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SLIGO TOWN |
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With a population of 18,000, SLIGO is, after Derry, the biggest town
in the northwest of Ireland and a focal point for the surrounding area.
This engaging place, overshadowed by the presence of Knocknarea and
Benbulben mountains, manages to be relaxed and busy at the same time,
with a fair dash of the Irish New Age spirit that suffuses much of the
west. If you've been too long in the wildernesses, you can soak up
something of a city atmosphere. The annual Yeats summer school in August,
the arts festival in May and the choral festival in November are
indications of Sligo's vitality.
The first recorded mention of Sligo dates from 807 AD, when the town was
sacked by the Vikings, and by the thirteenth century it had become the
gateway between Connacht and Ulster, with a castle (since destroyed) on
what is now Castle Street. The Middle Ages was a period of sporadic
violence, most notably between the Anglo-Norman Maurice Fitzgerald and
the O'Connells. Thanks to its strong defences, Sligo was the last of the
western garrisons to surrender to Williamite forces after the Battle of
the Boyne.
The town suffered during the Great Famine, when its population fell by a
third through death and emigration, but by the end of the nineteenth
century things had picked up to the extent that it was described in
guidebooks as "a progressive and busy centre". The upswing has continued
to the present day, and in summer the streets are always crowded with
visitors - but if you have a chance to look at the photos of old Sligo
hanging in the County Museum on Stephen Street, you'll appreciate how
remarkably constant the look of the town has been with its narrow,
tightly packed back streets. Apart from the Dominican Abbey there's not
much left in the way of sites that recall the town's long history, but
the old-fashioned market town atmosphere, the pleasant riverside cafés
and the atmospheric old pubs make it an ideal base for exploring the
surrounding countryside and sights. Lough Gill, Drumcliff, the
megalithic dolmens of Knocknarea and the beaches at Strandhill are all
within a five-mile radius of town; Lissadell, Benbulben and Glencar
Lough are within ten. If you are without transport, it's worth calling
in to the tourist office and checking out details of minibus and walking
tours of the area to make the most of at least some of these.
The Town
Sligo's thirteenth-century Dominican friary , known locally as the Abbey
(mid-June to mid-Sept daily 9.30am-6.30pm; £1.50/¬1.90; Heritage Card)
has had a chequered history, having been destroyed a couple of times by
both accident and design since its foundation. Its life as a religious
foundation came to an end in 1641, when the whole town was sacked during
the Ulster rebellion. As Sligo's only surviving medieval building, the
friary merits exploration; the impressive ruins include well-preserved
cloisters, Gothic and Renaissance sculpture and a finely carved high
altar.
The Sligo County Museum on Stephen Street (Tues-Sat: May-Sept 10am-noon
& 2-5pm; Oct-April 2-5pm; free) is full of fascinating old photos of
Sligo as well as some more unusual items, including a sequence of
excellent nineteenth-century sketches of the monastic ruins on
Inishmurray and a double-weight hundred-year-old firkin of bog butter.
Memorabilia in the Yeats section of the museum includes photographs of
and commentary on his funeral, lots of letters a nd photos of the man
himself and the Nobel Prize medal awarded to him in 1923. Before you
depart, make time for the long article on Michael Coleman , one of
Ireland's most famous fiddle players : at the beginning of the last
century, Fritz Kreisler, one of the greatest of classical violinists,
wrote that even he could not attempt the kind of music Michael Coleman
played, were he to practise for a thousand years.
Just down the road, at Douglas Hyde Bridge, the Yeats Memorial Building
is the headquarters of the Yeats Society (tel 071/42693 or 47264;
www.yeats-sligo.com ) and venue for the Yeats International Summer
School in August. It has become something of an academic institution,
attracting scholars from all over the world. The attendant Yeats
Exhibition (Mon-Sat 10am-5pm; £2.50/¬3.17) is a fairly small display,
including interesting photographic material of the poet, his family, and
his influences and associates which include Maud Gonne, Aubrey
Beardsley, Ezra Pound and J.M. Synge. There's a short film too, Yeats
Country , which, despite poor sound and visual quality (it dates from
the 1950s), is enjoyable for the spoken verse and as an appetizer for
the evocative scenery that lies close at hand. The building is also home
to Sligo's second tourist office and the Sligo Art Gallery (Mon-Sat
10am-5.30pm; free), which has an extensive exhibition programme showing
contemporary, predominantly Irish, work. Outside, the Garavogue River
rushes under Douglas Hyde Bridge, and the revamped riverside paths and
cafés provide a pleasant focus away from traffic-choked streets. A
fifteen-minute walk east along the south side of the river from here
leads to Doorly Park and access to the magical Lough Gill .
For a taste of the northwest's energetic arts scene, head for The Model
Arts Centre (daily 11am-5pm) on The Mall, housed in an imposing
nineteenth-century stone building. It's home to The Niland Collection,
which includes paintings and pencil drawings by Jack Yeats, brother of
the poet. His work has a strong local flavour, and his later works such
as The Graveyard Wall and The Sea and the Lighthouse are especially
potent evocations of the life and atmosphere of the area. If you're
going to be heading north into Donegal, look out for Paul Henry's Early
Morning in Donegal Lough , which will give you a taste of things to
come. Also worth more than a passing glance are the paintings by George
Russell, better known as AE, the mystical poet and a contemporary of
W.B. Yeats. The centre has a busy annual schedule including three autumn
festivals : the Scríobh literary festival in September, an Early Music
festival in October and a contemporary music festival in November.
Another place of great interest is an old butcher's shop-turned-
sculpture studio , Michael Quirke's on Wine Street. A butcher for 31
years, Michael Quirke began in the 1980s to sculpt the figures of Irish
mythology in windfallen wood. Every feature of these small carvings
bears the mark of his encyclopedic knowledge of just about every legend
or myth ever dreamed up about Ireland - if you get a chance to listen to
him, it could well be one of the most inspiring moments of your stay. So
far his work isn't too expensive (£40-50/¬50.79-63.49), but it's getting
increasingly popular. You can get high-quality Irish art and crafts,
including particularly interesting jewellery and ceramics, at The Cat
and The Moon, 4 Castle St. For souvenirs of a more traditional kind,
Carraig Donn in O'Connell Street sells excellent Irish tweed and
knitwear. If you have children in tow, Woodville Farm (June Sat & Sun
2-5pm; July & August daily 2-5pm; adults £3/¬3.81, children £2/¬2.54),
about a mile west of town off the road to Strandhill, is a useful
diversion, with sheep, lambs, free-range hens, peacocks, pigs and a
woodland nature trail.
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