars cannot determine whether this race was related to characters in the legends of Finn MacCool and the Fianna among the most exciting heroes of Celtic mythology but the locality is rich in ancient folklore, which Yeats transmuted into the lyrical romantic verse of his early poetry. Rising straight up from this prehistoric home of the dead is the noble, flat-topped mountain of Knocknarea (pronounced Knocknaray), the hill of the monarchs, surmounted by a rock cairn reputed to be the tomb of Queen Maeve, or Medb, of Connacht, the province in which Sligo is located.
According to Celtic myth, Maeve was the powerful queen who sent her warriors into the province of Ulster to capture a prized bull in the celebrated Cattle Raid of Cooley.

She is mentioned as Queen Meb in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, and, for all the exotic and fanciful legends that surround her, she probably really did exist.Inishmurray: the only true island off the coast of Sligo, has been occupied from prehistoric to modern times. It was the site of a monastic community that was founded in the 6th century and that flourished until Elizabethan times.

Columba is said to have retired to Inishmurray after having committed a grievous sin; as part of his penance, he then went to Scotland to found the monastery of lona.One of the first mentions of Sligo in old records tells of a raid by Vikings in the 9th century. It is probable that the settlement on the banks of the river Sligeach, from which it got its name and which is now called the Garavogue had been established and functioning for many years before it came to the attention of the Norse pirates who were constant visitors to all the coasts of Ireland.

The history of Sligo Ireland

Sligo emerged from the dark veils of early history in the 13th century when an AngloNorman named Maurice Fitzgerald arrived and built a castle at the eastern end of what now is called Castle Street. The De Burgo clan, who Wielded great power along the western coast, also built a castle in Sligo in 1301. No trace of either fortress can be found today, nor is there evidence of walls having surrounded the medieval city, though primitive forms of earthen defenses are shown on 17thcentury maps. The O'Donnells from Donegal destroyed the Fitzgerald Castle in 1270 and again in 1369 after it had been rebuilt.

The most solid relic of Sligo's medieval past is the Dominican abbey, constructed The abbey suffered much damage in an accidental fire but that was nothing compared with what happened when Cromwell's soldiers, on their rampage of terror across Ireland, arrived.They not only set fire to the abbey but killed all the friars and then ran amok through the city streets, setting every building ablaze and slaughtering all the inhabitants they could find.

Throughout the 19th century, Sligo was one of the busiest ports in Ireland, With as many as 600 ships using the harbor every year. During the famine in the 1840s, thousands of Irish emigrants bound for North America sailed from Sligo, many risking their lives on the notorious coffin ships, so named because of the appalling conditions on board. Nowadays, Sligo's sea traffic has dwindled to a few small freighters that irregularly call.

Since the end of the 17th century to the present, the course of events in Sligo has, for the most part, been remarkably harmonious and trouble free even during the War of Independence, which led to the British departure from the southern part of Ireland in the I 920s, the city managed to avoid much of the violence that convulsed the whole island for several years. Today Sligo is a prosperous and thriving city with a progressive vision of its future as well as a keen appreciation of the colorful richness of its past.

Green Fort This unusual, square earthen fort dates from the early 17th century. Built on a height above the river Garavogue, it has star-shaped bastions at each corner and commands a sweeping view of the city and countryside northeast of Connaughton Rd. Yeats Watch Tower A turret on top of a stone building is where the poet, as a young boy, spent hours every day gazing out over the city and the harbor.

The building was owned by his grandfather William Pollexfen, who liked to station himself in the turret with a telescope and watch the comings and goings of the many merchant ships that he owned.

Things to do in Sligo and airport car hire

Ireland and Sligo is a diverse land, which can be explored and discovered by hire car from the airport in Dublin or Knock. Car rentals can be pre-booked at all Ireland airports, and great rates make car hire the easiest way to get around Sligo and the outlying areas.

Riverside Walk - This is a pleasant stroll around the center of town starting at the Douglas Hyde Bridge, which joins Wine Street to Stephen Street, and continuing upstream along the waters of the Garavogue, crossing Thomas Street into Kennedy Parade (named after John F. Kennedy). The walk ends close to the Dominican abbey. Doorly Park Continue upstream alongside the Garavogue on Riverside Walk to reach Doorly Park, a spacious and tranquil woodland retreat close to Lough Gill, with splendid views of the surrounding mountains.

Drumcliffe Sligo- The parish of Drumcliffe, 4 miles north of Sligo , is the most important shrine in Yeats country. The poet is buried here in what is one of the most visited cemeteries in Ireland. The church is on the right, just before the river, and Yeats's grave is just inside the main gate to the left. Yeats's great grand father had been rector in this church, set in wildly magnificent scenery at the foot of the mountain called Ben Bulben.

The fine Celtic cross in the churchyard dates from the II th century. Across the road from the church lies the base of an unfinished round tower thought to have been started in the 6th century. Also during that period, St. Columba founded a monastery here to which was attached a house of studies that attracted scholars from many lands in the golden age of Irish Christianity.

Inishmurray Sligo - An excursion to this island, 4 miles off the northwest Sligo coast and about 12 miles from Sligo City, is a very worthwhile day trip. Inishmurray, which was inhabited until 1947 (when it still had its own king), was the site of a monastic settlement established by St. Molaise in the 6th century. The ruins of the monastery are still there, along with a stone church and the beehive cells where the monks lived.

All over the island are numerous ancient crosses and tombstones and, reflecting the less ecclesiastical side of life in the past, a collection of the Cocha Breaca (pronounced Kuhha Brahka), cursing stones, which were used to invoke curses and misfortune on enemies. The cursing stones were probably used not by the holy men who dwelt on Inish murray but by the pagans who inhabited the island before their time.

Embarkation point for Inishmurray is the tiny and lovely seaport of Mullaghmore. Take N IS north from Sligo to the village of Cliffoney, then turn left at the sign on entering the village. In summer, boats run regularly to and from Inishmurray;
Carrowmore Sligo -This is the location of one of the largest megalithic graveyards in Europe, covering a square mile at the foot of Knocknarea Mountain. There are more than 40 tombs here, some dating from the Neolithic or late Stone Age many undisturbed since they received the dead. An excavation of one of the tombs uncovered the cremated remains of 18 young girls, aged 18 to 22, beside each of whom lay part of the skull of an older male.

An arrangement of unopened oyster shells nearby Suggests that it might have been a ritual burial. Atop Knockn area Mountain is a cairn that legend holds is the burial place of Queen Maeve of Connacht, although this story, has never been tested by excavation. Carrow more is 2 miles southwest of Shgo on L132; turn left at Strandhill for the burial ground.
Lissadell House Sligo - Set amid rolling wooded hills overlooking the Bay of Drumcliffe, this 19th-century Georgian structure is the childhood home of one of Ireland's greatest woman rebels, Countess Constance Markievicz of the Gore Booth family.

The countess took part in the 1916 insurrection, was imprisoned, and later became the first woman member of Eireann (the Irish Parliament). Yeats, an intimate friend of the Gore Booths, often stayed at Lissadell and once reported seeing a ghost at the bottom of the staircase. Members of the Gore Booth family still live here and always have a welcome for visitors even the unannounced. To tour the gracious old mansion is to be transported into a past age every corridor and room scented with nostalgia.

To reach Lissadell, travel north on N 15, take the first left turn past Drumchffe, and dnve through and beyond Carney for another 6 miles. Hazelwood A lushly wooded area on the northwest shore of Lough Gill, Hazelwood perches on a promontory that juts into the lake and is crisscrossed with shaded paths for walking.

There are a number of picnic areas along the water's edge and beneath the trees. Yeats wrote about this area, I went out to the hazel wood, / Because a fire was in my head .... A stately mansion, Hazelwood House; built in the 18th century, stands unoccupied on the shores of the lake. Take L16 east from Sligo for 3 miles and follow the signposts to the wood.
Rosses Point Sligo - With two superb beaches and miles of sand dunes, this peninsula is Sligo's premier seaside resort. Much of Yeats's time in Sligo was spent at Rosses Point in Elsinore Lodge, the residence of his cousins, the Middletons, a wealthy merchant family.

Just offshore on a stone pedestal in the sea stands the famous statue of the Metal Man, a 12-foot high sailor forever pointing to the deepest part of the channel to gUide ships into Sligo harbor. In olden days, the area was notorious as a haunt of smggle.rs. Yeats wrote of people hanging out lanterns at the dead of mght near Deadman s Pomt to guide in smuggling ships carrying contraband cargo from France. LI6 northwest from Sligo goes to Rosses Point.

Coney Island Sligo - At the entrance to the Sligo harbor, this small island is home to only a handful of people nowadays. It is said that, walking along Green Road, whIch circumnavigates Coney, one can see all of the rest of County Shgo across the bay. People on the island claim that it gave its name to the more famous Coney Island in New York City.
In Irish, Coney Island means the island of rabbits,' and some believe that the captain of the merchant ship Arethusa, which regularly sailed between Sligo and New York in the 19th century, observed that the Brooklyn island also was overrun with rabbits and called it Coney, too.

The rabbits have since vanished from New York's Coney Island, but they're still hopping about by the thousands among the sand dunes of its Sligo namesake. Boats make the 5-minute trip to Coney Island from the pier at Rosses Point daily in summer; the schedule varies.Creevykeel Court Tomb A magnificent 3,000-yearold court tomb excavated in 1935 by a Harvard archaeologist, it contains several chambers and a gallery, all surrounded by a courtyard.

Drive north on N 15 to the village of Cliffoney and travel another I 2 miles on the same road to where the tomb is sign posted .Dooney Rock This is a massive outcrop of rock, smothered in woods and rising dramatically above the southern shore of Lough Gill. A nature walk through the trees leads to the top of the rock and a spectacular view over the island studded lake. 4 mIles east of Sligo on L117.

Strandhill Sligo - Because of the shifting sands and strong undertow, swimming is hazardous at Strandhill, a seaside resort famous for the towering Atlantic waves that crash on its long, curved beach. However, some people are willing to take the chance. LI32 west from Sligo leads to Strand hill, 12 miles away.

Killaspugbrone Sligo - A halfmile north of Strandhill, just past Sligo Airport, is Killaspugbrone, one of Ireland's oldest churches (built in St. Patrick's time). Legend has it that St. Patrick lost a tooth here. Revered for centuries as a relic, the tooth can now be seen in the National Museum in Dublin. L132 west from Sligo leads to Strandhill, 12 miles away.

Glencar Sligo - One of the loveliest valleys in Ireland, Glencar has massive mountains crowding in on all sides, waterfalls spilling over precipices, and, at the bottom of the glen, a lake so clear that it reflects the tall trees growing in profusion around its banks.

A small path leads up the mountain to the principal Glencar waterfall, which plunges 50 feet into a pool at the bottom of a cliff. Small, unpaved roads splendid for hiking run up into the mountains. Glencar Lake and the river that runs through it have fine size salmon and sea trout in summer. Take NI6 from Sligo; 8 miles out, turn left at the Waterfall signpost.

Lough Gill Sligo - The lake immortalized in one of Yeats's most famous poems, The Lake Isle of Innisfree (I will arise and go now, and go to Innisfree .... ), lies just east of Sligo City, linked to it by the river Garavogue. The beauty of Lough Gill compares favorably with that of the fabled lakes of Killarney in County Kerry, and the poetic Innisfree is only one of many wooded islands decorating its waters. Steep rocky cliffs carpeted in greenery rise from the south shore. To the north and west are the peaks of Ben Bulben and the Cuilcagh Mountains. For a land trip around the lake, travel 4 miles south of Sligo on N4, and turn left at the Lough Gill signpost onto L 117.

Make another left at Dromahair onto L112, and 4 miles beyond, turn left again onto L16 back to Sligo. It is also possible to cruise the lake. During the summer, a water bus leaves Riverside daily.The ride includes music and readings of Yeats's poetry.