Page 240 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Ireland

238  IRELAND REGION B Y REGION

R Sligo Abbey
Abbey St. Tel 071 914 6406.
Open mid-Apr–mid-Oct: daily; mid-
Oct–early Nov: Fri–Sun. & 8
E Sligo County Museum
Stephen St. Tel 071 911 1679. Open
Tue–Sat (Oct–Apr: am only).
E Model Arts & Niland Gallery
The Mall. Tel 071 914 1405. Open Tue–
Sun. 8 - 7 ∑ themodel.ie
Hargadon’s bar (see p330), one of Sligo town’s most famous watering holes
Environs
s Sligo distance west from the abbey Improbably set in the suburbs
is O’Connell Street, with the of Sligo, Carrowmore Mega­
Road map C2. Co Sligo. * 20,000.
k 071 916 8280. £ @ n Old town’s main shops and lithic Cemetery once held the
Bank Building, O’ Connell St (071 916 Hargadon’s bar – an old Sligo country’s largest collection of
1201). ( Fri. ∑ sligotown.net institution complete with a Stone Age tombs. Quarrying
dark, wooden interior, snugs destroyed much, but about 40
The port of Sligo sits at the and a grocery counter. Near the passage tombs (see pp250–51)
mouth of the River Gara vogue, junction with Wine Street, and dolmens (see p36) survive
sandwiched between the overlooking Hyde Bridge, among the abandoned gravel
Atlantic and Lough Gill. The is the Yeats Memorial pits, with some in private
largest town in the Building. This houses the gardens and cottages.
North west, it rose to Yeats Society, who are The huge unexcavated cairn
prominence under the dedi cated to com- atop Knocknarea mountain
Normans, being well memora ting the life of dates back 5,000 years and is
placed as a gateway the poet. The Yeats said to contain the tomb of the
between the provinces International Summer legendary Queen Maeve of
of Ulster and Connaught. School is held here too: a Connaught (see p30). It is an
The appearance of Sligo renowned annu al festival hour’s climb starting 4 km
today is mainly the result of of readings and lectures on (2.5 miles) west of Carrowmore.
growth during the late 18th the poet’s life and work. Tobernalt Holy Well, by
and 19th centuries. Just the other side of Hyde Lough Gill 5 km (3 miles) south
Sligo is perfectly situated Bridge is a statue of the of Sligo, means “cliff well”, after
for touring the ravishing poet, engraved with lines a nearby spring with alleged
countryside nearby, and it from his own verse. Sligo curative powers. It was a holy
is also a good centre for County Museum has site in Celtic times and later
traditional music. While Yeatsian memo rabilia became a Christian shrine.
at first sight it can seem Bronze statue of and local artifacts but Priests came here to celebrate
a bit sombre, the town W B Yeats the entire Niland Mass in secret during the 18th
is thriving as the arts Collection including the century, when Catholic worship
capital of Northwest Ireland. paint ings by Jack B Yeats is in was illegal. The Mass rock, next
Sligo’s link with the Yeats the Model Arts & Niland to an altar erected around 1900,
family is the main source of Gallery in The Mall. This out- remains a place of pilgrimage.
the town’s appeal. W B Yeats standing centre also puts on
(see pp236–7), Ireland’s best- temporary exhibitions of T Carrowmore Cemetery
known poet, was born into major Irish and international Tel 071 916 1534. Open Easter–Oct.
a prominent local family. The contemporary art. & 8 ∑ heritageireland.ie
Pollexfen warehouse, at
the western end of Wine
Street, has a rooftop turret from
which the poet’s grandfather
would observe his merchant
fleet moored in the docks.
The town’s sole surviving
medieval building is Sligo
Abbey, founded in 1253. Some
original features remain, such
as the delicate lancet windows
in the choir, but this ruined
Dominican friary dates mainly
from the 15th century. The best
features are a beautifully carved
altar and the cloisters. A short Altar by the holy well at Tobernalt, overlooking Lough Gill in Sligo
For hotels and restaurants in this region see p302 and pp321–3

IR_238-239_NW_cat.indd 238 25/04/16 11:03 am
Eyewitness Travel LAYERS PRINTED:
Catalogue template “UK” LAYER
(Source v2.1)
Date 5th December 2012
Size 125mm x 217mm