The Rosses Point Peninsula () is a small peninsula in the centre of Sligo Bay in

County Sligo County Sligo ( , ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Northern and Western Region and is part of the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht. Sligo is the administrative capital and largest town in ...

, Ireland. The peninsula shares its name with the village of

Rosses Point Rosses Point ( or ) is a village in County Sligo, Ireland and also the name of the surrounding peninsula. Rosses Point is at the entrance to Sligo Harbour from Sligo Bay with Oyster Island being the long thin landmass notable when entering th ...

, a popular seaside resort located on the peninsula's southern coast, roughly west of

Sligo town Sligo ( ; , meaning 'abounding in shells') is a coastal seaport and the county town of County Sligo, Ireland, within the western province of Connacht. With a population of 20,608 in 2022, it is the county's largest urban centre (constituting 2 ...

. Rosses Point has been inhabited for millennia. The earliest example of settlement on the peninsula was discovered in April 2020, when two local residents uncovered a

Neolithic The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Ancient Greek, Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revo ...

shell

midden A midden is an old dump for domestic waste. It may consist of animal bones, human excrement, botanical material, mollusc shells, potsherds, lithics (especially debitage), and other artifacts and ecofacts associated with past human oc ...

on their land. The peninsula also has a rich maritime tradition, and was commonly used as a rest-stop for sailors who were unfamiliar with the tides and were subsequently caught in the sands of Sligo Bay. By the 17th century, the area had become a hotbed for pirates and smugglers, who would harass Atlantic trading ships and loot the contents of ships that had been wrecked in

Donegal Bay Donegal Bay () is an inlet (or bay) in the northwest of Ireland. Three Counties of Ireland, counties – County Donegal, Donegal to the north and west, County Leitrim, Leitrim and County Sligo, Sligo to the south – have shorelines on ...

. One such smuggler was "Black Jack", who used his wealth to build Elsinore House in the early 1800s, with cannons pointing out to sea set up in front of it. Despite its sordid history, Rosses Point developed into a

Victorian era In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the reign of Queen Victoria, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. Slightly different definitions are sometimes used. The era followed the ...

seaside resort. The area began to experience a swelling of seasonal visitors during the summer months, which is still the case to this day. In the late 19th century, Elsinore House came into the possession of the Middleton family, who were relatives of the Yeats family through their paternal grandfather.

William William is a masculine given name of Germanic languages, Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman Conquest, Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle ...

and Jack Butler Yeats spent their childhood summers at the house, and the peninsula inspired many of their respective works. It was during these formative years that the young William developed his fascination with

spiritualism Spiritualism may refer to: * Spiritual church movement, a group of Spiritualist churches and denominations historically based in the African-American community * Spiritualism (beliefs), a metaphysical belief that the world is made up of at leas ...

and the

paranormal Paranormal events are purported phenomena described in popular culture, folk, and other non-scientific bodies of knowledge, whose existence within these contexts is described as being beyond the scope of normal scientific understanding. Not ...

. As a child, he believed the house was haunted by the ghosts of the smugglers and pirates who had frequented it, and would later write that there was nowhere in the world with more ghosts than Rosses Point. The "Waiting on Shore" memorial was unveiled in 2002 to commemorate the people of Rosses Point who were drowned at sea throughout history. As an ode to its maritime history, the Wild Atlantic Shanty Festival is held every summer on Rosses Point.

Places of interest

*County Sligo Golf Club *Dead Man's Point *Doonweelin Lough *Elsinore House * The Metal Man *Oyster Island *Radisson Blu Hotel & Spa, Sligo *Rosses Point Beach *Rosses Point Lighthouse *Sea Fishing Sligo * Sligo Yacht Club *"Waiting on Shore" Memorial

Gallery

File:Oyster Island - geograph.org.uk - 979023.jpg, Oyster Island File:County Sligo - Metal Man Beacon - .jpeg, The Metal Man File:Elsinore House, Sligo.jpg, Elsinore House File:Rosses Point .jpg, Rosses Point Beach File:Rosses Point Village - geograph.org.uk - 24302.jpg, Rosses Point Village File:County Sligo Golf Club - 1st hole.jpg, County Sligo Golf Club File:"Waiting On The Shore" Memorial.jpg, "Waiting on Shore"

Places of interest

Gallery

See also