Sligo ( ; ga, Sligeach , meaning 'abounding in shells') is a coastal
seaport
A port is a maritime law, maritime facility comprising one or more Wharf, wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge Affreightment, cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can a ...
and the
county town of
County Sligo
County Sligo ( , gle, Contae Shligigh) is a county in Ireland. It is located in the Border Region and is part of the province of Connacht. Sligo is the administrative capital and largest town in the county. Sligo County Council is the loc ...
, Ireland, within the western province of
Connacht. With a population of approximately 20,000 in 2016,
it is the
largest urban centre in the county, with Sligo
Borough District constituting 61% (38,581) of the county's population of 63,000.
Sligo is a commercial and cultural centre situated on the west coast of
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
. Its surrounding coast and countryside, as well as its connections to the poet
W. B. Yeats, have made it a tourist destination.
History
Etymology
Sligo is the anglicisation of the Irish name ''Sligeach'', meaning "abounding in shells" or "shelly place". It refers to the abundance of
shellfish
Shellfish is a colloquial and fisheries term for exoskeleton-bearing aquatic invertebrates used as food, including various species of molluscs, crustaceans, and echinoderms. Although most kinds of shellfish are harvested from saltwater env ...
found in the river and its estuary, and from the extensive
shell middens in the vicinity.
[
] The river now known as the
Garavogue ( ga, An Ghairbhe-og), perhaps meaning "little torrent", was originally called the Sligeach.
It is listed as one of the seven "royal rivers" of Ireland in the ninth century AD tale ''
The Destruction of Da Dergas Hostel''. The river ''Slicech'' is also referenced in the ''
Annals of Ulster
The ''Annals of Ulster'' ( ga, Annála Uladh) are annals of medieval Ireland. The entries span the years from 431 AD to 1540 AD. The entries up to 1489 AD were compiled in the late 15th century by the scribe Ruaidhrí Ó Luinín ...
'' in 1188.
[
The ]Ordnance Survey
Ordnance Survey (OS) is the national mapping agency for Great Britain. The agency's name indicates its original military purpose (see ordnance and surveying), which was to map Scotland in the wake of the Jacobite rising of 1745. There was ...
letters of 1836 state that "cart loads of shells were found underground in many places within the town where houses now stand". The whole area, from the river estuary at Sligo, around the coast to the river at Ballysadare
Ballysadare (), locally also Ballisodare, is a town in County Sligo, Ireland. It is about 7 kilometres (4 miles) south of Sligo town. The town developed on an important crossing of the Owenmore River.
History
Toponymy
The Ox Mountains () a ...
Bay, is rich in marine resources which were utilised as far back as the Mesolithic
The Mesolithic (Greek: μέσος, ''mesos'' 'middle' + λίθος, ''lithos'' 'stone') or Middle Stone Age is the Old World archaeological period between the Upper Paleolithic and the Neolithic. The term Epipaleolithic is often used synonymo ...
period.
Early history
The importance of Sligo's location in prehistory
Prehistory, also known as pre-literary history, is the period of human history between the use of the first stone tools by hominins 3.3 million years ago and the beginning of recorded history with the invention of writing systems. The use ...
is demonstrated by the abundance of ancient sites close by and even within the town. For example, Sligo town's first roundabout was constructed around a megalithic passage tomb
A passage grave or passage tomb consists of one or more burial chambers covered in earth or with stone, and having a narrow access passage made of large stones. These structures usually date from the Neolithic Age, and are found largely in Wester ...
at Abbeyquarter North in Garavogue Villas.[
] This is an outlier of the large group of monuments at Carrowmore
Carrowmore ( ga, An Cheathrú Mhór, 'the great quarter') is a large group of megalithic monuments on the Coolera Peninsula to the west of Sligo, Ireland. They were built in the 4th millennium BC, during the Neolithic (New Stone Age). There ar ...
on the Cúil Iorra Peninsula on the western outskirts of the town. The area around Sligo town has one of the highest densities of prehistoric archaeological sites in Ireland, and is the only place in which all classes of Irish megalithic monuments are to be found together. Knocknarea
Knocknarea (; ) is a large prominent hill west of Sligo town in County Sligo, Ireland, with a height of . Knocknarea is visually striking as it has steep limestone cliffs and stands on the Cúil Irra peninsula overlooking the Atlantic coast. A ...
mountain, capped by the great cairn of Miosgan Maeve, dominates the skyline to the west of the town. Cairns Hill on the southern edge of the town also has two very large stone cairns.
Excavations for the NRA for the N4 Sligo Inner Relief Road in 2002 revealed an early Neolithic
The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several part ...
causewayed enclosure
A causewayed enclosure is a type of large prehistoric earthwork common to the early Neolithic in Europe. It is an enclosure marked out by ditches and banks, with a number of causeways crossing the ditches. More than 100 examples are recorded i ...
. Built (c. 4000 B.C.) the Magheraboy causewayed enclosure is located on high ground overlooking the town from the south. This is the oldest causewayed enclosure so far discovered in Britain or Ireland. It consists of a large area enclosed by a segmented ditch and palisade, and was perhaps an area of commerce and ritual. These monuments are associated with the coming of agriculture and hence the first farmers in Ireland. According to archaeologist Edward Danagher, who excavated the site, "Magheraboy indicates a stable and successful population during the final centuries of the fifth millennium and the first centuries of the fourth millennium BC".[
]
Danagher's work also documented a Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...
Henge
There are three related types of Neolithic earthwork that are all sometimes loosely called henges. The essential characteristic of all three is that they feature a ring-shaped bank and ditch, with the ditch inside the bank. Because the internal ...
at Tonafortes (beside the Carraroe roundabout) on the southern outskirts of Sligo town.
Sligo Bay
Sligo Bay () is a natural ocean bay in County Sligo, Republic of Ireland.
Geography
Sligo Bay is opened between Aughris Head (South side) and Roskeeragh Point (North). The inner part of the bay is divided into three smaller bodies of water, h ...
is an ancient natural harbour, being known to Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
, Phoenicia
Phoenicia () was an ancient thalassocratic civilization originating in the Levant region of the eastern Mediterranean, primarily located in modern Lebanon. The territory of the Phoenician city-states extended and shrank throughout their his ...
n and Roman
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
* Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lett ...
traders as the area is thought by some to be the location marked as the city of Nagnata on Claudius Ptolemy
Claudius Ptolemy (; grc-gre, Πτολεμαῖος, ; la, Claudius Ptolemaeus; AD) was a mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist, who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were of importan ...
's second century AD co-ordinate map of the world. During the early medieval period, the site of Sligo was eclipsed by the importance of the great monastery
A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone ( hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer whic ...
founded by Columcille 5 miles to the north at Drumcliff. By the 12th century, there was a bridge and small settlement in existence at the site of the present town.
Medieval history
The Norman knight Maurice Fitzgerald, the Lord Chief Justice of Ireland
The Court of King's Bench (or Court of Queen's Bench during the reign of a Queen) was one of the senior courts of common law in Ireland. It was a mirror of the Court of King's Bench in England. The Lord Chief Justice was the most senior judge ...
, is generally credited with the establishment of the medieval European-style town and port of Sligo, building Sligo Castle in 1245. The annalists
Annalists (from Latin ''annus'', year; hence ''annales'', sc. ''libri'', annual records), were a class of writers on Roman history, the period of whose literary activity lasted from the time of the Second Punic War to that of Sulla. They wrote t ...
refer to the town as a ''sraidbhaile'' ('street settlement') which seems to have consisted of the castle and an attached defensive bawn
A bawn is the defensive wall surrounding an Irish tower house. It is the anglicised version of the Irish word ''bábhún'' (sometimes spelt ''badhún''), possibly meaning "cattle-stronghold" or "cattle-enclosure".See alternative traditional ...
in the vicinity of Quay street. A Dominican Friary (Blackfriars) was also founded by Maurice Fitzgerald and the King of Connacht Felim mac Cathal Crobderg Ua Conchobair
Felim O'Connor ( Irish: ''Feidlim Ua Conchobair'') was king of Connacht in Ireland, having been proclaimed king by Richard Mór de Burgh in 1230, he reigned proper from 1233 until 1265. Felim died in that year and was buried in the Dominican Pri ...
in 1253. This was accidentally destroyed by fire in 1414, and was subsequently rebuilt in its present form by Tighernan O’Rourke. Norman hegemony was, however, not destined to last long in Sligo. The Norman advance was halted in Sligo after the battle of Credran Cille in 1257 at Ros Ceite (Rosses Point
The Rosses (officially known by its Irish language name, ''Na Rosa''; in the genitive case ''Na Rosann'') is a geographical and social region in the west of County Donegal, Ireland, with a population of over 7,000 centred on the town of Dungloe ...
) between Godfrey O'Donnell
Fr. Godfrey O'Donnell (1939 – 14 February 2020) was a priest from County Londonderry, Northern Ireland, in the Romanian Orthodox Church.
From County Londonderry, O'Donnell, was a Jesuit priest for 28 years, who left the order in 1985 to marry R ...
, Lord of Tirconnell
Tyrconnell (), also spelled Tirconnell, was a kingdom of Gaelic Ireland, associated geographically with present-day County Donegal, which has sometimes been called ''County Tyrconnell''. At times it also included parts of County Fermanagh, C ...
, and Maurice Fitzgerald. Both commanders were mortally wounded in single combat. The Norman invasion of Tír Chonaill was abandoned after this. In 1289 a survey indicates there were 180 burgesses in the town. The Normans had laid a foundation that was to last.
The town is unique in Ireland in that it is the only Norman-founded Irish town to have been under almost continuous native Irish control throughout the Medieval period. Despite Anglo-Norman attempts to retake it, it became the administrative centre of the O'Conor Sligo ( O'Conchobar Sligigh) confederation of Iochtar Connacht (Lower Connacht) by 1315 AD. Also called Clan Aindrias, the O 'Conors were a branch of the O'Conchobar dynasty of Kings of Connacht
The Kings of Connacht were rulers of the ''cóiced'' (variously translated as portion, fifth, province) of Connacht, which lies west of the River Shannon, Ireland. However, the name only became applied to it in the early medieval era, being name ...
. It continued to develop within the túath
''Túath'' (plural ''túatha'') is the Old Irish term for the basic political and jurisdictional unit of Gaelic Ireland. ''Túath'' can refer to both a geographical territory as well the people who lived in that territory.
Social structure
In ...
(Irish territory) of Cairbre Drom Cliabh
Cairbre Drom Cliabh (meaning "Ui Cairbre (the descendants of Cairbre) of Drumcliff"), was an Irish ''túath'' in the ancient confederation of Íochtar Connacht (Lower Connacht), now County Sligo in the west of Ireland. It is now represented by t ...
becoming the effective centre of the confederation of túatha. The other Irish túatha subject to here were Tír Fhíacrach Múaidhe, Luighne Connacht
Luighne Connacht was a territory located in north-central Connacht, on the borders of what is now County Mayo and County Sligo, Ireland.
Origin
The Luighne were a people, originally found in Brega, south of Kells in what is now County Meat ...
, Tir Olliol and Corann
Corann was an ancient Irish túath in northwest Connacht represented now by the present barony of Corran in County Sligo. The name is derived in legend from Corann, the harper of Dian Cecht of the Tuatha Dé Danann.
Organisation
Ballymote beca ...
. Throughout this time Sligo was under the system of Fénechus (Brehon) law and was ruled by the Gaelic system of an elected Rí
Rí, or commonly ríg (genitive), is an ancient Gaelic word meaning 'king'. It is used in historical texts referring to the Irish and Scottish kings, and those of similar rank. While the Modern Irish word is exactly the same, in modern Scottish ...
túath (territory king/lord), and an assembly known as an oireacht.
Through competition between Gaelic dynasties for the lucrative port duties of Sligo, the town was burned, sacked or besieged approximately 49 times during the medieval period, according to the annals of Ireland. These raids seem to have had little effect on the development of the town, as by the mid-15th century the town and port had grown in importance. It traded with Galway, Bristol
Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city i ...
, France and Spain. Amongst the earliest preserved specimens of written English in Connacht is a receipt for 20 marks, dated August 1430, paid by Saunder Lynche and Davy Botyller, to Henry Blake and Walter Blake, customers of "ye King and John Rede, controller of ye porte of Galvy and of Slego".
Sligo continued under Gaelic control until the late 16th century when, during the Elizabethan conquest, it was selected as the county town for the newly shired County of Sligo. An order was sent by the Elizabethan Government to Sir Nicholas Malby
Sir Nicholas Malby (1530?–1584) was an English soldier active in Ireland, Lord President of Connaught from 1579 to 1581.
Life
He was born probably about 1530. In 1556 his name appears in a list of persons willing to take part in the plantation ...
, Knight, wanting him to establish "apt and safe" places for the keeping of the Assizes & Sessions, with walls of lime & stone, in each county of Connacht, "judging that the aptest place be in Sligo, for the County of Sligo…"[
] The walls were never built.
17th and 18th centuries
Sligo Abbey
Sligo Abbey () was a Dominican convent in Sligo, Ireland, founded in 1253. It was built in the Romanesque style with some later additions and alterations. Extensive ruins remain, mainly of the church and the cloister.
Name and location
The n ...
, actually a Dominican Friary, although a ruin, is the only medieval building left standing in the town. Much of the structure, including the choir, carved altar (the only one in situ in Ireland) and cloisters remains. When Sir Frederick Hamilton's Parliamentarian soldiers partially sacked Sligo in 1642, the Friary was burned and many friars killed.
During the Williamite War
The Williamite War in Ireland (1688–1691; ga, Cogadh an Dá Rí, "war of the two kings"), was a conflict between Jacobite supporters of deposed monarch James II and Williamite supporters of his successor, William III. It is also called the ...
(1689–91) the town was fought over between the Jacobite
Jacobite means follower of Jacob or James. Jacobite may refer to:
Religion
* Jacobites, followers of Saint Jacob Baradaeus (died 578). Churches in the Jacobite tradition and sometimes called Jacobite include:
** Syriac Orthodox Church, sometimes ...
Irish Army
The Irish Army, known simply as the Army ( ga, an tArm), is the land component of the Defence Forces (Ireland), Defence Forces of Republic of Ireland, Ireland.The Defence Forces are made up of the Permanent Defence Forces – the standing bran ...
loyal to James II James II may refer to:
* James II of Avesnes (died c. 1205), knight of the Fourth Crusade
* James II of Majorca (died 1311), Lord of Montpellier
* James II of Aragon (1267–1327), King of Sicily
* James II, Count of La Marche (1370–1438), King C ...
and Williamite
A Williamite was a follower of King William III of England (r. 1689–1702) who deposed King James II and VII in the Glorious Revolution. William, the Stadtholder of the Dutch Republic, replaced James with the support of English Whigs.
One ...
forces. Patrick Sarsfield
Patrick Sarsfield, 1st Earl of Lucan, ga, Pádraig Sáirseál, circa 1655 to 21 August 1693, was an Irish soldier, and leading figure in the Jacobite army during the 1689 to 1691 Williamite War in Ireland.
Born into a wealthy Catholic fami ...
was able to capture the town and repulsed a Williamite attack to retake it.
In 1798 a mixed force of the Limerick Militia, Essex Fencibles and local yeomanry under a Colonel Vereker were defeated at the battle of Carricknagat
The Battle of Collooney, also called the Battle of Carricknagat, refers to a battle which occurred on 5 September during the Irish Rebellion of 1798 when a combined force of French troops and Irish rebels defeated a force of British troops outsi ...
at Collooney
Collooney or Coloony () is a town in County Sligo, Ireland.
Toponymy
Collooney is thought to derive from . Reverend Terrence O'Rorke has previously also suggested ''Culmaine'', as Collooney is designated this way in such works as '' the annal ...
by the combined Irish and French forces under General Humbert
General Jean Joseph Amable Humbert (22 August 1767 – 3 January 1823) was a French military officer who participated in several notable military conflicts of the late 18th and early 19th century. Born in the townland of La Coâre Saint-Nabord, ...
. A street in the town is named after the hero of this battle Bartholomew Teeling
Captain Bartholomew Teeling (1774 in Lisburn, County Antrim, Ireland – 24 September 1798, in Arbor Hill, County Dublin, Ireland) was an Irish republican who was leader of the Irish forces during the Irish Rebellion of 1798 and who carried ...
. The ''Lady Erin'' monument at Market Cross was erected in 1899 to mark the centenary of the 1798 Rebellion
The Irish Rebellion of 1798 ( ga, Éirí Amach 1798; Ulster-Scots: ''The Hurries'') was a major uprising against British rule in Ireland. The main organising force was the Society of United Irishmen, a republican revolutionary group influenced b ...
.
19th century
The town suffered badly from a cholera outbreak
Seven cholera pandemics have occurred in the past 200 years, with the first pandemic originating in India in 1817. The seventh cholera pandemic is officially a current pandemic and has been ongoing since 1961, according to a World Health Organi ...
in 1832. Scholars speculate that Bram Stoker
Abraham Stoker (8 November 1847 – 20 April 1912) was an Irish author who is celebrated for his 1897 Gothic horror novel ''Dracula''. During his lifetime, he was better known as the personal assistant of actor Sir Henry Irving and busin ...
, whose mother Charlotte Blake Thornley was probably (there are no records and the family lived in both Sligo and Ballyshannon
Ballyshannon () is a town in County Donegal, Ireland. It is located at the southern end of the county where the N3 from Dublin ends and the N15 crosses the River Erne. Incorporated in 1613, it is one of the oldest towns in Ireland.
Location
...
) born in Sligo in 1818 and experienced the epidemic first hand, was influenced by her stories when he wrote his famous novel, ''Dracula
''Dracula'' is a novel by Bram Stoker, published in 1897. As an epistolary novel, the narrative is related through letters, diary entries, and newspaper articles. It has no single protagonist, but opens with solicitor Jonathan Harker taki ...
''. The family lived on Correction Street in the town. After fleeing to Ballyshannon, Charlotte wrote:
The Great Famine between 1847 and 1851 caused over 30,000 people to emigrate through the port of Sligo.[
] On the Quays, overlooking the Garavogue River
The Garavogue or Garvoge ( ga, An Gharbhóg is a river in County Sligo, northwest Ireland, known historically as the Sligeach or Sligo River.
Etymology
Garavogue is not the original name of the river, which was earlier and for centuries ca ...
, is a cast bronze memorial to the emigrants. This is one of a suite of three sculptures commissioned by the Sligo Famine Commemoration Committee to honour the victims of the Great Famine.
A plaque in the background tells one family's sad story:
20th century
The early years of the century saw much industrial unrest as workers in the Port of Sligo fought for better pay and conditions. This resulted in two major strikes, in 1912 and, in 1913 the prolonged Sligo dock strike. Both ended in victory for the workers.
Sligo Town was heavily garrisoned by the British Army
The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gur ...
during the War of Independence
This is a list of wars of independence (also called liberation wars). These wars may or may not have been successful in achieving a goal of independence
Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which resi ...
. For this reason IRA activity was limited to actions such as harassment, sabotage and jailbreaks. At various times during the war prominent Republicans were held at the Sligo Gaol
Sligo Gaol or Sligo Prison, () is a former prison located in Sligo, County Sligo, Ireland, which was open from 1823 to 1959.
Construction
The prison sits on an site and was designed to hold 200 inmates in a polygon-shaped building, with the Go ...
. The commander of IRA forces in Sligo was Liam Pilkington
Liam Pilkington (2 June 1894 – 26 March 1977), also known as William Pilkington and Billy Pilkington, was a member of the Irish Republican Army (1919–1922), IRA during the Irish War of Independence. Pilkington was General Officer Commanding (G ...
.
Arthur Griffith
Arthur Joseph Griffith ( ga, Art Seosamh Ó Gríobhtha; 31 March 1871 – 12 August 1922) was an Irish writer, newspaper editor and politician who founded the political party Sinn Féin. He led the Irish delegation at the negotiations that prod ...
spoke in April 1922 on the corner of O'Connell Street and Grattan Street. To this day it is known as Griffith's Corner.
During the Civil War, Sligo railway station was blown up by Anti-Treaty forces on 10 January 1923.
In 1961 St. John the Baptist's Church became a cathedral of the Diocese of Kilmore, Elphin and Ardagh
The United Dioceses of Kilmore, Elphin and Ardagh is a diocese of the Church of Ireland located in central Ireland. It is in the ecclesiastical province of Armagh.
It is one of twelve Anglican dioceses in the island of Ireland. The geographi ...
after St. Mary's Cathedral in Elphin was abandoned, being destroyed by a storm four years previously.
Geography
Situated on a coastal plain facing the Atlantic Ocean, Sligo is located on low gravel hills on the banks of the Garavogue River
The Garavogue or Garvoge ( ga, An Gharbhóg is a river in County Sligo, northwest Ireland, known historically as the Sligeach or Sligo River.
Etymology
Garavogue is not the original name of the river, which was earlier and for centuries ca ...
between Lough Gill
Lough Gill () is a freshwater lough (lake) mainly situated in County Sligo, but partly in County Leitrim, in Ireland. Lough Gill provides the setting for William Butler Yeats' poem " The Lake Isle of Innisfree".
Location and environment
Loug ...
and the estuary of the Garavogue river leading to Sligo Bay
Sligo Bay () is a natural ocean bay in County Sligo, Republic of Ireland.
Geography
Sligo Bay is opened between Aughris Head (South side) and Roskeeragh Point (North). The inner part of the bay is divided into three smaller bodies of water, h ...
. The town is surrounded on three sides by an arc of mountains, with the Ox Mountain ridges of Slieve Daeane and Killery Mountain to the southeast bordering Lough Gill. The flat topped limestone plateaux of Cope's, Keelogyboy and Castlegal Mountains to the north and northeast and the singular hill of Knocknarea
Knocknarea (; ) is a large prominent hill west of Sligo town in County Sligo, Ireland, with a height of . Knocknarea is visually striking as it has steep limestone cliffs and stands on the Cúil Irra peninsula overlooking the Atlantic coast. A ...
with its Neolithic cairn to the west and the distinctive high plateau of Benbulben
Benbulbin ( ga, Binn Ghulbain), sometimes Benbulben or Ben Bulben, is a large flat-topped nunatak rock formation in County Sligo, Ireland. It is part of the Dartry Mountains, in an area sometimes called " Yeats Country".
Benbulbin is a protec ...
to the north.
Sligo is an important bridging point on the main north–south route between Ulster
Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label=Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kin ...
and Connacht. It is the county town of County Sligo
County Sligo ( , gle, Contae Shligigh) is a county in Ireland. It is located in the Border Region and is part of the province of Connacht. Sligo is the administrative capital and largest town in the county. Sligo County Council is the loc ...
and is in the Barony of Carbury Carbery or Carbury may refer to:
;People:
* Brian Carbury (1918–1961), New Zealand fighter ace
* Douglas Carbery (1894–1959), British soldier and airman
* Ethna Carbery (1864–1902), Irish writer
* James Joseph Carbery (1823–1887), Irish Dom ...
(formerly the Gaelic tuath of Cairbre Drom Cliabh
Cairbre Drom Cliabh (meaning "Ui Cairbre (the descendants of Cairbre) of Drumcliff"), was an Irish ''túath'' in the ancient confederation of Íochtar Connacht (Lower Connacht), now County Sligo in the west of Ireland. It is now represented by t ...
). Sligo is the diocesan seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Elphin
The Diocese of Elphin (; ga, Deoise Ail Finn) is a Roman Catholic diocese in the western part of Ireland. It is in the Metropolitan Province of Tuam and is subject to the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Tuam. The current bishop is Kevin Doran who ...
. It is in the Church of Ireland Diocese of Kilmore, Elphin and Ardagh
The United Dioceses of Kilmore, Elphin and Ardagh is a diocese of the Church of Ireland located in central Ireland. It is in the ecclesiastical province of Armagh.
It is one of twelve Anglican dioceses in the island of Ireland. The geographi ...
.
County Sligo is one of the counties of the province of Connacht. It is part of the Border Region
The Border Region (coded IE041) is a NUTS Level III statistical region of Ireland. The name of the region refers to its location along the Republic of Ireland–United Kingdom border. It is not a cross-border region. It comprises the Irish co ...
, a region of over 500,000 people which also comprises the counties of Cavan
Cavan ( ; ) is the county town of County Cavan in Ireland. The town lies in Ulster, near the border with County Fermanagh in Northern Ireland. The town is bypassed by the main N3 road that links Dublin (to the south) with Enniskillen, Ba ...
, Donegal Donegal may refer to:
County Donegal, Ireland
* County Donegal, a county in the Republic of Ireland, part of the province of Ulster
* Donegal (town), a town in County Donegal in Ulster, Ireland
* Donegal Bay, an inlet in the northwest of Ireland ...
, Leitrim, Louth and Monaghan
Monaghan ( ; ) is the county town of County Monaghan, Ireland. It also provides the name of its civil parish and barony.
The population of the town as of the 2016 census was 7,678. The town is on the N2 road from Dublin to Derry and Letterken ...
.[
]
Architecture
The town consists of a medieval core street layout, but with mainly 19th-century buildings, many of which are of architectural merit. The town has a High Street which descends from the south of the town and terminates in a market flare at the Market Cross, a pattern typical of Norman street layouts. Here it meets the east west road leading from the Abbeyquarter on the east side to St. Johns Cathedral to the west. This seems to have been the first street laid out in the town. Burgage
Burgage is a medieval land term used in Great Britain and Ireland, well established by the 13th century.
A burgage was a town ("borough" or "burgh") rental property (to use modern terms), owned by a king or lord. The property ("burgage tenement ...
plots of Norman origin are also evident in the long narrow property boundaries typical of the centre of the town.
The only surviving medieval building is Sligo Holy Cross Dominican Friary built in 1252. An arched tower and three sided cloister of the Abbey Church still survive. The next oldest extant building is the Cathedral of St Mary the Virgin and St. John the Baptist on John Street. The current building dates from 1730 when it was designed by the German architect Richard Cassels
Richard Cassels (1690 – 1751), also known as Richard Castle, was an architect who ranks with Edward Lovett Pearce as one of the greatest architects working in Ireland in the 18th century. Cassels was born in 1690 in Kassel, Germany. Alth ...
who was visiting to design Hazelwood House. The cathedral contains four memorials to the Pollexfen family, maternal relatives of W. B. Yeats.
In the nineteenth century, Sligo experienced rapid economic growth and therefore architectural change was rapid. This was marked by the erection of many public buildings. These include Sligo Town Hall, designed by William Hague in a Lombardo-Romanesque style. Sligo Courthouse
Sligo Courthouse is a judicial facility on Teeling Street in Sligo, County Sligo, Ireland.
History
The courthouse, which was designed by James Rawson Carroll in the French gothic style and built in ashlar stone, was completed in 1878. The design ...
on Teeling street is an asymmetrical Neo-Gothic building designed by Rawson Carroll and built in 1878. The Gilooly Memorial Hall is an austere building on Temple Street built as a memorial to the Temperance
Temperance may refer to:
Moderation
*Temperance movement, movement to reduce the amount of alcohol consumed
*Temperance (virtue), habitual moderation in the indulgence of a natural appetite or passion
Culture
* Temperance (group), Canadian dan ...
campaigner Bishop Gillooly. His statue above the door bears the inscription "Ireland sober, is Ireland free". The Model School, now the Model Arts & Niland Gallery, was built by James Owen of the Board of Works to provide education to all denominations between 1857 and 1863, it was to serve as a model for other schools throughout the country.
Sligo has three buildings in the Art and Crafts architectural style, the Masonic Lodge on the Mall designed by Belfast architect Henry Seaver, the Yeats Memorial Building designed by Vincent Craig, also from Belfast, on Lower Knox Street and Weston House on Union Street.
The former Batchelors factory on Deep Water Quay is an industrial building which was built in 1905 as a maize mill and grain silo, and used an innovative construction method invented by François Hennebique
François Hennebique (26 April 1842 – 7 March 1921) was a French engineer and self-educated builder who patented his pioneering reinforced-concrete construction system in 1892, integrating separate elements of construction, such as the column a ...
in 1892. It is one of the earliest examples of its type in Ireland.
Climate
Sligo's climate is classified, like all of Ireland, as temperate oceanic. It is characterised by high levels of precipitation and a narrow annual temperature range. The mean yearly temperature is 9.4 degrees Celsius (49 degrees Fahrenheit). The mean January temperature is , while the mean July temperature is . On average, the driest months are April to June while the wettest months are October to January.
Rainfall averages 1131 mm (44.5 in) per year. The high rainfall means Sligo is in the temperate rainforest
Temperate rainforests are coniferous or broadleaf forests that occur in the temperate zone and receive heavy rain.
Temperate rain forests occur in oceanic moist regions around the world: the Pacific temperate rain forests of North American P ...
biome, examples of which exist around Lough Gill
Lough Gill () is a freshwater lough (lake) mainly situated in County Sligo, but partly in County Leitrim, in Ireland. Lough Gill provides the setting for William Butler Yeats' poem " The Lake Isle of Innisfree".
Location and environment
Loug ...
. The lowest temperature ever recorded in Ireland was −19.1 °C (−2.4 °F) at Markree Castle, County Sligo, on 16 January 1881.
Demographics
, Sligo had a population of 19,199 made up of 9,238 males and 9,961 females. Irish citizens made up 85.1% of the population with Polish (886 persons or 5.5%) as the next largest minority, followed by people from countries outside the EU (753 persons or 4.1%).
6,299 persons could speak the Irish language and of these 1,639 spoke the language daily but only within the education system. 3,117 persons spoke a language other than Irish or English at home and, of these, 438 could not speak English well or at all. Polish was the most common foreign language spoken at home, with 980 speakers.
Religion
In the 2016 Census, there were 14,428 Roman Catholics in the area. A further 2,102 were adherents of other stated religions; 1,959 persons indicated that they had no religion.
Sligo is located in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Elphin
The Diocese of Elphin (; ga, Deoise Ail Finn) is a Roman Catholic diocese in the western part of Ireland. It is in the Metropolitan Province of Tuam and is subject to the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Tuam. The current bishop is Kevin Doran who ...
. The main church of the diocese is the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, Sligo, Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception which is located on Temple Street. Other Catholic churches in the town are St. Anne's Church, Cranmore and St. Joseph's Church, Ballytivnan.
The town is also part of the Church of Ireland United Diocese of Kilmore, Elphin and Ardagh
The United Dioceses of Kilmore, Elphin and Ardagh is a diocese of the Church of Ireland located in central Ireland. It is in the ecclesiastical province of Armagh.
It is one of twelve Anglican dioceses in the island of Ireland. The geographi ...
. The primary church in the diocese is the St John the Baptist Cathedral, Sligo which is located on John Street.
Sligo Presbyterian Church is located at Church Street and Sligo Methodist Church is located at Wine Street. The Sligo-Leitrim Islamic Cultural Centre (SLICC) is located on Mail Coach Road.
Economy
Sligo is in the BMW (Border, Midlands and West) region, an area classified as an underdeveloped "region in transition" by the EU Commission. This is an area where GDP is from 75% to 90% of the EU average. It is entitled to funding from European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) Operational Programmes, which are administered by the Northern & Western Regional Assembly. Sligo is also part of the Border Region, Border region, a historically disadvantaged area within Ireland, created after the 1922 partition of Ireland. A study by the European Committee of the Regions found that Ireland's border counties were the most exposed in Europe to the economic effects of Brexit.
Sligo is a major services and shopping centre within this region. As of 2016 the service sector is the primary employment sector in the county, employing 18,760 (71.7%) of workforce. Industry and construction makes up 17% (4,427) of employment, and agriculture, forestry and fishing 7.2% (1,868). The total number employed is 26,002. 3,843 people are employed in agency assisted (IDA Ireland, IDA) companies. Sligo borough labour catchment as of 2016 is 21,824. 92% of enterprises in Sligo are micro-enterprises of 10 or fewer employees.
Sligo has traditionally been a centre for the tool-making industry.
The pharmaceutical industry is significant with several companies producing goods for this sector, including Abbott Laboratories, Abbott (Ireland) Ltd, which is among the largest employers in Sligo.
Development has occurred along the River Garavogue with the regeneration of J.F.K. Parade (2000), Rockwood Parade (1993–1997), and The Riverside (1997–2006), as well as two new footbridges over the river, one on Rockwood Parade (1996) and one on The Riverside (1999). Sligo has a variety of independent shops and shopping malls. There is a retail park in Carraroe, on the outskirts of Sligo.
Culture
The culture of County Sligo, especially of North Sligo, was an inspiration on both poet and Nobel laureate W. B. Yeats and his brother, the artist and illustrator Jack Butler Yeats. A collection of Jack B. Yeats's art is held in The Niland Gallery on The Mall in Sligo. The Yeats Summer School takes place every year in the town.
Sligo town has connections with ''Goon Show'' star and writer Spike Milligan, whose father was from Sligo, and a plaque was unveiled at the former Milligan family home on Sligo's Holborn Street.
Traditional Irish music
Traditional Irish music sessions are held in several venues in the town.
In the early 13th century, the poet and crusader Muireadhach Albanach Ó Dálaigh kept a school of poetry at Lissadell north of Sligo town. He was ''Ollamh Fileadh'' (High Poet) to the O'Donnell, Ó Domhnaill kings of Tír Chonaill. The school appears to have been dissolved after the Norman invasion. In the 16th century, the poet Tadhg Dall Ó hÚigínn wrote many praise poems in strict ''Dán Díreach'' metre for local chiefs and patrons such as the O'Conor Sligo. He was killed for a satire he wrote on the O'Haras. The Annals of Loch Cé, annals record the death in 1561 of Naisse mac Cithruadh, the "most eminent musician that was in Éireann", by drowning on Lough Gill
Lough Gill () is a freshwater lough (lake) mainly situated in County Sligo, but partly in County Leitrim, in Ireland. Lough Gill provides the setting for William Butler Yeats' poem " The Lake Isle of Innisfree".
Location and environment
Loug ...
.
In the 17th century, two brothers from County Sligo, Thomas Connellan, Thomas and William Connellan from Cloonamahon, were among the last of the great Irish bards and harpists. Thomas is the author of the tune ''Molly MacAlpin'', now known as ''Carolan's Dream'', and William may have written ''Love is a Tormenting Pain'' and ''Killiecrankie''.
Traditional musicians from Sligo active in the early 20th century include Michael Coleman (Irish musician), Michael Coleman, James Morrison (fiddler), James Morrison and Paddy Killoran.
Festivals
Sligo hosts several festivals throughout the year, including Sligo Live, occurring every October; the Sligo Summer Festival, which celebrated the 400th anniversary of Sligo town; and the Fleadh Cheoil, which the town hosted in three consecutive years (1989, 1990 and 1991) and again in 2014 and 2015. Approximately 400,000 people attended the 2014 and 2015 festivals. During the festival, much of the music was played by musicians on the streets of Sligo.
The Sligo Jazz Project is held every July. Another annual festival, the Sligo Festival of Baroque Music, was started in 1995 and takes place on the last weekend of September.
Theatre
Sligo also has a tradition of theatre, both professional and amateur. Sligo has had a theatre at least as far back as 1750, according to Wood-Martins’ History of Sligo, and often "her Majesty's servants from the Theatre Royal, Crow Street …. visited Sligo, even during the Dublin season, showing that in those days the townsfolk appreciated the Drama, for in some instances the company remained during several months".
There are now two full-time theatres in the town, including the Blue Raincoat Theatre Company, was founded in 1990 and based in Quay street. Sligo is also home to Hawk's Well Theatre, a 340-seat theatre founded in 1982.
In media
Sligo is the setting for author Declan Burke's series of hard boiled detective novels, featuring detective Harry Rigby.
Sebastian Barry's novels ''The Secret Scripture'' and ''The Whereabouts of Eneas McNulty'' are also set in Sligo town.
Sligo is the setting for John Michael McDonagh's 2014 darkly comedic drama film ''Calvary (2014 film), Calvary'', in which a priest continues to serve his parishioners despite their increased hostility towards him and the Catholic Church.
Together with Dublin, County Sligo
County Sligo ( , gle, Contae Shligigh) is a county in Ireland. It is located in the Border Region and is part of the province of Connacht. Sligo is the administrative capital and largest town in the county. Sligo County Council is the loc ...
is one of the two main settings for Sally Rooney's 2018 novel, ''Normal People''. A Normal People (TV series), 2020 adaptation made by BBC Three and Hulu was partially filmed in Sligo.
Sport
Football
The town is home to League of Ireland Premier Division champions Sligo Rovers F.C., Sligo Rovers, who have played home matches at The The Showgrounds, Sligo Town, Showgrounds since they were founded in 1928.
There are also a number of junior association football (soccer) clubs who play in the Sligo/Leitrim & District league from the town. These include Calry Bohemians, Cartron United, City United & St. John's FC who play in the Super League and Glenview Stars, MCR FC, Merville United & Swagman Wanderers who play in the Premier League.
Gaelic games
There are three Gaelic Athletic Association, GAA clubs located in and around the town, including Calry/St. Joseph's GAA, Calry/St. Joseph's of Hazelwood, County Sligo, Hazelwood, St John's GAA (Sligo), St John's of Cuilbeg and St Mary's GAA (Sligo), St Mary's of Ballydoogan with Coolera/Strandhill GAA, Coolera/Strandhill of Ransboro and Drumcliffe/Rosses Point GAA also being close by. St John's and St Mary's compete in the Sligo Senior Football Championship while Calry/St Joseph's compete in the Sligo Intermediate Football Championship and the Sligo Senior Hurling Championship. These clubs also field Junior, Ladies, Minor and Underage teams. Many of the major Gaelic football and hurling matches, such as the inter-county home games of Sligo GAA, Sligo or a club championship finals, take place at Markievicz Park.
Rugby
Sligo RFC is situated at Hamilton Park, Strandhill, 8 km west of the town. This club participates in the All-Ireland League (rugby union), Ulster Bank All-Ireland League Division 2B.
Other sports
Sligo (in particular Strandhill) is a location for surfing, and there are several surf schools in the area.
There are two nearby golf courses, Co. Sligo (Rosses Point) Golf Club and Strandhill Golf Club. Also just north of the borough boundary at Lisnalurg, there is Pitch and Putt called Bertie's. Rosses Point hosted the West of Ireland Championship in which future golfing star Rory McIlroy won in consecutive years (2005 and 2006).
Two basketball clubs are based in the town. These are Sligo All-Stars (located at the Mercy College Gymnasium) and Sligo Giant Warriors (whose venue is the Sligo Grammar Gymnasium).
Sligo Racecourse at Cleveragh hosts race days at least 8 times per year.
Administration
Sligo was administered by its own local oireachtas and the kings of Cairbre Drom Cliabh, Cáirbre Drom Cliab until the English conquest in the early 17th century. This territory corresponds closely to the newly created Sligo Borough District.
Sligo town then became an incorporated municipal borough with a Royal charter issued by the British King James I of England, King James I between 1613 and 1614. Sligo has had a mayor since incorporation in 1613. It had the right to elect 12 burgesses to the corporation. It was one of ten boroughs retained under the Municipal Corporations (Ireland) Act 1840. Under the Local Government (Ireland) Act 1898, the area became an urban district (Great Britain and Ireland), urban district, while retaining the style of a borough corporation.
Sligo Borough Corporation became a borough council in 2002. On 1 June 2014, the borough council was dissolved and administration of the town was amalgamated with the Sligo County Council. It retains the right to be described as a borough. The chair of the borough district uses the title of mayor, rather than Cathaoirleach.
As of the 2019 Sligo County Council election, the borough district of Sligo contains the local electoral area of Sligo–Strandhill, electing 10 seats to the council.
Law enforcement
From its foundation in the 13th century, Sligo was administered under local Fénechus (Brehon law) until the establishment of Common law, English Common law in the early 17th century after the battle of Kinsale. Courts were held regularly throughout the tuath at various buildings and on hilltops reserved for the purpose. Law enforcement was a function of the nobility and freemen of the area as no police force existed. No records survive from these early courts, but a case is recorded of a Dublin merchant being reimbursed by the local courts after he was fraudulently sold an out of date poem in the 1540s. Sligo then came under English martial law and eventually the common law as administered from Dublin and from which descends the present system.
The modern Sligo Courthouse
Sligo Courthouse is a judicial facility on Teeling Street in Sligo, County Sligo, Ireland.
History
The courthouse, which was designed by James Rawson Carroll in the French gothic style and built in ashlar stone, was completed in 1878. The design ...
was built in 1878. It hosts regular District Court (Ireland), District and Circuit Court (Ireland), Circuit Court sittings throughout the year, and occasionally the High Court (Ireland), High Court.
After 1922 the establishment of Garda Síochána.
Sligo-Leitrim divisional headquarters of the Garda Síochána is on Teeling street in the town on the site of the old Royal Irish Constabulary, RIC barracks.
Health services
Sligo provides hospital services to much of the North Western region. The two main hospitals are Sligo University Hospital (formerly General and Regional) and St. John's Hospital. There is also a private hospital at Garden Hill.
Education
As of 2016, 14.2 per cent of adults were educated to at most primary level only; a further 45.1 per cent attained second level while 40.7 per cent were educated to third level.
There are four main secondary schools in Sligo. These are two all-girls schools (Mercy College, Sligo, Mercy College and Ursuline College Sligo, Ursuline College, the all-boys Summerhill College and the mixed (Church of Ireland) Sligo Grammar School on The Mall.
Sligo has a campus of Atlantic Technological University located in Ash Lane. The university was formed in 2022 through the merger of the Institute of Technology, Sligo, Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology, and Letterkenny Institute of Technology. It offers courses in the disciplines of business, engineering, humanities and science.
St. Angela's College, Sligo, St. Angela's College (outside the town proper) is a constituent college of the University of Galway, and offers courses in nursing and health studies, home economics and education.
Transportation
Road
The main roads to Sligo are the N4 road (Ireland), N4 to Dublin, the N17 road (Ireland), N17 to Galway, the N15 road (Ireland), N15 to Lifford, County Donegal; and the N16 road (Ireland), N16 to Blacklion, County Cavan. The section of the N4 road between Sligo and Collooney is a dual carriageway. The first phase of this road was completed in January 1998, bypassing the towns of Collooney
Collooney or Coloony () is a town in County Sligo, Ireland.
Toponymy
Collooney is thought to derive from . Reverend Terrence O'Rorke has previously also suggested ''Culmaine'', as Collooney is designated this way in such works as '' the annal ...
and Ballysadare
Ballysadare (), locally also Ballisodare, is a town in County Sligo, Ireland. It is about 7 kilometres (4 miles) south of Sligo town. The town developed on an important crossing of the Owenmore River.
History
Toponymy
The Ox Mountains () a ...
. An extension to this road was completed in September 2005, and is known as the Sligo Inner Relief Road.
O'Connell Street – the main street in the town – was pedestrianised on 15 August 2006. Plans for the proposed redevelopment and paving of this street were publicly unveiled on 23 July 2008 in ''The Sligo Champion''. The newspaper later revealed that people were not in favour of the pedestrianisation of the street. The street was reopened to traffic in December 2009.
Sligo has a certain amount of cycleways in proximity to the town and various road traffic calming measures have been installed helping to improve safety for pedestrians and cyclists. The ''Urban Cycle Sligo'' initiative, for example, created six cycle routes.
Rail
Sligo acquired a rail link to Dublin on 3 December 1862, with the opening of Sligo Mac Diarmada Station, Sligo railway station.[
] Connections to Enniskillen and the north followed in 1881 and Limerick and the south in 1895. The line to Enniskillen closed in 1957 and passenger services to Galway-Ennis-Limerick closed in 1963. For many years Córas Iompair Éireann (CIÉ) kept the latter line open for freight traffic, before its full closure. The proposed Western Rail Corridor redevelopment project seeks to reopen it. In 1966 Sligo railway station was renamed Sligo Mac Diarmada Station after Irish rebel Seán Mac Diarmada from County Leitrim.[
] Irish Rail, the Republic of Ireland's state railway operator, runs inter-city rail services on the Dublin-Sligo railway line. There are currently up to eight trains daily each way between Sligo and Dublin Connolly, with a frequency of every two hours.
Air
Sligo and County Sligo are served by Sligo Airport, from Sligo town and near Strandhill, though no scheduled flights operate out of the airport. The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Ireland West Airport near to Charlestown, County Mayo, away.
The Irish Coast Guard Helicopter Search & Rescue has been based at Sligo Airport since 2004, callsign Rescue 118. CHC Helicopter, CHC Ireland provide 24 hour search and rescue using a Sikorsky S-92 helicopter.
The helicopter is operated by a crew of four, maintained and supported year round. The most northerly base in Ireland, it deals with the stern challenges posed by the Atlantic Ocean and the clifftop environment along the north-west coast.
Bus
Bus Éireann operates four bus routes in the town: one serves the town centre and another the west of the town. The other two routes run from the town to Strandhill and Rosses Point respectively. Bus Éireann also provides inter-city services to: Enniskillen, via Manorhamilton; to Derry; to Galway, via Ireland West Airport Knock; and to Dublin, via Dublin Airport and towns along the N4 road (Ireland), N4 road.
Bus Feda operates a route from Gweedore, County Donegal, via Sligo to Galway.
Sligo Port
Sligo is one of just two operating ports on Ireland's northwest coast between Galway and Derry, the other being Killybegs. The harbour can accommodate ships with a maximum draft of and a maximum length of ; the Port of Sligo extends from the Timber Jetty for a distance of .
The Harbour Commissioners of Sligo administered the port from 1877 until Sligo County Council took over responsibility for the Harbour from Sligo Harbour Commissioners in June 2006.
Records show the development of Sligo's port, exporting agricultural goods to Britain and Europe, in the 13th century with the arrival of the Normans. In 1420 port dues were levied for the first time. Later, as a port under Gaelic lords the harbour continued to flourish. Control of the taxes or "cocket" of Sligo port became a sought after prize of local dynasties. Native merchant families, like the O'Creans wine importers being the most well known. Sligo traded with France, Spain and Portugal throughout the Middle Ages.
After incorporation into the British Empire from 1607 onward Sligo was an important port. During the 17th and 18th centuries, the port was used for the transit of significant quantities of cattle, hides, butter, barley, oats, and oatmeal being exported and with the city's linen exports well established. Imports included wood, iron, maize and coal. The town prospered due to the trade with wealthy merchants setting up homes along the then fashionable Castle Street and Radcliffe Street (later renamed Grattan Street).
During the time of the Great Famine (Ireland), Great Famine 1847–1850, it is estimated that more than 30,000 people emigrated through Sligo Port, mainly to Canada and the United States.
The most notable ship companies to operate out of Sligo included Sligo Steam Navigation Company who introduced the first steamer in 1857, Messrs Middleton & Pollexfen, Harper Cambell Ltd and the former Sligo Harbour Commissioners who owned a number of dredgers used for maintenance of the Channel (McTernan, 1992).
Linen was a major export also through Sligo port, with Pernmill road memorialising the linen textile mills.
The Sligo docks played an important role in the history of the labour movement in Ireland. The 1913 Sligo Dock strike lasted for 56 days and was a precursor to the Dublin Lockout that occurred 6 months later. Unlike the Dublin Lockout, the Sligo Dock strike resulted in victory to the workers.
The port of Sligo declined during the 20th century with the decline of sail and steamships and the increasing size of cargo vessels. In modern times, the port handles cargoes of coal, timber, fish meal and scrap metal and around 25 ships per year dock in the harbour. In 2012 a feasibility study was undertaken into the dredging of the shipping channel.
Media
There are three local newspapers in Sligo: The ''Sligo Weekender'' – out every Thursday (formerly Tuesday), The Free ''Northwest Express'' – out the first Thursday of each month and ''The Sligo Champion'' – out every Tuesday (formerly Wednesday). ''Sligo Now'' is a monthly entertainment guide for the town – this is out on the first Friday of each month, whilst Sligo Sport is the towns sports specific monthly newspaper.
The town has two local/regional radio stations: Ocean FM (Ireland), Ocean FM, broadcasting to Counties Leitrim and Sligo and to parts of County Fermanagh and the south of County Donegal, and West youth radio station i102-104FM, which merged with its sister station i105-107FM in 2011 to create iRadio.
Notable people
See List of people from Sligo
Twinning
Sligo is Twin towns and sister cities, twinned with the following places:
* Everett, Washington, United States
* Crozon, Brittany (administrative region), Brittany, France
* Illapel, Choapa Province, Chile
* Kempten, Bavaria, Germany
* Tallahassee, Florida, United States
Gallery
File:sligo abbey.jpg, Choir of Sligo Abbey
Sligo Abbey () was a Dominican convent in Sligo, Ireland, founded in 1253. It was built in the Romanesque style with some later additions and alterations. Extensive ruins remain, mainly of the church and the cloister.
Name and location
The n ...
File:County Sligo - Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, Sligo - 20170625140419.jpg, Interior of the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, Sligo, Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception
File:Sligo-tower.jpg, Clock tower of the cathedral
File:Sligo Post Office 1996 08 27.jpg, Sligo Post Office in 1996
File:Sligo Cathedral - geograph.org.uk - 241318.jpg, St John the Baptist Cathedral, Sligo, St John the Baptist Cathedral, Church of Ireland
See also
* List of towns and villages in the Republic of Ireland, List of towns and villages in Ireland
Notes
References
External links
Official site – Sligo Borough Council
Sligo Heritage
Sligo and the surrounding area
Sligo Town on the Net
*
*
{{Authority control
Sligo (town),
Boroughs in the Republic of Ireland
County towns in the Republic of Ireland
Port cities and towns in the Republic of Ireland
Towns and villages in County Sligo