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Sligo ( ; , meaning 'abounding in shells') is a coastal
seaport A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Hamburg, Manc ...
and the
county town In Great Britain and Ireland, a county town is usually the location of administrative or judicial functions within a county, and the place where public representatives are elected to parliament. Following the establishment of county councils in ...
of
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, within the western province of
Connacht Connacht or Connaught ( ; or ), is the smallest of the four provinces of Ireland, situated in the west of Ireland. Until the ninth century it consisted of several independent major Gaelic kingdoms (Uí Fiachrach, Uí Briúin, Uí Maine, C ...
. With a population of 20,608 in 2022, it is the county's largest urban centre (constituting 29.5% of the county's population) and the 24th largest in the Republic of Ireland. Sligo is a commercial and cultural centre situated on the west coast of
Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
. Its surrounding coast and countryside, as well as its connections to the poet
W. B. Yeats William Butler Yeats (, 13 June 186528 January 1939), popularly known as W. B. Yeats, was an Irish poet, dramatist, writer, and literary critic who was one of the foremost figures of 20th-century literature. He was a driving force behind the ...
, 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, in colloquial and fisheries usage, are exoskeleton-bearing Aquatic animal, aquatic invertebrates used as Human food, food, including various species of Mollusca, molluscs, crustaceans, and echinoderms. Although most kinds of shellfish ...
found in the river and its estuary, and from the extensive
shell middens 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 occupat ...
in the vicinity. The river now known as the Garavogue (), 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'' () are annals of History of Ireland, 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 Luin ...
'' in 1188. The
Ordnance Survey The Ordnance Survey (OS) is the national mapping agency for Great Britain. The agency's name indicates its original military purpose (see Artillery, ordnance and surveying), which was to map Scotland in the wake of the Jacobite rising of ...
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 south of Sligo town. The town developed on an important crossing of the Owenmore River. Ballysadare is in a townland and civil parish of the same name. ...
Bay, is rich in marine resources which were utilised as far back as the
Mesolithic The Mesolithic (Ancient Greek language, 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 i ...
period.


Early history

The importance of Sligo's location in
prehistory Prehistory, also called pre-literary history, is the period of human history between the first known use of stone tools by hominins   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 Passage, The Passage or Le Passage may refer to: Arts and entertainment Films * Passage (2008 film), ''Passage'' (2008 film), a documentary about Arctic explorers * Passage (2009 film), ''Passage'' (2009 film), a short movie about three sisters * ...
at Abbeyquarter North in Garavogue Villas. This is an outlier of the large group of monuments at
Carrowmore Carrowmore (, '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 are 30 surviving tombs wi ...
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 An archaeological site is a place (or group of physical sites) in which evidence of past activity is preserved (either prehistoric or historic or contemporary), and which has been, or may be, investigated using the discipline of archaeology an ...
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 Coolera Peninsula overlooking the Atlantic coast. At th ...
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
National Roads Authority The National Roads Authority (NRA) () is a state body in Ireland, responsible for the national road network. The NRA was established as part of the Roads Act 1993 and commenced operations on 23 December 1993 in accordance with S.I. 407 of 1993 ...
(NRA) for the N4 Sligo Inner Relief Road in 2002 revealed an early
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 ...
causewayed enclosure A causewayed enclosure is a type of large prehistoric Earthworks (Archaeology), earthwork common to the early Neolithic in Europe. It is an enclosure (archaeology), enclosure marked out by ditches and banks, with a number of causeways crossing ...
. Built around 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 A palisade, sometimes called a stakewall or a paling, is typically a row of closely placed, high vertical standing tree trunks or wooden or iron stakes used as a fence for enclosure or as a defensive wall. Palisades can form a stockade. Etymo ...
, 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 () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...
Henge A henge can be one of three related types of Neolithic Earthworks (archaeology), earthwork. 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 ditches ...
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, 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, hosting the e ...
is an ancient natural harbour, being known to
Greek Greek may refer to: 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 of all kno ...
,
Phoenicia Phoenicians were an Ancient Semitic-speaking peoples, ancient Semitic group of people who lived in the Phoenician city-states along a coastal strip in the Levant region of the eastern Mediterranean, primarily modern Lebanon and the Syria, Syrian ...
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 Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...
traders as the area is thought by some to be the location marked as the city of
Nagnata Nagnata () or Magnata () is a town noted on the co-ordinate map of the 2nd century AD Alexandrian scholar Claudius Ptolemy in the territory of the Nagnatae (Ναγνᾶται). It is located in northwest Hibernia between the mouths of the rivers ...
on
Claudius Ptolemy Claudius Ptolemy (; , ; ; – 160s/170s AD) was a Greco-Roman mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were important to later Byzantine, Islamic, and ...
's second century A.D. 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 Monasticism, monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in Cenobitic monasticism, communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a ...
founded by
Columcille Columba () or Colmcille (7 December 521 – 9 June 597 AD) was an Irish abbot and missionary evangelist credited with spreading Christianity in what is today Scotland at the start of the Hiberno-Scottish mission. He founded the important abbey ...
5 miles to the north at
Drumcliff Drumcliff or Drumcliffe () is a village in County Sligo, Ireland. It is north of Sligo, Sligo town on the N15 road (Ireland), N15 road on a low gravel ridge between the mountain of Ben Bulben and Drumcliff Bay. It is on the Drumcliff River, o ...
. By the 12th century, there was a bridge and a small settlement in existence at the site of the present town.


Medieval history

The
Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 9th and 10th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norma ...
knight Maurice Fitzgerald, the
Justiciar of Ireland The chief governor was the senior official in the Dublin Castle administration, which maintained English and British rule in Ireland from the 1170s to 1922. The chief governor was the viceroy of the English monarch (and later the British monar ...
, is generally credited with the establishment of the medieval European-style town and port of Sligo, building
Sligo Castle Sligo Castle () was a Norman era castle built in 1245 in Sligo Town in Connacht in the west of Ireland. The castle is no longer extant but it was of great importance in the history of the West of Ireland. It is mentioned in the annals numerous ...
in
1245 Year 1245 ( MCCXLV) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Winter – Siege of Jaén: Castilian forces under King Ferdinand III (the Saint) besiege the Moorish-held city of Jaén. ...
. 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 th ...
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 s ...
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 language, Irish: ''Feidlim Ua Conchobair'') was List of kings of Connacht, king of Connacht in Ireland, having been proclaimed king by Richard Mór de Burgh, 1st Baron of Connaught, Richard Mór de Burgh in 1230, he reigned ...
, 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 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 ...
) 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 and Tirconaill, was a kingdom of Gaelic Ireland. It is associated geographically with present-day County Donegal, which was officially named ''County Tirconaill'' between 1922 and 1927. At times it also i ...
, 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. The smallest ''túath ...
(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 the ...
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. The Tuatha of Luighne was co-extensive with the modern day boundary of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Achon ...
, 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 becam ...
. Throughout this time Sligo was under the system of Fénechus (Brehon) law and was ruled by the Gaelic system of an elected
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 Scottis ...
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 status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...
, 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 plantatio ...
, 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. The site is managed by th ...
, 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 took place from March 1689 to October 1691. Fought between Jacobite supporters of James II and those of his successor, William III, it resulted in a Williamite victory. It is generally viewed as a related conflic ...
(1689–91) the town was fought over between the Jacobite
Irish Army The Irish Army () 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 branches – and the Reserve Defence Forces. ...
loyal to James II 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. On ...
forces.
Patrick Sarsfield Patrick Sarsfield, 1st Earl of Lucan ( 1655 – 21 August 1693) was an Irish army officer. Killed at Battle of Landen, Landen in 1693 while serving in the French Royal Army, he is now best remembered as an Irish patriot and military hero. Born ...
was able to capture the town and repulsed a Williamite attack to retake it; however, Sligo was later surrendered to forces under the command of Arthur Forbes, 1st Earl of Granard. 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 Bartholomew Teeling ( – 24 September 1798) was an Irish military officer and nationalist who was the leader of the rebel forces during the Irish Rebellion of 1798 and who carried out an act of bravery during the Battle of Collooney. He ...
. The ''Lady Erin'' monument at Market Cross was erected in 1899 to mark the centenary of the
1798 Rebellion The Irish Rebellion of 1798 (; Ulster-Scots: ''The Turn out'', ''The Hurries'', 1798 Rebellion) was a popular insurrection against the British Crown in what was then the separate, but subordinate, Kingdom of Ireland. The main organising force ...
.


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 Organiz ...
in 1832. Scholars speculate that
Bram Stoker Abraham Stoker (8 November 1847 – 20 April 1912), better known by his pen name Bram Stoker, was an Irish novelist who wrote the 1897 Gothic horror novel ''Dracula''. The book is widely considered a milestone in Vampire fiction, and one of t ...
, 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, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is located at the southern end of the county where the N3 road (Ireland), N3 from Dublin ends and the N15 road (Ireland), N15 crosses the River Erne. The town was inc ...
) 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 an 1897 Gothic fiction, Gothic horror fiction, horror novel by Irish author Bram Stoker. The narrative is Epistolary novel, related through letters, diary entries, and newspaper articles. It has no single protagonist and opens ...
''. 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 ( 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 called the Sligeach, a ...
, 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 Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...
during the
War of Independence Wars of national liberation, also called wars of independence or wars of liberation, are conflicts fought by nations to gain independence. The term is used in conjunction with wars against foreign powers (or at least those perceived as foreign) ...
. 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 gov ...
. 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 IRA during the Irish War of Independence. Pilkington was General Officer Commanding (GOC) of the 3rd Western Division, IR ...
.
Arthur Griffith Arthur Joseph Griffith (; 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 produced the 1921 Anglo-Irish Trea ...
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 eleven Anglican dioceses in the island of Ireland. The geographica ...
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 ( 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 called the Sligeach, a ...
between
Lough Gill Lough Gill () is a freshwater lough (lake) mainly situated in County Sligo, but partly in County Leitrim, in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Lough Gill provides the setting for William Butler Yeats' poem "The Lake Isle of Innisfree". Location a ...
and the estuary of the Garavogue river leading to
Sligo Bay Sligo Bay () is a natural ocean bay in County Sligo, 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, hosting the e ...
. 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 Coolera Peninsula overlooking the Atlantic coast. At th ...
with its Neolithic cairn to the west and the distinctive high plateau of
Benbulben Benbulbin (), sometimes Benbulben or Ben Bulben, is a steep-sided and flat-topped mountain in County Sligo, Ireland. It is part of the Dartry Mountains, in an area sometimes called "William Butler Yeats, Yeats Country". Benbulbin, high, formed ...
to the north. Sligo is an important bridging point on the main north–south route between
Ulster Ulster (; or ; or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional or historic provinces of Ireland, Irish provinces. It is made up of nine Counties of Ireland, counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kingdom); t ...
and
Connacht Connacht or Connaught ( ; or ), is the smallest of the four provinces of Ireland, situated in the west of Ireland. Until the ninth century it consisted of several independent major Gaelic kingdoms (Uí Fiachrach, Uí Briúin, Uí Maine, C ...
. It is the county town of
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 ...
and is in the Barony of Carbury (formerly the Gaelic ''
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. The smallest ''túath ...
'' 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 the ...
''). Sligo is the diocesan seat of the
Roman Catholic Diocese of Elphin The Diocese of Elphin (; ) is a Latin Church diocese of the Catholic Church in the western part of Ireland. It is in the Ecclesiastical province, Metropolitan Province of Tuam and is subject to the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Tuam, Metropolit ...
. 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 eleven Anglican dioceses in the island of Ireland. The geographica ...
. County Sligo is one of the counties that make up the province of
Connacht Connacht or Connaught ( ; or ), is the smallest of the four provinces of Ireland, situated in the west of Ireland. Until the ninth century it consisted of several independent major Gaelic kingdoms (Uí Fiachrach, Uí Briúin, Uí Maine, C ...
. The county is part of the
Border Region The Border Region (coded IE041) is a NUTS Level III statistical region within the Republic 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, so ...
due to the fact that part of North Sligo is relatively close to ' the Border'. The Border Region in the Republic of Ireland has a population of over 500,000 people and consists of the counties of
Cavan Cavan ( ; ) is the county town of County Cavan in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The town lies in Ulster, near the border with County Fermanagh in Northern Ireland. The town is bypassed by the main N3 road (Ireland), N3 road that links Dublin ( ...
, Donegal, Leitrim,
Louth Louth may refer to: Australia *Hundred of Louth, a cadastral unit in South Australia * Louth, New South Wales, a town * Louth Bay, a bay in South Australia ** Louth Bay, South Australia, a town and locality Canada * Louth, Ontario Ireland * Cou ...
and
Monaghan Monaghan ( ; ) is the county town of County Monaghan, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It also provides the name of its Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish and Monaghan (barony), Monaghan barony. The population of the town as of the 2022 cen ...
.


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. Although ...
who was visiting to design Hazelwood House. The cathedral contains four memorials to the Pollexfen family, maternal relatives of
W. B. Yeats William Butler Yeats (, 13 June 186528 January 1939), popularly known as W. B. Yeats, was an Irish poet, dramatist, writer, and literary critic who was one of the foremost figures of 20th-century literature. He was a driving force behind the ...
. 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 Sligo Town Hall () is a municipal building in Quay Street, Sligo, County Sligo, Ireland. The building accommodated the offices of Sligo Borough Council until 2014. History Design and construction Sligo Corporation resolved to commission a town ...
, 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 desig ...
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 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. 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 ...
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 rainforests with coniferous or Broad-leaved tree, broadleaf forests that occur in the temperate zone and receive heavy rain. Temperate rainforests occur in oceanic moist regions around the world: the Pacific temperate ...
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 Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Lough Gill provides the setting for William Butler Yeats' poem "The Lake Isle of Innisfree". Location a ...
. 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 in 2016 and 20,608 in 2022, a growth of 7.3% according to the census. From the 2022 population, 9,969 were males and 10,639 females. Irish citizens made up 79.6% of the population with Polish (542 persons or 2.6%), British (311, 1.5%) and Indian (255, 1.2%) as the next largest declared citizenships. People from other EU countries (674, 3.3%) and those from elsewhere outside the EU (978, 4.7%) were also noted. 6,522 persons could speak the Irish language. 3,410 persons spoke a language other than Irish or English at home and, of these, Polish was the most common foreign language spoken at home, with 744 speakers.


Religion

In the 2022 census, 13,226 residents (64.2%) identified their religion as Roman Catholic or Lapsed (Roman) Catholic. A further 791 (3.8%) identified as
Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...
ic, 469 (2.3%) as
Church of Ireland The Church of Ireland (, ; , ) is a Christian church in Ireland, and an autonomy, autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. It is organised on an all-Ireland basis and is the Christianity in Ireland, second-largest Christian church on the ...
,
Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...
,
Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...
or
Episcopalian Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protes ...
and 242 as Orthodox (Greek, Coptic or Russian). 3,100 persons (15.0%) indicated that they had no religion, and a further 1,937 (9.4%) did not state any religion. Sligo is located in the
Roman Catholic Diocese of Elphin The Diocese of Elphin (; ) is a Latin Church diocese of the Catholic Church in the western part of Ireland. It is in the Ecclesiastical province, Metropolitan Province of Tuam and is subject to the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Tuam, Metropolit ...
. The main church of the diocese is the 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 The Church of Ireland (, ; , ) is a Christian church in Ireland, and an autonomy, autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. It is organised on an all-Ireland basis and is the Christianity in Ireland, second-largest Christian church on the ...
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 eleven Anglican dioceses in the island of Ireland. The geographica ...
. The primary church in the diocese is the
St John the Baptist Cathedral, Sligo St John the Baptist Cathedral, Sligo or more properly the Cathedral of St Mary the Virgin and St John the Baptist, Sligo but also known as Sligo Cathedral is one of two cathedral churches in the diocese of Kilmore, Elphin and Ardagh (the othe ...
which is located on John Street. Sligo Presbyterian Church is located on Church Street and Sligo Methodist Church is located on Wine Street. There is also a small Baptist church at Cartron Village, Rosses Point Road. The Sligo-Leitrim Islamic Cultural Centre (SLICC) is located on Mail Coach Road. The Indian
Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church The Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church (MOSC) also known as the Indian Orthodox Church (IOC) or simply as the Malankara Church, is an Autocephaly, autocephalous Oriental Orthodox Churches, Oriental Orthodox church headquartered in #Catholicate ...
meets at the St. Johns Hospital Chapel, Benbullen Rehabilitation Unit, Ballytivan.


Economy

Sligo is in the
Northern and Western Region The Northern and Western Region has been a region within the Republic of Ireland since 1 January 2015. It is a NUTS Level II statistical region of Ireland (coded IE04). NUTS 2 Regions may be classified as ''less developed regions'', ''tr ...
, a NUTS 2 region classified as an underdeveloped "region in transition" by the
EU Commission The European Commission (EC) is the primary executive arm of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with a number of members of the Commission ( directorial system, informally known as "commissioners") corresponding t ...
. 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 The European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) is one of the European Structural and Investment Funds allocated by the European Union. Its purpose is to transfer money from richer regions (not countries), and invest it in the infrastructure and se ...
(ERDF) Operational Programmes, which are administered by the Northern and Western Regional Assembly. Sligo Town is part of the NUTS 3
Border Region The Border Region (coded IE041) is a NUTS Level III statistical region within the Republic 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, so ...
, which recognises that part of north County Sligo is relatively close to the border with Northern Ireland. A study by the European Committee of the Regions found that the Border Region was the most exposed in Europe to the economic effects of
Brexit Brexit (, a portmanteau of "Britain" and "Exit") was the Withdrawal from the European Union, withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU). Brexit officially took place at 23:00 GMT on 31 January 2020 (00:00 1 February ...
. 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) 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 (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 William Butler Yeats (, 13 June 186528 January 1939), popularly known as W. B. Yeats, was an Irish poet, dramatist, writer, and literary critic who was one of the foremost figures of 20th-century literature. He was a driving force behind the ...
and his brother, the artist and illustrator
Jack Butler Yeats Jack Butler Yeats RHA (29 August 1871 – 28 March 1957) was an Irish artist. Born into a family of impoverished Anglo-Irish landholders, his father was the painter John Butler Yeats, and his brother was the poet W. B. Yeats. Jack B. was bo ...
. A collection of Jack B. Yeats's art is housed in The Niland Gallery, part of the Model centre on The Mall in Sligo. The Yeats Summer School takes place every year in the town. Sligo town has connections with ''
Goon Show ''The Goon Show'' is a British radio comedy programme, originally produced and broadcast by the BBC Home Service from 1951 to 1960, with occasional repeats on the BBC Light Programme. The first series, broadcast from 28 May to 20 September ...
'' star and writer
Spike Milligan Terence Alan "Spike" Milligan (16 April 1918 – 27 February 2002) was an Irish comedian, writer, musician, poet, playwright and actor. The son of an English mother and Irish father, he was born in British Raj, British India, where he spent his ...
, 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 Irish traditional music (also known as Irish trad, Irish folk music, and other variants) is a Music genre, genre of folk music that developed in Ireland. In ''A History of Irish Music'' (1905), W. H. Grattan Flood wrote that, in Gaelic Irela ...
sessions are held in several venues in the town. In the early 13th century, the poet and crusader
Muireadhach Albanach Ó Dálaigh Muireadhach Albanach Ó Dálaigh ("Scottish Muireadhach"); (c''.''1180–c''.''1250) was a Gaels, Gaelic poet and crusader and member of the Ó Dálaigh bardic family. Early career Muireadhach was born at Derrywarragh Island, Derryvarra, Co. Mea ...
kept a school of poetry at
Lissadell Lissadell () is the name of an area in north County Sligo on Magherow peninsula west of Benbulben. Until the late 16th century Lissadell was part of the tuath of Cairbre Drom Cliabh under the Lords of Sligo, Ó Conchobhair Sligigh. Lissadell is ...
north of Sligo town. He was ''Ollamh Fileadh'' (High Poet) to the
Ó Domhnaill The O'Donnell dynasty ( or ''Ó Domhnaill,'' ''Ó Doṁnaill'' ''or Ua Domaill;'' meaning "descendant of Dónal") were the dominant Irish clan of the kingdom of Tyrconnell in Ulster in the north of medieval and early modern Ireland. Naming c ...
kings of
Tír Chonaill Tyrconnell (), also spelled Tirconnell and Tirconaill, was a kingdom of Gaelic Ireland. It is associated geographically with present-day County Donegal, which was officially named ''County Tirconaill'' between 1922 and 1927. At times it also i ...
. The school appears to have been dissolved after the Norman invasion. In the 16th century, the poet
Tadhg Dall Ó hÚigínn Tadhg, also Taḋg ( , ), (pronunciations given for the name ''Tadhg'' separately from those for the slang/pejorative ''Teague''.) commonly anglicized as "Taig" or "Teague", is an Irish and Scottish Gaelic masculine name that was very common ...
wrote many praise poems in strict ''
Dán Díreach Dán Díreach (; Irish for "direct verse") is a style of poetry developed in Ireland from the 12th century until the destruction of the Irish clan system, Gaelic Ireland and the Bardic schools during the mid 17th-century. It was a complex form of ...
'' 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 Annals (, from , "year") are a concise history, historical record in which events are arranged chronology, chronologically, year by year, although the term is also used loosely for any historical record. Scope The nature of the distinction betw ...
record the death in 1561 of
Naisse mac Cithruadh Naisse mac Cithruadh, Irish musician, died 1561. Biography The Annals of Loch Ce, ''sub anno'' 1561, contain a reference to Naisse and his wife, and their deaths on Lough Gill: ''Naisse, the son of Cithruadh, the most eminent musician that was ...
, 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 Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Lough Gill provides the setting for William Butler Yeats' poem "The Lake Isle of Innisfree". Location a ...
. In the 17th century, two brothers from County Sligo,
Thomas Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the A ...
and
William Connellan William Connellan (c.1630; date of death unknown) was an Irish harper and composer for the harp. Life William Connellan was born in Cloonamahon, County Sligo, the younger brother of Thomas Connellan (c.1625–1698). Like Thomas, he became a har ...
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, James Morrison and
Paddy Killoran Patrick J. Killoran (1903–1965) was an Irish people, Irish traditional fiddle player, bandleader and recording artist. He is regarded, along with James Morrison (fiddler), James Morrison and Michael Coleman (Irish musician), Michael Coleman, as ...
.


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 The Fleadh Cheoil (), or "music festival" in English, is an annual Ireland, Irish arts festival and competition run by Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann (Irish pronunciation: Help:IPA/Irish, [ˈkoːl̪ˠt̪ˠəsˠ ˈcoːl̪ˠt̪ˠoːɾʲiː ˈeːɾ ...
, 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 The Hawk's Well Theatre opened in Sligo Town on 12 January 1982. Located next to Sligo's tourist office, it was the first purpose-built theatre in rural Ireland. History When the theatre opened on 12 January 1982, it was the first purpose-built ...
, 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 Sebastian Barry is an Irish novelist, playwright and poet. He was named Laureate for Irish Fiction, 2018–2021. Barry has been twice shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize for his novels '' A Long Long Way'' (2005) and '' The Secret Scripture'' ...
's novels ''
The Secret Scripture ''The Secret Scripture'' is a 2008 novel written by Irish writer Sebastian Barry. Plot summary The main character is an old woman, Roseanne McNulty, who now resides in the Roscommon Regional Mental Hospital. Having been a patient for some fif ...
'' and ''The Whereabouts of Eneas McNulty'' are also set in Sligo town. Sligo is the setting for
John Michael McDonagh John Michael McDonagh (born 1967) is a British-Irish filmmaker. He wrote and directed '' The Guard'' (2011) and ''Calvary'' (2014), with the former earning him a nomination for the BAFTA Award for Best Original Screenplay. Early life John M ...
's 2014 darkly comedic drama film ''
Calvary Calvary ( or ) or Golgotha () was a site immediately outside Jerusalem's walls where, according to Christianity's four canonical gospels, Jesus was crucified. Since at least the early medieval period, it has been a destination for pilgrimage. ...
'', in which a priest continues to serve his parishioners despite their increased hostility towards him and the
Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
. Together with Dublin,
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 ...
is one of the two main settings for
Sally Rooney Sally Rooney (born 20 February 1991) is an Irish author and screenwriter. She has published four novels: ''Conversations with Friends'' (2017), ''Normal People'' (2018), ''Beautiful World, Where Are You'' (2021), and ''Intermezzo (novel), Interm ...
's 2018 novel, ''
Normal People ''Normal People'' is a 2018 novel by the Irish author Sally Rooney. ''Normal People'' is Rooney's second novel, published after '' Conversations with Friends'' (2017). It was first published by Faber & Faber on 30 August 2018. The book became a ...
''. A 2020 adaptation made by
BBC Three BBC Three is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was first launched on 9 February 2003 with programmes for a 16 to 34-year-old target aud ...
and
Hulu Hulu (, ) is an American Subscription business model, subscription streaming media service owned by Disney Streaming, a subsidiary of the Disney Entertainment segment of the Walt Disney Company. It was launched on October 29, 2007, initially as ...
was partially filmed in Sligo.


Sport


Football

The town is home to
League of Ireland Premier Division The League of Ireland Men's Premier Division (), also known as the SSE Airtricity Men's Premier Division for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in the Republic of Ireland and the highest level of the Republic of I ...
champions
Sligo Rovers Sligo Rovers Football Club is an Irish professional association football, football club playing in the Premier Division of the League of Ireland. The club is based in Sligo in the west of Ireland. The club was founded in 1928 and have been in ...
, who have played home matches at The Showgrounds since they were founded in 1928. There are also a number of junior
association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...
(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
GAA Gaa may refer to: * Gaa language, a language of Nigeria * gaa, the ISO 639 code for the Ga language of Ghana GAA may stand for: Compounds * Glacial (water-free), acetic acid * Acid alpha-glucosidase, also known as glucosidase, alpha; acid, an e ...
clubs located in and around the town, including Calry/St. Joseph's of Hazelwood, St John's of Cuilbeg and St Mary's of Ballydoogan with Coolera/Strandhill of Ransboro and Drumcliffe/Rosses Point GAA also being close by. Calry/St Joseph's and St Mary's compete in the
Sligo Senior Football Championship The Sligo Senior Football Championship is an annual Gaelic Athletic Association The Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA; ; CLG) is an Irish international amateur sports, amateur sporting and cultural organisation, focused primarily on promoti ...
while St John's compete in the
Sligo Intermediate Football Championship Sligo Intermediate Football Championship is an annual second tier Gaelic Athletic Association competition between Gaelic football clubs organised by Sligo GAA. The winning club qualifies to represent its GAA county in the Connacht Intermediate ...
. Calry/St Joseph's also compete in the
Sligo Senior Hurling Championship The Sligo Senior Hurling Championship is an annual Gaelic Athletic Association competition organised by Sligo GAA among the top hurling clubs in County Sligo. The winner qualifies to represent the county in the Connacht Junior Club Hurling Cham ...
. These clubs also field Junior, Ladies, Minor and Underage teams. Many of the major
Gaelic football Gaelic football (; short name '')'', commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA, or football, is an Irish team sport. A form of football, it is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score ...
and
hurling Hurling (, ') is an outdoor Team sport, team game of ancient Gaelic culture, Gaelic Irish origin, played by men and women. One of Ireland's native Gaelic games, it shares a number of features with Gaelic football, such as the field and goa ...
matches, such as the inter-county home games of
Sligo 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 ...
or a club championship finals, take place at
Markievicz Park Markievicz Park () is the principal GAA stadium in County Sligo, Ireland, home to the Sligo Gaelic football and hurling teams. Built in 1955 in Sligo town (due mostly to Seán Forde who single-handedly gathered the funds necessary to build the ...
.


Rugby

Sligo RFC Sligo Rugby Football Club is a rugby union club based in Strandhill, County Sligo, Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the islan ...
is situated at Hamilton Park,
Strandhill Strandhill or occasionally Larass () is a coastal town and townland on the Coolera Peninsula in County Sligo, Ireland. , the population was 1,753, an increase of 10% from the 2011 census. The old name appears to be ''Ros Dragnige'' (see Killa ...
, 8 km west of the town. This club participates in the 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, County Sligo (
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 ...
) 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 Rory Daniel McIlroy (born 4 May 1989) is a Northern Irish professional golfer who plays on the European Tour and the PGA Tour. He is a former world number one in the Official World Golf Ranking and has spent over 100 weeks in that position du ...
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 Sligo Racecourse is a horse racing venue in Sligo, Ireland which stages both National Hunt and flat racing Horse racing is an equestrianism, equestrian performance activity, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or s ...
at Cleveragh hosts race days at least 8 times per year.


Administration

Sligo was administered by its own local
oireachtas The Oireachtas ( ; ), sometimes referred to as Oireachtas Éireann, is the Bicameralism, bicameral parliament of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The Oireachtas consists of the president of Ireland and the two houses of the Oireachtas (): a house ...
and the kings of 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 A royal charter is a formal grant issued by a monarch under royal prerogative as letters patent. Historically, they have been used to promulgate public laws, the most famous example being the English Magna Carta (great charter) of 1215, but ...
issued by the British
King James I James I may refer to: People *James I of Aragon (1208–1276) * James I of Sicily or James II of Aragon (1267–1327) * James I, Count of La Marche (1319–1362), Count of Ponthieu * James I, Count of Urgell (1321–1347) *James I of Cyprus (1334 ...
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 The Municipal Corporations Act (Ireland) 1840 ( 3 & 4 Vict. c. 108), ''An Act for the Regulation of Municipal Corporations in Ireland'', was passed by the Parliament of the United Kingdom on 10 August 1840. It was one of the Municipal Corporat ...
. Under the
Local Government (Ireland) Act 1898 The Local Government (Ireland) Act 1898 ( 61 & 62 Vict. c. 37) was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland that established a system of local government in Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots diale ...
, the area became an
urban district An urban district is a division generally managed by a local government. It may also refer to a city district, district, urban area or quarter Specific urban districts in some countries include: * Urban districts of Denmark * Districts of Germa ...
, 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 Sligo County Council () is the local authority of County Sligo, Ireland. As a county council, it is governed by the Local Government Act 2001. The council is responsible for housing and community, roads and transportation, urban planning and de ...
. 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 An election to all 18 seats on Sligo County Council was held on 24 May 2019 as part of the 2019 Irish local elections. County Sligo was divided into 3 local electoral areas (LEAs) to elect councillors for a five-year term of office on the ele ...
, the borough district of Sligo contains the
local electoral area A local electoral area (LEA; ) is an electoral area for elections to Local government in the Republic of Ireland, local authorities in Ireland. All elections in the Republic of Ireland, elections use the single transferable vote. Republic of Ir ...
of Sligo–
Strandhill Strandhill or occasionally Larass () is a coastal town and townland on the Coolera Peninsula in County Sligo, Ireland. , the population was 1,753, an increase of 10% from the 2011 census. The old name appears to be ''Ros Dragnige'' (see Killa ...
, 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
English Common law English law is the common law legal system of England and Wales, comprising mainly criminal law and civil law, each branch having its own courts and procedures. The judiciary is independent, and legal principles like fairness, equality bef ...
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 desig ...
was built in 1878. It hosts regular
District A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municip ...
and
Circuit Court Circuit courts are court systems in several common law jurisdictions. It may refer to: * Courts that literally sit 'on circuit', i.e., judges move around a region or country to different towns or cities where they will hear cases; * Courts that s ...
sittings throughout the year, and occasionally the High Court. After 1922 the establishment of Garda Síochána. Sligo-Leitrim divisional headquarters of the
Garda Síochána (; meaning "the Guardian(s) of the Peace") is the national police and security service of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is more commonly referred to as the Gardaí (; "Guardians") or "the Guards". The service is headed by the Garda Commissio ...
is on Pearse Road in the town on the site of the old RIC barracks.


Health services

Sligo provides hospital services to much of the North Western region. The two main hospitals are
Sligo University Hospital Sligo University Hospital () is an acute general hospital in Sligo, Ireland. It is managed by Saolta University Health Care Group. History The hospital has its origins in the Sligo County Hospital which was built in the Mall in Sligo and opened ...
(formerly General and Regional) and St. John's Community 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 five secondary schools in Sligo. These are two all-girls schools ( Mercy College and
Ursuline College Ursuline College is a private Catholic college in Pepper Pike, Ohio, United States. It was founded in 1871 by the Ursuline Sisters of Cleveland and is one of the oldest institutions of higher education for women in the United States and the ...
), one all-boys (
Summerhill College Summerhill College (aka The College of the Immaculate Conception) is a Roman Catholic voluntary secondary school for boys located in the town of Sligo in north-west Ireland. History The school was founded in 1857 by then-bishop of Elphin, Laur ...
) and two mixed (
Sligo Grammar School Sligo Grammar School is a private fee-paying co-educational boarding school located on The Mall in Sligo. The school has approximately 450 students of which approximately 100 are boarders. It offers the traditional Junior Certificate and Leavin ...
and Ballinode Community College). Sligo has a campus of
Atlantic Technological University Atlantic Technological University (also known as Atlantic TU or ATU; ) is a Technological Universities in Ireland, technological university in the west and north-west of Ireland. It was formally established on 1 April 2022 as a merger of three ...
(ATU) located in Ash Lane. The university was formed in 2022 through the merger of: the
Institute of Technology, Sligo The Institute of Technology, Sligo (ITS; ) was an institute of technology, located in Sligo, Ireland. In April 2022, it was formally dissolved, and its functions became part of Atlantic Technological University (ATU). the institute had three f ...
(ITS);
Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology The Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology (GMIT; ) was an institute of technology, located in Galway, Ireland. In April 2022, it was formally dissolved, and its functions were transferred to Atlantic Technological University (ATU). Now a con ...
(GMIT) and
Letterkenny Institute of Technology The Letterkenny Institute of Technology (LYIT; ) was an institute of technology, located in Letterkenny, Ireland. Based at Letterkenny in County Donegal, it was one of the smaller places of third level education in the historic province of Ul ...
(LYIT). It offers courses in the disciplines of business, engineering, humanities and science. St. Angela's College (outside the town proper) is a campus of the Atlantic Technological University, and offers courses in nursing and health studies, home economics and education.


Transportation


Road

The main roads to Sligo are the N4 to
Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...
, the N17 to
Galway Galway ( ; , ) is a City status in Ireland, city in (and the county town of) County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay. It is the most populous settlement in the province of Connacht, the List of settleme ...
, the N15 to
Lifford Lifford (, historically anglicised as ''Liffer'') is the county town of County Donegal, Ireland, the administrative centre of the county and the seat of Donegal County Council, although the town of Letterkenny is often mistaken as holding this ...
, County Donegal; and the N16 to
Blacklion Blacklion (; originally ''An Leargaidh'') is a village in the north-west of County Cavan in Ireland. It is situated on the N16 national primary road, just across the border from Belcoo, a village in the south-west of County Fermanagh. H ...
, 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 south of Sligo town. The town developed on an important crossing of the Owenmore River. Ballysadare is in a townland and civil parish of the same name. ...
. 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 railway station Sligo railway station, also known as MacDiarmada station (), is a mainline railway station which serves the town of Sligo in County Sligo, Ireland. It is a terminal station which now has two platforms and an intermediate carriage siding. The ra ...
. Connections to
Enniskillen Enniskillen ( , from , ' Ceithlenn's island') is the largest town in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. It is in the middle of the county, between the Upper and Lower sections of Lough Erne. It had a population of 14,086 at the 2011 censu ...
and the north followed in 1881 and
Limerick Limerick ( ; ) is a city in western Ireland, in County Limerick. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and is in the Mid-West Region, Ireland, Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. W ...
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 The Western Railway Corridor is a term, used since , for a partly disused railway line running through the west of Ireland. Currently two sections of the line, from Limerick via Ennis to Athenry and from Collooney to Sligo, see regular services ...
redevelopment project seeks to reopen it. In 1966 Sligo railway station was renamed
Sligo Mac Diarmada Station Sligo railway station, also known as MacDiarmada station (), is a mainline railway station which serves the town of Sligo in County Sligo, Ireland. It is a terminal station which now has two platforms and an intermediate carriage siding. The ra ...
after Irish rebel
Seán Mac Diarmada Seán Mac Diarmada (27 January 1883 – 12 May 1916), also known as Seán MacDermott, was an Irish republican political activist and revolutionary leader. He was one of the seven leaders of the Easter Rising of 1916, which he helped to organ ...
from
County Leitrim County Leitrim ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht and is part of the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the village of Leitrim, County Leitr ...
.
Irish Rail Irish commonly refers to: * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the island and the sovereign state *** Erse (disambiguati ...
, the Republic of Ireland's state railway operator, runs
inter-city rail Inter-city rail services are Express train, express trains that run services that connect cities over longer distances than Commuter rail, commuter or Regional rail, regional trains. They include rail services that are neither short-distance co ...
services on the Dublin-Sligo railway line. There are currently up to eight trains daily each way between Sligo and
Dublin Connolly Connolly station () or Dublin Connolly is the busiest railway station in Dublin and Ireland, and is a focal point in the Irish route network. On the North side of the River Liffey, it provides InterCity, Enterprise and commuter services to ...
, with a frequency of every two hours.


Air

Sligo and County Sligo are served by
Sligo Airport Sligo Airport is located in Strandhill, County Sligo, west of Sligo, at the end of the R277 road (Ireland), R277 road, in Ireland. The airport is a small regional airport and has had no scheduled routes since 2011. It is the home of the Slig ...
, from Sligo town and near
Strandhill Strandhill or occasionally Larass () is a coastal town and townland on the Coolera Peninsula in County Sligo, Ireland. , the population was 1,753, an increase of 10% from the 2011 census. The old name appears to be ''Ros Dragnige'' (see Killa ...
, though no scheduled flights operate out of the airport. The nearest airport with scheduled flights is
Ireland West Airport Ireland West Airport , officially known as Ireland West Airport Knock, and formerly known as Horan International Airport, commonly known as Knock Airport, is an international airport south-west of Charlestown, County Mayo, Ireland. The villa ...
near to
Charlestown, County Mayo Charlestown () is a town in County Mayo, Republic of Ireland, Ireland, on the N17 road (Ireland), N17 road near its junction with the N5 road (Ireland), N5. History Charlestown was built in the mid-19th century on the initiative of Viscount Di ...
, away. The
Irish Coast Guard The Irish Coast Guard (IRCG; ) is part of the Department of Transport (Ireland), Department of Transport in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The primary roles of the Coast Guard include maritime safety and search and rescue. The ''Irish Marine Se ...
Helicopter Search & Rescue has been based at Sligo Airport since 2004, callsign Rescue 118. CHC Ireland provide 24 hour
search and rescue Search and rescue (SAR) is the search for and provision of aid to people who are in distress or imminent danger. The general field of search and rescue includes many specialty sub-fields, typically determined by the type of terrain the search ...
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 Bus Éireann (; "Irish Bus") is a state-owned bus and coach operator providing services throughout Republic of Ireland, Ireland, with the exception of Dublin, where bus services are provided by sister company Dublin Bus. It is a subsidiary of C ...
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 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 ...
respectively. Bus Éireann also provides inter-city services to:
Enniskillen Enniskillen ( , from , ' Ceithlenn's island') is the largest town in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. It is in the middle of the county, between the Upper and Lower sections of Lough Erne. It had a population of 14,086 at the 2011 censu ...
, via
Manorhamilton Manorhamilton () is the second-largest town in County Leitrim, Ireland. It is located on the N16 from Sligo and from Enniskillen. History Before the Plantations of Ireland, the settlement was known, and continues to be known in the ...
; to
Derry Derry, officially Londonderry, is the second-largest City status in the United Kingdom, city in Northern Ireland, and the fifth-largest on the island of Ireland. Located in County Londonderry, the city now covers both banks of the River Fo ...
; to Galway, via
Ireland West Airport Ireland West Airport , officially known as Ireland West Airport Knock, and formerly known as Horan International Airport, commonly known as Knock Airport, is an international airport south-west of Charlestown, County Mayo, Ireland. The villa ...
; and to Dublin, via
Dublin Airport Dublin Airport () is an international airport serving Dublin, Ireland. It is operated by DAA (formerly Dublin Airport Authority). The airport is located in Collinstown, north of Dublin, and south of the town of Swords. In 2024, over 34 ...
and towns along the N4 road. Bus Feda operates a route from
Gweedore Gweedore ( , officially known by its Irish language name, ) is a Gaeltacht (Irish-speaking) district, and parish, located on the Atlantic coast of County Donegal in the north-west of Ireland. It stretches some from Glasserchoo and Bloody For ...
, County Donegal, via Sligo to
Galway Galway ( ; , ) is a City status in Ireland, city in (and the county town of) County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay. It is the most populous settlement in the province of Connacht, the List of settleme ...
.


Sligo Port

Sligo is one of just two operating ports on Ireland's northwest coast between
Galway Galway ( ; , ) is a City status in Ireland, city in (and the county town of) County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay. It is the most populous settlement in the province of Connacht, the List of settleme ...
and
Derry Derry, officially Londonderry, is the second-largest City status in the United Kingdom, city in Northern Ireland, and the fifth-largest on the island of Ireland. Located in County Londonderry, the city now covers both banks of the River Fo ...
, the other being
Killybegs Killybegs () is a town in County Donegal, Ireland. It is the largest fishing port in the country and on the island of Ireland. It is located on the south coast of the county, north of Donegal Bay, near Donegal Town. Its Irish name means 'littl ...
. 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 A seal is a device for making an impression in wax, clay, paper, or some other medium, including an embossment on paper, and is also the impression thus made. The original purpose was to authenticate a document, or to prevent interference with ...
" 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 The British Empire comprised the dominions, Crown colony, colonies, protectorates, League of Nations mandate, mandates, and other Dependent territory, territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It bega ...
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, while ''Sligo Sport'' is a monthly sports-specific newspaper. The town has two local/regional radio stations: Ocean FM (Ireland), Ocean FM, which broadcasts throughout County Sligo and parts of some bordering counties; 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. The site is managed by th ...
File:County Sligo - Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, Sligo - 20170625140419.jpg, Interior of the 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 The Church of Ireland (, ; , ) is a Christian church in Ireland, and an autonomy, autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. It is organised on an all-Ireland basis and is the Christianity in Ireland, second-largest Christian church on the ...
File:Queen Maeve Square.jpg, Queen Maeve Square


See also

* List of towns and villages in the Republic of Ireland, List of towns and villages in Ireland


Explanatory 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