Etymology Sligo is the anglicisation of the Irish name
Sligeach, meaning "abounding in shells" or "shelly place". It refers to the abundance of
shellfish found in the river and its estuary, and from the extensive
shell middens in the vicinity. The river now known as the
Garavogue (), perhaps meaning "little torrent", was originally called the Sligeach. It is listed as one of the seven "royal rivers" of Ireland in the ninth century AD tale
The Destruction of Da Dergas Hostel. The river
Slicech is also referenced in the
Annals of Ulster in 1188. This is an outlier of the large group of monuments at
Carrowmore on the
Coolera Peninsula on the western outskirts of the town. The area around Sligo town has one of the highest densities of prehistoric
archaeological sites in Ireland, and is the only place in which all classes of Irish megalithic monuments are to be found together.
Knocknarea mountain, capped by the great cairn of
Miosgan Maeve, dominates the skyline to the west of the town. Cairns Hill on the southern edge of the town also has two very large stone cairns. Excavations for the
National Roads Authority (NRA) for the N4 Sligo Inner Relief Road in 2002 revealed an early
Neolithic causewayed enclosure. Built around 4000 B.C., the
Magheraboy causewayed enclosure is located on high ground overlooking the town from the south. This is the oldest causewayed enclosure so far discovered in Britain or Ireland. It consists of a large area enclosed by a segmented ditch and
palisade, and was perhaps an area of commerce and ritual. These monuments are associated with the coming of agriculture and hence the first farmers in Ireland. According to archaeologist Edward Danagher, who excavated the site, "Magheraboy indicates a stable and successful population during the final centuries of the fifth millennium and the first centuries of the fourth millennium BC". Danagher's work also documented a
Bronze Age Henge at Tonafortes (beside the Carraroe roundabout) on the southern outskirts of Sligo town.
Sligo Bay is an ancient natural harbour, being known to
Greek,
Phoenician and
Roman traders as the area is thought by some to be the location marked as the city of
Nagnata on
Claudius Ptolemy's second century A.D. co-ordinate map of the world. During the early medieval period, the site of Sligo was eclipsed by the importance of the great
monastery founded by
Columcille 5 miles to the north at
Drumcliff. By the 12th century, there was a bridge and a small settlement in existence at the site of the present town.
Medieval history The
Norman knight
Maurice Fitzgerald, the
Justiciar of Ireland, is generally credited with the establishment of the medieval European-style town and port of Sligo, building
Sligo Castle in
1245. The
annalists refer to the town as a
sraidbhaile ('street settlement') which seems to have consisted of the castle and an attached defensive
bawn in the vicinity of Quay street. A
Dominican Friary (Blackfriars) was also founded by Maurice Fitzgerald and the King of Connacht,
Felim mac Cathal Crobderg Ua Conchobair, in 1253. This was accidentally destroyed by fire in 1414, and was subsequently rebuilt in its present form by Tighernan O’Rourke. Norman hegemony was, however, not destined to last long in Sligo. The Norman advance was halted in Sligo after the battle of
Credran Cille in 1257 at Ros Ceite (
Rosses Point) between
Godfrey O'Donnell, Lord of
Tirconnell, and Maurice Fitzgerald. Both commanders were mortally wounded in single combat. The Norman invasion of Tír Chonaill was abandoned after this. In 1289 a survey indicates there were 180
burgesses in the town. The Normans had laid a foundation that was to last. The town is unique in Ireland in that it is the only Norman-founded Irish town to have been under almost continuous native Irish control throughout the Medieval period. Despite Anglo-Norman attempts to retake it, it became the administrative centre of the O'Conor Sligo (
O'Conchobar Sligigh) confederation of
Iochtar Connacht (Lower Connacht) by 1315 AD. Also called Clan Aindrias, the O 'Conors were a branch of the O'Conchobar dynasty of
Kings of Connacht. It continued to develop within the
túath (Irish territory) of
Cairbre Drom Cliabh becoming the effective centre of the confederation of túatha. The other Irish túatha subject to here were
Tír Fhíacrach Múaidhe,
Luighne Connacht,
Tir Olliol and
Corann. Throughout this time Sligo was under the system of
Fénechus (Brehon) law and was ruled by the Gaelic system of an elected
Rí túath (territory king/lord), and an assembly known as an oireacht. Through competition between Gaelic dynasties for the lucrative port duties of Sligo, the town was burned, sacked or besieged approximately 49 times during the medieval period, according to the annals of Ireland. These raids seem to have had little effect on the development of the town, as by the mid-15th century the town and port had grown in importance. It traded with Galway,
Bristol, France and Spain. Amongst the earliest preserved specimens of written English in Connacht is a receipt for 20 marks, dated August 1430, paid by Saunder Lynche and Davy Botyller, to Henry Blake and Walter Blake, customers of "ye King and John Rede, controller of ye porte of Galvy and of Slego". Sligo continued under Gaelic control until the late 16th century when, during the Elizabethan conquest, it was selected as the county town for the newly shired County of Sligo. An order was sent by the Elizabethan Government to
Sir Nicholas Malby, Knight, wanting him to establish "apt and safe" places for the keeping of the Assizes & Sessions, with walls of lime & stone, in each county of Connacht, "judging that the aptest place be in Sligo, for the County of Sligo…" The walls were never built.
17th and 18th centuries Sligo Abbey, actually a
Dominican Friary, although a ruin, is the only medieval building left standing in the town. Much of the structure, including the choir, carved altar (the only one in situ in Ireland) and cloisters, remains. When
Sir Frederick Hamilton's Parliamentarian soldiers partially sacked Sligo in 1642, the Friary was burned and many friars killed. During the
Williamite War (1689–91) the town was fought over between the
Jacobite Irish Army loyal to
James II and
Williamite forces.
Patrick Sarsfield was able to capture the town and repulsed a Williamite attack to retake it; however, Sligo was later surrendered to forces under the command of
Arthur Forbes, 1st Earl of Granard. In 1798, a mixed force of the Limerick Militia,
Essex Fencibles and local yeomanry under a Colonel Vereker were defeated at the
battle of Carricknagat at
Collooney by the combined Irish and French forces under
General Humbert. A street in the town is named after the hero of this battle
Bartholomew Teeling. The
Lady Erin monument at Market Cross was erected in 1899 to mark the centenary of the
1798 Rebellion.
19th century The town suffered badly from a
cholera outbreak in 1832. Scholars speculate that
Bram Stoker, whose mother
Charlotte Blake Thornley was probably (there are no records and the family lived in both Sligo and
Ballyshannon) born in Sligo in 1818 and experienced the epidemic first hand, was influenced by her stories when he wrote his famous novel,
Dracula. The family lived on Correction Street in the town. After fleeing to Ballyshannon, Charlotte wrote: The Great Famine between 1847 and 1851 caused over 30,000 people to emigrate through the port of Sligo. On the Quays, overlooking the
Garavogue River, is a cast bronze memorial to the emigrants. This is one of a suite of three sculptures commissioned by the Sligo Famine Commemoration Committee to honour the victims of the
Great Famine. A plaque in the background tells one family's sad story:
20th century The early years of the century saw much industrial unrest as workers in the Port of Sligo fought for better pay and conditions. This resulted in two major strikes, in 1912 and, in 1913 the prolonged
Sligo dock strike. Both ended in victory for the workers. Sligo Town was heavily garrisoned by the
British Army during the
War of Independence. For this reason IRA activity was limited to actions such as harassment, sabotage and jailbreaks. At various times during the war, prominent Republicans were held at the
Sligo Gaol. The commander of IRA forces in Sligo was
Liam Pilkington.
Arthur Griffith spoke in April 1922 on the corner of O'Connell Street and Grattan Street. To this day it is known as Griffith's Corner. During the Civil War, Sligo railway station was blown up by Anti-Treaty forces on 10 January 1923. In 1961,
St. John the Baptist's Church became a cathedral of the
Diocese of Kilmore, Elphin and Ardagh after St. Mary's Cathedral in Elphin was abandoned, being destroyed by a storm four years previously. ==Geography==