SLIGO TOWN
Sligo’s scenery
Sligo’s scenery is unrivalled, from remote islands to tranquil beaches. Magnificent Benbulben rules the landscape, make time for a day trip to walk the laneways and trails at its base.
Sligo is the anglicisation of the Irish name Sligeach, meaning “abounding in shells” or “shelly place”. It refers to the abundance of shellfish found in the river and its estuary, and from the extensive shell middens in the vicinity.
Sligo’s scenery is unrivalled, from remote islands to tranquil beaches. Magnificent Benbulben rules the landscape, make time for a day trip to walk the laneways and trails at its base.
Sligo is the anglicisation of the Irish name Sligeach, meaning “abounding in shells” or “shelly place”. It refers to the abundance of shellfish found in the river and its estuary, and from the extensive shell middens in the vicinity.
The town surrounded by an arc of mountains
Situated on a coastal plain facing the Atlantic Ocean, Sligo is located on low gravel hills on the banks of the Garavogue River between Lough Gill and the estuary of the Garavogue river leading to Sligo Bay. 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 with its Neolithic cairn to the west and the distinctive high plateau of Benbulben to the north.
North-West cultural center
Sligo culture was an inspiration on both poet and Nobel laureate W. B. Yeats and his brother the artist and illustrator Jack Butler Yeats. A collection of Jack B Yeats art is held in the Niland Gallery on the Mall in Sligo. The Yeats Summer School takes place every year in the town.
Sligo town has connections with Goon Show star and writer Spike Milligan, whose father was from Sligo, and a plaque was unveiled at the former Milligan family home on Sligo’s Holborn Street
