Republic of Ireland, Sligo

Sligo is the county town of County Sligo in the Republic of Ireland. The town is a borough and has a charter and a town mayor. It is the second largest urban area in Connacht (after Galway). It is home to the Sligo Institute of Technology.

History

Sligo's Irish name "Sligeach" - meaning shelly place - originates in the abundance of shellfish found in the river and its estuary, and from the extensive 'shell middens' or Stone Age food preparation areas in the vicinity.

The Ordnance Survey letters of 1836 state that "cart loads of shells were found underground in many places within the town where houses now stand". At that time shells were constantly being dug up during the construction of foundations for buildings. This whole area, from the river estuary at Sligo, around the coast to the river at Ballysadare Bay, was rich in marine resources which were utilised as far back as the Mesolithic period.

Maurice Fitzgerald, the Lord Chief Justice of Ireland is generally credited with the establishment of the medieval town of Sligo, when he eventually sufficiently imposed his will on the native Gaelic chieftains to build the Castle of Sligo in 1245.

Between 1847 and 1851 over 30,000 people emigrated through the port of Sligo. On the Quays, overlooking the Garavogue River, is a memorial sculpture to those people. This is one of a suite of three sculptures commissioned by the Sligo Famine Commemoration Committee to honour the victims of the Great Famine.

Sligo town is encircled by two mountain ranges, namely Dartry Mountains to the north and the Ox Mountains to the south. The Dartry range includes the famous Benbulbin which W. B. Yeats often wrote about and is said to be the resting place of Diarmuid and Grainne.

Sligo town recently highlighted its connections with famous Goon Show star and writer Spike Milligan by unveiling a plaque at the former Milligan family home at Number 5 Holborn Street.

Transport

The primary arteries of Sligo's road network is the N4 road to Dublin (which is motorway on some stretches, dual-carriageway in others), the N15 (known as the Bundoran Road) to Lifford, County Donegal and the N16 (the Enniskillen road) which runs through Manorhamilton, County Leitrim to the border at Blacklion, County Cavan/Belcoo, County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland.

Sligo acquired rail links to Dublin in 1862, with the opening of the Sligo railway station on 3 December of that year. Connections to Enniskillen and the north followed in 1881 and Limerick and the south in 1895.

In 1966 Sligo railway station was renamed Mac Diarmada Station after Irish rebel Seán Mac Diarmada from County Leitrim.

Sligo Town and County Sligo are served by Sligo Airport, 8 kilometres (5 miles) from Sligo town and close to Strandhill village, served by Aer Arann, which operates flights to Dublin and to Manchester in the United Kingdom.

Sligo port handles relatively small ships up to 2,000 dwt.