Sligo (Irish: Sligeach, meaning "shelly place" sly-goh) is the county town and the most populous urban area in County Sligo, Ireland.   With an area of 12.9 sq km (5.0 sq mi) and a population of 19,452 in 2011, it is the second-largest urban centre in the province of Connacht.  Sligo is a major economic, educational, administrative and cultural centre of Ireland's Border Region, a region of over 500,000 people which comprises the counties of Sligo, Donegal, Leitrim, Cavan, Monaghan and Louth area of 12.9 sq km (5.0 sq mi).
  Sligo is a major commercial port on the west coast of Ireland and the country's most northerly on the Atlantic Ocean.  In recent years, Sligo and its surrounding suburbs have experienced significant economic and population growth; over the last decade, Sligo was the fastest-growing settlement in the Border Region.  The town is a also one of Ireland's most important tourist destinations, owing mainly to the renowned natural beauty of the surrounding countryside and its literary and cultural associations, which include significant ties to Nobel Prize-winning poet W. B. Yeats and writer Spike Milligan.  
  Sligo's Irish name Sligeach - meaning shelly place - allegedly originates in the abundance of shellfish found in the river and its estuary, and from the extensive 'shell middens' or Stone Age food preparation areas in the vicinity.  The river (now known as the Garavogue 'rough river') was also called the Sligeach.  The Ordnance Survey letters of 1836 state that "cart loads of shells were found underground in many places within the town where houses now stand."  At that time shells were constantly being dug up during the construction of foundations for buildings.  This whole area, from the river estuary at Sligo, around the coast to the river at Ballysadare Bay, is rich in marine resources which were utilised as far back as the Mesolithic period.  
  The significance of Sligo in the Early Neolithic period is demonstrated by the abundance of ancient sites close by, not least Carrowmore, on the Cuil Irra peninsula, 3 km (1.9 mi) from the town.  The NRA excavation for the N4 Sligo Inner Relief Road in 2002 revealed an early Neolithic causewayed enclosure (c. 4000 B.C.) overlooking the town.  It would have been enclosed by a ditch and palisade, and was perhaps an area of commerce and ritual.  According to Edward Danagher, who excavated there, 'Magheraboy demonstrates the early Neolithic settlement of this area of Sligo, while the longevity of the activity on the site indicates a stable and successful population during the final centuries of the fifth millennium and the first centuries of the fourth millennium BC.'  Sligo town's first roundabout was constructed around a megalithic tomb (Abbeyquarter North, in Garavogue Villas.  Maurice Fitzgerald, the Lord Chief Justice of Ireland, is generally credited with the establishment of the mediaeval town of Sligo, building the Castle of Sligo in 1245. Sligo was burned several times during the mediaeval period.  In 1257, Geoffry O'Donnell, chief of Tirconnell, marched on Sligo and burned the town.  The annalists refer to this Sligo as a sradbhaile ('street settlement'): a village or town not defended by an enclosure or wall, and consisting of one street.  By the mid 15th century the town and port had grown in importance.  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."  Over a century later an order was sent by the Elizabethan Government to Sir Nicholas Malby, Knight, willing 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--- "Sligo Abbey, the Dominican Friary, is the only mediaeval building left standing in the town (Bram Stoker, whose mother came from Sligo, has cited ghost stories about the abbey as part of the inspiration for his infamous novel, Dracula).  The abbey was founded by Fitzgerald in 1253 but was accidentally destroyed by fire in 1414, and was rebuilt in its present form.  When Frederick Hamilton’s soldiers sacked Sligo Town in 1642, the Abbey was burned and everything valuable in it was destroyed.  Much of the structure, including the choir, carved altar and cloisters remains.  
  Between 1847 and 1851 over 30,000 people emigrated through the port of Sligo.  On the Quays, overlooking the Garavogue River, is a sculpted 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, headed 'Letter to America, January 2, 1850' tells one family's sad story: "I am now, I may say, alone in the world.  All my brothers and sisters are dead and children but yourself...  We are all ejected out of Mr. Enright's ground...  The times was so bad and all Ireland in such a state of poverty that no person could pay rent.  My only hope now rests with you, as I am without one shilling and as I said before I must either beg or go to the poorhouse...   I remain your affectionate father, Owen Larkin. Be sure answer this by return of post."  
  Sligo town recently highlighted its connections with Goon Show star and writer Spike Milligan by unveiling a plaque at the former Milligan family home at Number 5 Holborn Street.  (Cited from the site of "Wikipedia")

IMAGE	IMAGE NO.	DATA
Sligo Railway Station		Sligo Railway Station
	slg2012-001	(Monday 18 June) Information Board outside of Sligo Railway Station
	slg2012-003	(Monday 18 June) Sligo Railway Station
The Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception		The Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Temple Street, Sligo, Ireland, is the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Elphin.  It was opened on 26 July, 1874 by Cardinal Paul Cullen of Dublin and consecrated on 1st July 1897.  The Cathedral was built in a Norman Style, and it is the only Norman Styled Cathedral in Ireland.  It can seat 1400 people.  It has a impressive spire at the front and large apse in the Sanctuary.  The Cathedral can be seen from any part of the town.  It is dark grey with a tall tower and a short spire. It is hard to tell where it is because it is similar to the Town Hall.  (Cited from the site of "Wikipedia")
	slg2012-008	(Monday 18 June) The Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, Temple Street, Sligo
	slg2012-009	(Monday 18 June) The Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, Temple Street, Sligo
	slg2012-010	(Monday 18 June) The Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, Temple Street, Sligo
	slg2012-011	(Monday 18 June) The Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, Temple Street, Sligo
	slg2012-012	(Monday 18 June) The Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, Temple Street, Sligo
	slg2012-014	(Monday 18 June) The Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, Temple Street, Sligo
	slg2012-015	(Monday 18 June) The Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, Temple Street, Sligo
	slg2012-017	(Monday 18 June) The Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, Temple Street, Sligo
	slg2012-018	(Monday 18 June) The Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, Temple Street, Sligo
	slg2012-019	(Monday 18 June) The Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, Temple Street, Sligo
	slg2012-020	(Monday 18 June) The Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, Temple Street, Sligo
	slg2012-022	(Monday 18 June) The Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, Temple Street, Sligo
Hawk's Well Theatre/North Western Tourist Office		Hawk's Well Theatre/North Western Tourist Office, Temple Street, Sligo
	slg2012-024	(Monday 18 June) Hawk's Well Theatre/North Western Tourist Office, Temple Street, Sligo
	slg2012-025	(Monday 18 June) Hawk's Well Theatre, Temple Street, Sligo
St Columba's Church		St. Columba's Church, Drumcliff, County Sligo (est. 1809) where W. B. Yeats rests in peace under Ben Bulben.
	slg2012-030	(Monday 18 June) Map of St. Columba's Church, Drumcliff, County Sligo
	slg2012-033	(Monday 18 June) The High Cross of St. Columba's Church, Drumcliff, County Sligo
	slg2012-034	(Monday 18 June) The High Cross of St. Columba's Church, Drumcliff, County Sligo
	slg2012-035	(Monday 18 June) The High Cross of St. Columba's Church, Drumcliff, County Sligo
	slg2012-037	(Monday 18 June) St. Columba's Church, Drumcliff, County Sligo
	slg2012-040	(Monday 18 June) St. Columba's Church, Drumcliff, County Sligo
	slg2012-042	(Monday 18 June) St. Columba's Church, Drumcliff, County Sligo
	slg2012-043	(Monday 18 June) St. Columba's Church, Drumcliff, County Sligo
	slg2012-044	(Monday 18 June) St. Columba's Church, Drumcliff, County Sligo
	slg2012-046	(Monday 18 June) St. Columba's Church, Drumcliff, County Sligo
	slg2012-047	(Monday 18 June) St. Columba's Church, Drumcliff, County Sligo
	slg2012-049	(Monday 18 June) St. Columba's Church, Drumcliff, County Sligo
	slg2012-050	(Monday 18 June) St. Columba's Church, Drumcliff, County Sligo
	slg2012-051	(Monday 18 June) St. Columba's Church, Drumcliff, County Sligo
	slg2012-053	(Monday 18 June) St. Columba's Church, Drumcliff, County Sligo
	slg2012-054	(Monday 18 June) St. Columba's Church, Drumcliff, County Sligo
	slg2012-055	(Monday 18 June) Graves of W. B. Yeats (1865-1939) and his wife George Yeats (1892-1968), St. Columba's Church, Drumcliff, County Sligo. Citing the last three lines from his poem "Under Ben Bulben" (August 1938; one of his last poems), the inscription says: Cast a cold eye On life, on death. Horseman, pass by! W. B. YEATS June 13th 1865 January 28th 1939
	slg2012-057	(Monday 18 June) Graves of W. B. Yeats (1865-1939) and his wife George Yeats (1892-1968), St. Columba's Church, Drumcliff, County Sligo
	slg2012-060	(Monday 18 June) Graves of W. B. Yeats (1865-1939) and his wife George Yeats (1892-1968), St. Columba's Church, Drumcliff, County Sligo
Ben Bulben		Ben Bulben, sometimes spelt Benbulben or Benbulbin (from the Irish: Binn Ghulbain), is a large rock formation in County Sligo, Ireland.  It is part of the Dartry Mountains, in an area sometimes called "Yeats Country."  Ben Bulben is a protected site, designated as a County Geological Site by Sligo County Council.  "Ben Bulben," "Benbulben," and "Benbulbin" are all anglicizations of the Irish name "Binn Ghulbain."  "Binn" means "peak" or "mountain," while "Ghulbain" refers to Conall Gulban, a son of Niall of the Nine Hostages: "Gulban's Peak."  Another translation is "jaw-shaped peak."     Ben Bulben was formed during the ice age, when Ireland was under glaciers.  Originally it was a large ridge.  The moving glaciers shaped it into its present distinct formation.     Ben Bulben, and the Dartry Range, is composed of limestones on top of mudstones.  These rocks formed in the area approximately 320 million years ago.  Uppermost in the limestone layer is a thicker, harder limestone called the Dartry Limestone Formation.  Below this is a thinner transitional limestone formation - the Glencar Limestone Formation.  Further down, the lower slopes consist of shaly mudstone known as the Benbulben Shale Formation.  Scree deposits are found near the base.  Fossils exist throughout the layers of the mountains.  All layers have many fossilised sea shells.  The shale layer also holds some corals.  Barytes was mined at Glencarbury near Ben Bulben in the Dartry range between 1894 and 1979.     Ben Bulben is the setting of many Celtic legends.  It is said to be the dwelling of the Fianna, a band of warriors who lived in the 3rd century.  One example is a story in which the warrior Diarmuid Ua Duibhne (Diarmuid) is tricked by the giant Fionn mac Cumhaill (Finn McCool) into fighting an enchanted boar, which later kills the warrior by piercing his heart with its tusk.  The mountain is said to be Diarmuid and Grainne's resting place.  Also, in the 6th century, St. Columba led 3,000 soldiers up Ben Bulben to fight for the right for the saint to copy from a Psalter he had borrowed from St. Finnian.     Ben Bulben features prominently in the poetry of W. B. Yeats, after whom Yeats Country is named.  County Sligo is considered integral to the poet's work.  The mountain is one of the destinations on the Passport Trail of the poet's life.   Yeats wrote the following in The Celtic Twilight:      But for Ben Bulben and Knocknarea,   Many a poor sailor'd be cast away.         Yeats's famous poem, Under Ben Bulben, is basically a description of Yeats Country.  It describes the sights that he saw in Yeats Country.  The following is the last (sixth) stanza of "Under Ben Bulben" (August 1938; one of the last poems he wrote):      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!         This was Yeats's final poem, published in The Irish Times.  He is now buried in nearby Drumcliffe Churchyard.  (Extracted from the site of "Wikipedia")
	slg2012-063	(Monday 18 June) Ben Bulben, viewed from St. Columba's Church, Drumcliff, County Sligo
	slg2012-064	(Monday 18 June) Ben Bulben, viewed from St. Columba's Church, Drumcliff, County Sligo
	slg2012-065	(Monday 18 June) Ben Bulben, viewed from St. Columba's Church, Drumcliff, County Sligo
	slg2012-068	(Monday 18 June) Ben Bulben, viewed from St. Columba's Church, Drumcliff, County Sligo
	slg2012-070	(Monday 18 June) Ben Bulben, viewed from St. Columba's Church, Drumcliff, County Sligo
	slg2012-071	(Monday 18 June) Ben Bulben, viewed from St. Columba's Church, Drumcliff, County Sligo
Lough Gill		Lough Gill (Irish: Loch Gile) is a freshwater lough (lake) mainly situated in County Sligo, but partly in County Leitrim, in Ireland.  It is about 8 km or 5 miles long and 2 km or 1 mile wide, and drains into the River Garavogue near Sligo Town.  The picturesque lake is surrounded by wooded hills and is popular with birdwatchers, and is overlooked by Parke's Castle.     In the early historic era (5th-8th centuries), it was home to a branch of the Calraighe.  The present castle was built in the 17th century by Captain Robert Parke on the site of the former stronghold of the Ui Ruairc clann.  The Ui Ruairc clan ruled the area from about the 7th century to around 952, up to the time of Oliver Cromwell.  The lake contains about 20 small islands, including the famous Isle of Innisfree.   The lake is home to the Lough Gill 10 km Swim for NW Hospice, Sligo.  This fundraiser began in 2011 raising over 11,400 euros for the Hospice also winning the coveted Irish Long Distance Swimming Association swim of the year.  It is run by a committee made up of local swimmers and friends of the family of Neill McGarry, for whom the event trophy is dedicated.  The first man to successfully swim the English channel, Captain Webb, used the lake as part of his training for the feat.  He was a friend of WB Yeats Grandfather who lived in the area.  (Cited from the site of "Wikipedia")
	slg2012-073	(Monday 18 June) Lough Gill, County Sligo
	slg2012-074	(Monday 18 June) Lough Gill, County Sligo
	slg2012-075	(Monday 18 June) Lough Gill, County Sligo
	slg2012-079	(Monday 18 June) Parke's Castle (b. 1610 on the site of an earlier fifteenth-century O'Rourke (Ui Ruairc) castle), Lough Gill, County Sligo
	slg2012-081	(Monday 18 June) Parke's Castle (b. 1610 on the site of an earlier fifteenth-century O'Rourke (Ui Ruairc) castle), Lough Gill, County Sligo
	slg2012-083	(Monday 18 June) Parke's Castle (b. 1610 on the site of an earlier fifteenth-century O'Rourke [Ui Ruairc] castle), Lough Gill, County Sligo
	slg2012-077	(Monday 18 June) Boat map of Lough Gill, County Sligo
	slg2012-085	(Monday 18 June) Boat "Rose of Innisfree" by Parke's Castle, Lough Gill, County Sligo
	slg2012-086	(Monday 18 June) Boat "Rose of Innisfree" by Parke's Castle, Lough Gill, County Sligo
	slg2012-088	(Monday 18 June) The Lake Isle of Innisfree, viewed from Parke's Castle, Lough Gill, County Sligo.         THE LAKE ISLE OF INNISFREE         By William Butler Yeats      I will arise and go now, and go to Innisfree,   And a small cabin build there, of clay and wattles made;   Nine bean rows will I have there, a hive for the honeybee,   And live alone in the bee-loud glade.   And I shall have some peace there, for peace comes dropping slow,   Dropping from the veils of the morning to where the cricket sings;   There midnight's all a-glimmer, and noon a purple glow,   And evening full of the linnet's wings.      I will arise and go now, for always night and day   I hear lake water lapping with low sounds by the shore;   While I stand on the roadway, or on the pavements gray,   I hear it in the deep heart's core.
	slg2012-089	(Monday 18 June) The Lake Isle of Innisfree, viewed from Parke's Castle, Lough Gill, County Sligo
	slg2012-091	(Monday 18 June) The Lake Isle of Innisfree, viewed from Parke's Castle, Lough Gill, County Sligo
	slg2012-095	(Monday 18 June) The Lake Isle of Innisfree, viewed from Parke's Castle, Lough Gill, County Sligo
	slg2012-093	(Monday 18 June) Lough Gill, viewed from Parke's Castle, County Sligo
	slg2012-102	(Monday 18 June) Irish fairies from Seoul, Korea (the spirit of W. B. Yeats might have sent me), viewed from Parke's Castle, Lough Gill, County Sligo
	slg2012-103	(Monday 18 June) Me, viewed from Parke's Castle, Lough Gill, County Sligo
W. B. Yeats Statue;		W. B. Yeats Statue in front of The Ulster Bank by the Hyde Bridge over River Garavogue, Sligo
	slg2012-105	(Monday 18 June) W. B. Yeats Statue in front of the Ulster Bank building by the Hyde Bridge over River Garavogue, Sligo
	slg2012-107	(Monday 18 June) W. B. Yeats Statue in front of the Ulster Bank building by the Hyde Bridge over River Garavogue, Sligo
	slg2012-109	(Monday 18 June) W. B. Yeats Statue in front of the Ulster Bank building by the Hyde Bridge over River Garavogue, Sligo
Yeats Memorial Building		The Yeats Memorial Building, Hyde Bridge Sligo
	slg2012-112	(Monday 18 June) The Yeats Memorial Building, Hyde Bridge Sligo over River Garavogue, Sligo
	slg2012-114	(Monday 18 June) The Yeats Memorial Building, Hyde Bridge Sligo
	slg2012-119	(Monday 18 June) Ad for the Yeats Memorial Building, Hyde Bridge Sligo
M. Quirke		Michael Quirke, the famous woodcarver in Wine Street, Sligo
	slg2012-130	(Monday 18 June) Michael Quirke, the famous woodcarver in Wine Street, Sligo
	slg2012-131	(Monday 18 June) Michael Quirke, the famous woodcarver in Wine Street, Sligo
Sligo Town Hall		Sligo Town Hall was designed by the Dublin architect William Hague and was built by the Dublin firm OF Crowe and Brothers for the sum of £5,000 in 12 October 1865.
	slg2012-132	(Monday 18 June) Sligo Town Hall, Quay Street, Sligo
	slg2012-134	(Monday 18 June) Sligo Town Hall, Quay Street, Sligo
Hargadon Bros.		Hargadon Bros. 4 O'Connell Street, Co. Sligo.  I believe that this is the best pub in Sligo!
	slg2012-141	(Monday 18 June) Hargadon Bros. 4 O'Connell Street, Co. Sligo
	slg2012-143	(Monday 18 June) Hargadon Bros. 4 O'Connell Street, Co. Sligo
	slg2012-144	(Monday 18 June) Hargadon Bros. 4 O'Connell Street, Co. Sligo
	slg2012-147	(Monday 18 June) My lunch (steak sandwiches and cider), Hargadon Bros. 4 O'Connell Street, Co. Sligo
Market Street		Market Street, Sligo is very familiar to me because I stayed in "Savoy Cafe" (23 Market Street, Sligo) along this street in 1995 and 1999 during attending the Yeats Summer School.
	slg2012-150	(Monday 18 June) The Statue of the Lady Erin (Lady of Erin Statue) at the Market Street/Castle St/Grattan Street junction
	slg2012-151	(Monday 18 June) Market Street, Sligo
	slg2012-154	(Monday 18 June) Market Street, Sligo
	slg2012-155	(Monday 18 June) Market Street, Sligo
	slg2012-157	(Monday 18 June) Market Street, Sligo
	slg2012-158	(Monday 18 June) Market Street, Sligo
	slg2012-159	(Monday 18 June) Market Street, Sligo
Site of Keohane's Bookshop		Keohane's Bookshop, Castle Street, Sligo, was founded by John Keohane in 1947.  Since then "the shop had been a mecca for bibliophiles and was synonymous with Sligo" (Paul Clements, "An Irishman's Diary," The Irish Times, September 1, 2011).  When I participated in the Yeats Summer School (1995/1999), I often came to the shop to find some research resources.   I remember a nice shop clerk who kindly carried dozens of books I bought to the nearest post office to send them to Japan.  Of course I still keep all of the books I bought here, which still greatly help my study on Yeats. However, the nearly 65-year-old shop closed due to the recession in 2011.  I miss this shop very much.
	slg2012-161	(Monday 18 June) Site of Keohane's Bookshop, Castle Street, Sligo
	slg2012-163	(Monday 18 June) Site of Keohane's Bookshop, Castle Street, Sligo