Sligo, County, is in the province of Connacht in the Republic of Ireland. It lies in the northwestern part of the country, along the Atlantic Ocean. County Sligo is famous for its scenery and for its association with the Irish poet William Butler Yeats. A third of the county’s population lives in the town of Sligo, and other people commute to work in the town. The remainder of the county is mainly agricultural. The county covers an area of 693 square miles (1,796 square kilometers).
Economy.
Most of County Sligo’s workers are employed in service industries, which include education, health care, hotels and restaurants, professional services, retail trade, and social work and other government services. Tourism is of major importance to the town of Sligo and other coastal areas.
The agriculture, construction, and manufacturing sectors also employ many people. County Sligo’s land is not suitable for growing crops, and most farmers raise beef or dairy cattle. Manufacturing is centered on the town of Sligo. Factories in the county produce building materials, engineering goods, food products, medical supplies, and timber products.
Land.
A plateau extends across the county’s northern boundary. Mountains in the northeast include the steep-sided Benbulbin (also spelled Ben Bulben) and the isolated Knocknarea. Lough Gill (Lake Gill) and Glencar Lake are also in the northeast. To the north and west is a coastal plain with many sandy beaches. The Ox Mountains rise in the west.
The River Moy and the River Owenmore drain the lowland to the south. In the southeast, the land rises toward the Bricklieve and Curlew mountains. Lough Arrow (Lake Arrow) also lies in the southeast. Peat bogs are found in the uplands and in areas of poor natural drainage in the lowland.
History.
County Sligo has a greater density of prehistoric monuments than any other Irish county. Most remarkable is the collection of stones to the west of the town of Sligo, at Carrowmore. These stones make up one of the largest groups of Stone and Bronze Age remains in Europe. Nearby is a prehistoric cairn on Knocknarea, which marks the legendary burial place of Queen Maeve.
The town of Sligo was an Anglo-Norman outpost, where the Earl of Kildare, Maurice Fitzgerald, built a castle and monastery in the 1200’s. The de Burgos, an Anglo-Norman family, were the main power in the county at that time. After the revival of Irish control, the ruling families were the O’Connors, O’Haras, and O’Dowds. The town of Sligo developed as a major market center. The county suffered severely during the Great Irish Famine of the 1840’s, losing a third of its population through death and emigration.
Sligo is known internationally in English literature through the writings of the poet William Butler Yeats. He spent much time in Sligo, and he was inspired by its landscapes and folklore. Northern Sligo is known as Yeats Country and hosts an annual Yeats Summer School. Yeats is buried at Drumcliffe, beneath Benbulbin.
