Sligo Travel Guide
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Sligo Town is 219km (136 miles) NE of Shannon Airport, 217km (135 miles) NW of Dublin, 76km (47 miles) NE of Knock, 60km (37 miles) NE of Ballina, 140km (87 miles) NE of Galway, 118km (73 miles) N of Athlone, and 337km (209 miles) N of Cork
Sligo Town (pop. 18,000) is northwest Ireland's most important town, a thriving merchants' hub that sits mostly on the south side of the River Garavogue and is surrounded on three sides by mountains, the most famous of which are Ben Bulben to the north and Knocknarea to the south. More importantly, it's at the epicenter of Yeats Country. Though born in Dublin, W. B. Yeats spent so much time in County Sligo that it became a part of him, and he a part of it.
Sligo Town is in the midst of a major renaissance. Roughly half to two-thirds of the town center has been refurbished in the past 9 years. From a visitor's perspective, the focus of this radical rejuvenation has been Sligo's new "Left Bank," where cafes and restaurants spill onto the waterfront promenade whenever weather permits.
When you plan your itinerary, give yourself plenty of time to explore the surrounding countryside. As you'll quickly discover in Yeats Country, every hill, rill, cottage, vale, and lake seems to bear a plaque indicating its relation to the poet or his works.
