Sligo

Hills honed by nature into fantastic shapes. Cascading streams and lake-lapped valleys. Wide bays and long, golden beaches. Immortalised by the poet, W.B. Yeats. An abundance of megalithic monuments. A playground of incredible beauty. Sail into the sunset. Trek a trail. Climb a mountain. Ride a wave. Look at the wildlife. Appreciate the history. Or just switch off! Enjoy the views. The food. The shopping. The company . The theatre and the arts. Young or old, active or passive, Sligo is the land of Heart's Desire.

Explore

Sligo Town
This lively county town is built on the Garavogue and is one of the most important in the north-west of Ireland. It is a hive of activity. For the sport-minded there is fishing in many of the lakes and rivers in the area, golf, boats for hire and summer walking tours in the town. 'Culture vultures' may wish to visit the theater or the historical monuments in this beautiful town.

Enniscrone
The adventurous visitor should call in to Enniscrone, a resort with three miles of golden sandy beaches on the shores of Killala Bay in the west of Sligo county. Here, you can sink in to a bath filled with locally gathered fresh seaweed in a recently-restored Edwardian bathhouse.

Roses Point and Strandhill
The twin sea-side villages, both five miles from Sligo center are situated on glorious beaches ideal for walking. Strandhill boasts one of the finest surfing beaches in the North West while Rosses Point is ideal for family swimming and recreation. Both villages offer superb 18-hole links golf.

Ballymote
This is a popular angling center boasting some of the finest coarse angling in Ireland. The market town contains a fifteenth century castle built by Richard de Burgo. Within the castle, the book of Ballymote was compiled and it gives the key to the Ogham inscriptions, the ancient Irish system of linear writing which can be seen on many standing stones in the country.

Grange
Grange is the starting point for a spectacular drive through the Gleniff Horseshoe. Huge limestone cliffs in the valley between the towering Truskmore and Kings Mountains and a cave associated with the legendary lovers, Diarmuid and Grainne, are some of the features on this drive.

Innisfree
Innisfree is the retreat wished for in William Butler Yeats' poem 'The Lake Isle of Innisfree' and the 'bee loud glades' are the only noise you will hear on this idyllic island in Lough Gill.

Drumcliffe
More famous now as the final resting place of William Butler Yeats, whose grave is in the churchyard under a simple headstone with the inscription: 'Cast a cold eye on life, on death, Horsemen pass by'. Drumcliffe was an important monastic settlement founded by St. Colmcille in the sixth century. The remains of a Round Tower and the inscribed High Cross, which dates from the eleventh century are in what was the old monastic enclosure.

Attractions

W.B. Yeats
Sligo inspired much of the poet's most famous works. The Yeats Tour traverses many of the scenes that have been immortalised by the Nobel Prize winning writer.

Carrowmore
Greatest concentration of megalithic monuments in Europe - one such site, Carrowmore, is reputedly one of the oldest and largest Stone Age burial sites in Western Europe.

Equestrian Sports

Superb horse riding centres

Scenery
Marvellous mix of beach, mountains and lakes.

Golf
Majestic links golf courses.

Music
Famous for traditional music

Sligo County Museum and Library
This Museum houses an extensive collection of Jack Yeats's paintings.

Inishmurray Island
The ruins of the 6th Century Monastery founded by St Molaise are probably the best preserved in Ireland.

Kilcullen's Seaweed Baths, Enniscrone
These are celebrated for their reputed ability to impart therapeutic blessings, and are also a deeply pleasurable experience.

Surfing
The Irish Surfing Association is headquartered at Easkey - one of the finest surfing waters in Europe.

Queen Maeve's Cairn
The huge cairn on the summit of Knocknarea Mountain, is the reputed burial mound of the ancient warrior Queen.

Sligo Abbey
Well preserved Dominican Abbey founded by Maurice Fitzgerald around 1253.

Culkins Emmigration Museum
A host of fascinating artefacts and features relating to the poignant era when emmigration was the only hope for a better life.

Lissadell House
"That old Georgian mansion" in the words of W.B. Yeats. A fine example of Greek revival architecture owned by the Gore-Booth family.

Sligo Art Gallery
Located in the Yeats Memorial Building, the gallery was founded in 1977. It houses ten to twelve major exhibitions annually.

Woodville Farm
View a wide range of farm animals and poultry in their natural surroundings.

Drumcliffe Church and Graveyard
The church and graveyard of Drumcliffe lie under the shadow of Sligo's most famous mountain, Ben Bulben. It is here the the poet W.B. Yeats instructed that he be buried.The church has been restored and facilitates an audio visual presentation, visitor centre, tea-house and craft shop.

Activities

Megalithic Monuments
Visit Carrowmore or explore the landscape for the many ancient sites dotted throughout the landscape.

Golf
Many links golf courses

Knocknarea Mountain
Walk to Queen Maeve's Cairn on the summit of Knocknarea Mountain

Walking
The glorious everchanging scenery attracts many walkers. Many walk to the peak of the great mountain, Benbulben.

Equestrian
Enjoy the regular race meetings at Sligo or take a tour of the county on horseback.