Sligo

/sluy"goh/, n.

1. a county in Connaught province, in the NW Republic of Ireland. 55,425; 694 sq. mi. (1795 sq. km).

2. its county seat: a seaport. 18,609.

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▪ Ireland

Irish  Sligeach (“Shelly River”) 

      seaport and county seat, County Sligo, Ireland. It lies along Sligo Bay and the River Garavogue, between Lough (lake) Gill and the sea. Sligo's Roman Catholic cathedral serves the diocese of Elphin, and there is a Church of Ireland cathedral. Sligo has ruins of a castle and friary dating from the 13th century. Early in the reign of James I the town was granted a market and two annual fairs; in 1613 it was incorporated and received the privileges of a borough. The borough was disenfranchised in 1870.

      Sligo is one of the three principal ports on the west coast of Ireland and a centre of salmon fishing. Industries include textiles, pharmaceuticals, and dehydrated foods. Some cattle are exported, and coal, iron, timber, and foodstuffs are imported. At nearby Carrowmore is a large group of megalithic monuments, and on Knocknarea (1,078 feet [329 m]), west of Sligo, is a cairn traditionally held to be the burial place of Queen Maeve of Connaught. The town is the site of a regional technical college. Pop. (2006) 17,892.

▪ county, Ireland

Irish  Sligeach (“Shelly River”) 

      county in the province of Connaught, northwestern Ireland. It is bounded by Counties Leitrim (east), Roscommon (southeast), and Mayo (southwest); an arm of the Atlantic Ocean forms its other borders.

      Nearly half of Sligo is rough pasture, predominantly in the mountains, hills, and peat bogs. On the east the boundary with Leitrim runs southward through the coastal lowland to the limestone Dartry Mountains, including Ben Bulben (1,730 feet [527 metres]), which possess spectacular scarped edges. The county boundary then crosses Glencar and an area of plateau to Lough (Lake) Gill, in which is located the island of Innisfree, celebrated in a lyric by the Irish poet William Butler Yeats (Yeats, William Butler), who died in France and was buried there but was reinterred in Drumcliff after World War II. His brother, painter Jack Butler Yeats (Yeats, Jack Butler), spent much of his early life in Sligo. To the south of Lough Gill is a long ridge broken by gaps known as alts. West of the Collooney Gap, the ridge forms the Ox Mountains, a peat moorland measuring 7 to 10 miles (11 to 16 km) wide and rising above 1,700 feet (520 metres). North of the Ox Mountains is an area of continuously farmed lowland, from the mouth of the River Moy to the Leitrim border. Sligo Bay has three long estuaries, leading to the towns of Drumcliff, Sligo, and Ballysadare, which receive the waters of the Rivers Drumcliff, Garravogue, and Owenmore.

      Sligo has a long tradition of fishing, but only salmon is profitable. The lowland is divided into small farms that depend on cattle, sheep, and poultry. Peat is cut in the plateau areas, especially in the Ox Mountains. Rosses Point and Strandhill are noted tourist resorts. Inland from the Ox Mountains, the farmed lowlands are broken by scenic lakes and limestone hills. Dairying and beef cattle are vital to the economy. Tourism also has become a significant source of income.

      A county council meets in Sligo, the county seat and only urban district. Most of the towns are small market centres. There are mills and a variety of factories.

      One of the three principal seaports on the west of Ireland, Sligo city lies along Sligo Bay and the River Garavogue, between Lough Gill and the sea. Sligo's Roman Catholic cathedral serves the diocese of Elphin, and there is a Church of Ireland cathedral. Sligo has ruins of a castle and friary dating from the 13th century.

      In antiquity Sligo was MacDermott country. After the Anglo-Norman invasion in the 12th century, it was dominated by the power of the de Burgos. In 1333 the O'Connor Sligo became lord of the town and county under O'Donnell patronage and suzerainty, and the O'Dowds were established in the west. In 1567, by surrender and regrant, Donal O'Connor Sligo received from the crown a grant for life of the whole area. It was made a county in 1579. Forming part of Connaught, which was reserved by Oliver Cromwell (Cromwell, Oliver) for Irish proprietors after the English conquest in the 17th century, the district long retained its Irish social pattern. In Carrowmore is a large group of megalithic monuments, and on Knocknarea (1,078 feet [329 metres]) is a cairn traditionally held to be the burial place of Queen Maeve of Connaught. The many megalithic cemeteries and early churches and monastic settlements scattered throughout the county make Sligo one of the richest archaeological sites in Europe. Area 710 square miles (1,838 square km). Pop. (2002) 58,200.

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