The next stop in Ireland was Sligo, or "Yeats Country"

The sites we visited in and around Sligo are listed in pink at left. 

Click on them for more information and pictures.

Sligo is located in the northwest of Ireland.  The landscapes surrounding Sligo inspired the poetry of W.B. Yeats.  The town itself is the busiest town in the northwest and has a population of nearly 20,000.  It is located in County Sligo which has a population of around 50,000.  We didn't actually stay in Sligo Town but we did have a walking tour and we ventured in town to the grocery store and to do souvenir shopping.  The town and county of Sligo are just oozing with Yeats monuments, buildings, sites etc.  Below is a picture of the Yeats statue in Sligo that sits in front of Ulster Bank.  It's a bronze statue that is engraved with lines of his own poetry!

Sligo is right at the mouth of the Garavogue River and has the Atlantic Ocean to the west and Lough Gill to the east.  The river runs right through the town and usually has lots of swans, but it was really high and rough when we were there, so we didn't see many swans.  The colorful shops line the river, and there is a great bookstore called The Book Nest that has tons of great books by Irish authors, about Irish history, folklore etc.  I highly recommend stopping in.  The town of Sligo is smaller than Galway, but seemed to have more car traffic than Galway.  It's an easy town to walk around in and there is a large variety of shops...from pharmacies and bookstores to craft shops and fast food places. 

See the Sligo Town page for helpful hints and more!