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.

Our second day of Yeats sightseeing included Rosses Point, Glencar Waterfall, Lissadell House, Drumcliff Cemetery, Gleniff Cliffs, the Model Art Museum in Sligo and Mullaghmore!  This was a really busy day, but the weather was pretty nice so we managed to get everything in.  The Lissadell House was probably my favorite stop of the day.

Our journey started close to the Benwisken Center, at the Gleniff Cliff/Valley area.  This is a horseshoe shaped valley with enormous cliffs, but it was very foggy and we could only see part of them.  It was still really pretty.  Our tour guide, Keith, read us his very own poem, "Walk Through Gleniff," about this beautiful area.

  On our way to Sligo Town we stopped at the shore near Mullaghmore.  Mullaghmore is a resort area on the Atlantic coast of Ireland.  We stopped and got pictures of the coastline here, and Keith told us his story of where he was on September 11, 2001.  He was just about in that exact spot, taking a tour group into Mullaghmore.  It was very moving and interesting to hear his story of that tragic day in not only American but world history.  Many people we met along the way offered condolences regarding the events of 9-11-01.  It was so touching and amazing that they all wanted to share that with us. 

In Sligo Town we stopped for lunch and a walk through of the Model Art of Ireland Gallery which featured works of art by Jack and John Yeats.  These men were the father and brother of W.B. Yeats.  I couldn't take any photographs in the gallery and really there were only a few by the relatives of W.B. Yeats. 

From Sligo Town we headed out to Rosses Point.  The weather was nice when we visited Rosses Point, but quite windy.  This area of the coastline isn't as rugged as the coastline we had seen so far.  However, when storms roll in it can apparently be pretty fierce, as described in Yeats' poem, "Red Hanrahan's Song about Ireland."*  It is also said that Yeats and his brother used to spend their summers in the area of Rosses Point. 

* This comparison is from "Yeats' Ireland," by John Gregory.

On our way from Rosses Point to our tour at the Lissadell House, we stopped off at Drumcliff Cemetery where W.B. Yeats is officially buried.  Yeats died in France in 1939, but his body was not brought back and laid to rest under Ben Bulben until 1948.  His headstone contains the last line in his poem, "Under Ben Bulben," which is one of Yeats' last poems.  In it he describes that he wants to be laid to rest in this spot.

"Under bare Ben Bulben's head

In Drumcliff churchyard Yeats is laid,

An ancestor was rector there

Long years ago; a church stands near,

By the road an ancient Cross.

No marble, no conventional phrase,

On limestone quarried near the spot

By his command these words are cut:

Cast a cold eye

On life, on death

Horseman, pass by!"

(From "The Collected Works of W.B. Yeats. Revised 2nd Edition" Edited by Richard J. Finneran.)

We were asked to interpret the last lines of this poem that appear on his gravestone.  We concluded that Yeats didn't want people to come by busloads to pay tribute to him by visiting his grave.  He believed that death was a part of life and we need to move on, not get hung up on his death. 

There are also the ruins of an old monastic site on the grounds of Drumcliff which include a High Cross that is over 1,000 years old! (see the photo below).  Drumcliff has a fantastic gift shop, with great books, scarves, art work etc.  There is also a small cabin that sells Irish wool items, and this is the CHEAPEST place to buy your wool items, socks, gloves, sweaters etc.