Sligo tourist information
Sligo is a flourishing commerical industrial and marketing centre, is the largest town in the North-West with a population of about twenty thousand. Situated at the mouth of the Garavogue River, flowing from Lough Gill, it is surrounded by mountains- Benbulben (526m)) and Truskmore(645m) to the north. Knocknaera to the West and the Ox mountains to the South. The town is built on several gravel ridges giving it an interesting and cosy apperance and centres around its five bridges.
The name Sligo is derived from the gaelic Sligeach, which means place of the seashells. The river was originally named Sligeach but is now called the Garavogue. The shells were mainly oyster, but cockles, mussels and limpets abounded and are still plentiful in the region.
In 1252 the Dominican Abbey was founded by Maurice Fitzgerald. It is in ruins now but is well preserved.
Maurice Fitzgerald saw the strategic importance of Sligo as a defence against the O Donnells of Donegal and built a castle on the south side of the river. This was the real founding of Sligo which grew up around the castle.
James1 of England granted the first charter to the town in 1613. It read “the town and all the hereditaments with the precinct thereof were created and incorporated the Borough of Sligo consisting of mayor and twelve burgesses.
The town, with a population of 20,000, is the ninth-largest urban centre in Ireland. It occupies a pivotal role as both administrative and distributive centre for its surrounding regions. It is served by a rail terminus, port and a regional airport. Its function as a service centre is readily identifiable. Sligo contains the regional head-quarters of several semi-state bodies as well as some central government offices.
Sligo’s rich Stone Age history forms the centrepiece of the most interesting exhibits on display here. There is also a special section to WB Yeats. A copy of his Nobel Prize winning medal is on view together with a complete collection of his poems from 1889 to 1936 and a large body of his prose work.
Like many Norman towns in Ireland, Sligo had its castle and it’s abbey. The former has since disappeared, but the abbey still stands. It was a Dominican abbey founded in 1252 by Maurice Fitzgerald. The Dominicans are still present in Sligo their church is located in High Street.
Located between the top of O Connell St and Hyde Bridge this is one of the most picturesque buildings in Sligo. Built in 1898 by the Belfast Banking Co. the building was donated to the Yeats Society of Sligo in 1973 and is now home to a photographic and audiovisual centre on WB Yeats. There is also a library of Anglo-Irish writings. Sligo Art Gallery is located on the first floor, where it plays host to visiting exhibitions.
It is with great pleasure that we welcome you to the refurbished Model Arts and Niland Gallery and the superb Niland Collection of Twentieth Century Irish Art. In addition to the new galleries, the building has large flexible exhibition spaces, which present a stimulating and varied programme of contemporary art. A dedicated performance space hosts a number of festivals, readings, musical performances and the Sligo Film Society. These wonderful facilities together with artist’s studios, arts business workspaces, education, archival and retail areas make the Model a potential arts powerhouse.
The internationally important Niland Collection includes work by Jack B. Yeats, Paul Henry, Evie Hone among many others. Nora Niland, the dynamic County Librarian, was instrumental in establishing the County Museum and the Yeats Summer School. Her greatest legacy to the county is, however, the Niland Collection, which was started by borrowing three Jack B. Yeats paintings for the opening of the Yeats Summer School in 1960. The opportunity to purchase these paintings arose and two years was spent raising the funds. "The Island Funeral", "The Funeral of Harry Boland" and "Communicating with Prisoners" mark the starting point of the Niland Collection.
Sligo aerial map
Please click on any icon on the Sligo aerial tourist map, to find close by places, offering hotels and tourist information. You can zoom in and zoom out our touristical map as well as switch between satelite and map view of Sligo.
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