Sligo's Heritage and Historic Sites

Sligo’s Heritage & Historic Sites www.southandwestsligo.ie

Caves of Keash Located in the side of Keash Hill, 3 miles east of Ballymote, these 13 caves are accessible from a walking trail which starts at Keash Church. The caves were occupied by brown bears and the bones of Reindeer, Boar, Wolf, and Arctic Lemming along with many types of bird have been found here. Human habitation of the caves appears to begin around the 8th century. Cormac MacAirt, a famous Irish King, was apparently raised by a she-wolf in these caves.

South & West Sligo

Tourism

5

25

7 8

12

22

16 9

2

3

18

23

13

15

19

17

10

24

11

20

1

21 14

6

4

Heritage & Historic Sites 1.

Caves of Keash

2.

Ladies Brae

Cover 3

13.

Court Abbey Graveyard and Ruins

5

14.

Carrentemple Graveyard

5

15.

Sligo Folk Park

5

16.

Cliff Bath House

6

3.

Teeling Monument

3

4.

Lough Gara Crannógs

3

17.

Achonry Cathedral

6

3

18.

Croagh Hunting Lodge

7

3

19.

Mass Rock

7

4

20.

Banada Abbey & Peace Park

7

4

21.

Coleman Farmhouse

7

Nolan’s Castle

8

5.

6.

7.

8.

Pullaheeney Coast Guard Station Moygara Castle O’Dowd’s Castle Split Rock

9.

Costal Fort

4

22.

10.

Ballymote Heritage Trail & Castle

4

23.

Knocknashee Hill

8

4

24.

Ballyara Graveyard

8

5

25.

Rathlee Signal Tower

8

11.

12.

2

Carrowkeel & Bricklieve Mountains Aughris Head & Deserted Village

2 Ladies Brae Ladies Brae is considered to be the most beautiful view in Sligo and boasts a pleasant picnic area.

Nearby at the base of Knockalongy is Lough Achree (Lake of the Heart), reportedly formed in 1490 by an earthquake and is reputed to be the youngest lake in Ireland. The following is an extract from the Annals of the Four Masters “There was an earthquake at Sliabh Gamh, by which a hundred persons were destroyed, among whom was the son of Manus Crossagh O’Hara. Many horses and cows were also killed by it, and much putrid fish was thrown up; and a lake, in which fish is now caught, sprang up in the place.”

3 Teeling Monument On August 22nd 1798 around 1,000 French soldiers, under the command of General Humbert, landed at Kilcummin in County Mayo. They arrived in support of the Irish Rebellion of that year against British Rule, organised by the United Irishmen under the leadership of Wolfe Tone. They were joined by up to 5,000 local rebels and inflicted a number of defeats on the British at Killala, Ballina and Castlebar before declaring the short-lived Republic of Connacht. On the 5th of September the advancing Franco-Irish troops met the British at Coolooney.

The British forces had installed cannon nearby. Captain Teeling, General Humbert’s Irish aide, cleared the way for the advancing Irish-French army by single handedly disabling the British gunner post when he broke from the French ranks and galloped towards the rock. He was armed with a pistol and shot the cannon’s marksman and captured the cannon. After losing the cannon position the British retreated towards their barracks at Sligo. A statue is erected to captain Teeling’s memory along the road (R290) on the northern fringe of Coolooney.

4 Lough Gara Crannógs Lough Gara was lowered in the 1950s and as many as 360 Crannógs were exposed. These manmade islands used the lake as natural fortification and range in date from the Mesolithic period to the Post-Medieval.

5 Pullaheeney Coast Guard Station The ruins of this coastguard station can still be seen close to the sea and the harbour at Pullaheeney. Built by the British Government in the mid-1800s, in a townland called Caltraghkeel, the purpose of the station was to protect the coastline from invasion or smugglers who might dock at Pullaheeney Harbour.

It was burnt in the 1920s during the Civil War by republican forces and was never rebuilt. Pullaheeney Harbour is still used by local fishing boats.

6 Moygara Castle

This castle was built around the year 1500 and was the principle fortress of the O’Gara Clan. The castle was taken in 1581 by a band of Scottish mercenaries under the command of Captain Malby, Governor of Connacht, and was occupied during the Williamite wars in the 1690s.

3

8 O’Dowd’s Castle Built in 1207, the castle was home to the O’Dowd chieftains of the barony of Tireragh (West Sligo), having been originally built for Oliver McDonnell who came to the area to marry an O’Dowd widow.

Although much of the surrounding structure has been lost over time, the main body of the castle remains. Situated adjacent to Easkey pier, the 63 feet high castle is a dominant landmark and the highest part is known as the ‘Sailor’s Bed’.

8 Split Rock Fionn’s Stone is a large boulder in a field near Easkey. The rock is a huge chunk of gneiss, 6 meters long by 2.5 meters high, that was carried north from the Ox Mountains by the retreating glaciers, the great winter cailleach of Sligeach, at the end of the last ice age. Traditionally large and unusual stones are linked to a hero, or saint, and this said to have been cast here by Fionn Mac Cumhal from the summits of the Ox Mountains during a giants stone-throwing competition. Furious that his cast did not reach the sea, he leaped down and struck the stone with his sword and split it in two, and so its other name, the Split Rock of Easkey (which means Fishy). Local tradition says that should you walk through the crack three times it will snap shut on you.

9 Coastal Fort This large coastal fort in Carrowhubbock , given its position and size, was probably a very important site, the home of the local chieftain. This major ringfort would have been a large tribal settlement and an important trading centre for the area. A very unusual and significant feature of this particular fort is that it has at least four embankments surrounding it, most ringforts only have one or sometimes two.

Multivallate ringforts are rare – of the 1200 ringforts in the south Sligo area only one other has four banks.

10 Ballymote Heritage Trail & Castle The beautiful town park in Ballymote is centred around Ballymote Castle, built in 1300 by Richard De Burgo, the Red Earl of Ulster. The castle was held by an array of historic factions including local chieftain the O’Connor’s, MacDonaghs, Red Hugh O’Donnell as well as well as Richard Bingham & the Williamites. Also beside the town park is the 15th Centaury Franciscan Friary which is the original home of the MacDonagh Chalice. Also of note on this interesting trail is Ballymote Railway Station, the Old Mill buildings and Emlaghfad Early Monastic site, bastioned fort and graveyard.

The Book of Ballymote is a most important Irish manuscript from 1390 or 1391 was compiled for McDonagh in Ballymote Castle.

11 Carrowkeel & Bricklieve Mountains The Bricklieve Mountains are home to many passage tombs and it is possible to climb into several of them via narrow passages. The Carrowkeel Passage Tombs are Neolithic, dating to about 3,300 BC, up to 800 years older than the Egyptian Pyramids.

4

Ciaran McHugh

12 Aughris Head & Deserted Village ®

This beautiful coastal site is home to a harbour, coastal walk and beach. Here you can see a former Emergency (World War II) era coastal lookout post strategically situated on the headland at Aughris with commanding views over the Atlantic.

The deserted village or clachán-type village at the heart of the headland, a cliff edge promontory fort and holy well can also be visited along the walk.

13 Court Abbey Graveyard and Ruins Ruins of a 15th Century Franciscan Friary, complete with fine surviving Belfry.

The fragmentary remains of medieval wall paintings can be seen on its side Chapel.

14 Carrentemple Graveyard Located approximately 4km south West of Gurteen Village off the Ballaghaderreen Road. This is a very old graveyard dating back many hundreds of years and according to Mary B. Timoney in her book ‘Had Me Made’ the site is well known “for its highly decorated Early Christian Slabs”. This is an interesting visit for those interested in graveyards. The graveyard gained notoriety when some very old and highly decorated grave slabs were stolen from the graveyard in the 1980’s, only to be recovered from the USA some years later. Subsequently, to prevent another similar theft, these slabs are now stored in the National Museum and replicas are in the graveyard.

15 Sligo Folk Park Sligo Folk Park is located in the beautiful village of Riverstown, County Sligo. This community based attraction provides a true experience of rural life and Irish heritage at the turn of the late 19th Century. The Folk Park is set in the grounds of the authentically restored Millview House, which was originally built in 1873 by George Reid, farmer, shoemaker and the local church sexton.

5

16 Cliff Bath House This is a detached three-bay, single-storey, rendered former bathhouse, built c.

1890, no longer in use. It is set on a limestone wave-cut platform overlooking the beach, with the sea to the west and a flight of cut limestone steps leading up to street level to the north-east. It is a particularly important architectural survival in Enniscrone, reminiscent of the town’s history as a popular Edwardian seaside resort, and of the fashion for such seawater treatments in that era. It is of importance, also, as a striking landmark feature on the seafront. It makes an interesting pair with a second bathhouse further up the hill to its north-east.

17 Achonry Cathedral Often known as “the smallest Cathedral in Europe” Achonry Cathedral dates back originally to the 6th Century when St. Finian of Clonard established an abbey or monastery there. Over the centuries various buildings were built with the present Cathedral dating to 1828 when it was capable of seating 250 workshoppers. The present building was part of the Protestant Church, the Church of Ireland and contained as a place of worship for the local Church of Ireland community until 1988 when it was deconsecrated due to the falling population of the Church community.

Worshippers now attend St. Georges Church in Tubbercurry. The Cathedral was used occasionally since 1998 for Ecumenical Carol Services, but it has fallen into very poor repair now and is dangerous internally. What the future holds for the building is uncertain. Located in the old graveyard to the East of the Cathedral is the original Cathedral built in the middle ages.

6

®

18 Croagh (Crowagh) Hunting Lodge As you drive from Dromore West towards Lough Easkey you happen upon Croagh Hunting Lodge which now lies in ruins. This building dates from the late 1700’s /early 1800’s and was owned by the Cooper family of landlords of Markree Castle in Collooney. The Coopers at that time owned many thousands of acres including good agricultural land and mountain land such as that at Croagh. It was rented out to farmers, usually at rent levels which were considered high and difficult to pay. The Hunting lodge was used as a type of holiday resort of its day where the gentry and invited guests stayed while on shooting holidays – the usually quarry being grouse, snipe, woodcock and hare. If walls could talk, no doubt they would tell stories of great fancy and revelry into the early hours of morning. The lodge was occupied year round by a game keeper and his family, who’s job it was to manage the game on the mountains and trap or shoot vermin that would interfere with nesting birds.

The last game keeper of Croagh Lodge was a Scotchman, William Nicholl, who lived there from 1865 until his death by murder on St. Patrick’s Day 1880. At that time there was a lot of agrarian unrest due to high rents and a demand for ‘land for the people’. His murder was never solved or nobody ever found guilty for it, after he was set upon on his way home from Easkey Fair.

Today Croagh Hunting Lodge lies in ruins as it has for over 100 years.

19 Mass Rock Located in Mass Hill on the Easkey to Tubbercurry Road, this is an interesting location where Catholic Priests were held Mass for their congregation during the Penal Law times of the 18th Century. A detailed history of locality is displayed on information boards on-site.

20 Banada Abbey & Peace Park Banada is located along the banks of the River Moy, and is a beautiful peaceful location that has been a home for monastic life, religious practice and education for hundreds of years.

Using Banada Bridge which crosses the Moy River as a centre, on the east side lies Banada Peace Gardens and on the West side is Banada Abbey and graveyard, while a little north of the Abbey lies the old Banada Convent. Banada Abbey was built by the Friars of St. Augustine in or about 1423AD and since then Banada has been a centre of prayer and retreat despite many turbulent times.

The local landlord family were the Jones family and they were helpful to the local population in the 18 & 19th Century. They donated their lands in the Sisters of Charity who established a Convent and later a school, both Primary and Secondary since the 1860’s.

Banada Peace Gardens were developed along the Moy River bank beside Banada bridge and handball alley by the local community. It commemorates new found peace in Northern Ireland and is dedicated to all the peace makers including John Hume, Rev. Ian Paisley and 1916 Rebellion leaders. It seems a contradiction - go see for yourself - you will be surprised and overjoyed.

21 Coleman Farmhouse Michael Coleman is among the most famous Traditional Irish Musicians of the 20th Centuary. So great was the musical activity around the Coleman home that it was often called “Jamesy Coleman’s Music Hall”. Killavil was an area famed for its fiddle tradition and the cottage is a replica of the original Coleman home, which will give visitors a unique insight into how people lived in the early twentieth century in Ireland. The building has three rooms, is constructed of red and white limestone and is roofed in traditional thatch. The cottage contains everyday cooking utensils, furniture, crockery and other artifacts, which date back to the 1920’s. These give the visitor a living representation of life during that time.

7

22 Nolan’s Castle This is a detached three-bay, single-storey, rendered former bathhouse, built c. 1890, no longer in use. It is set on a limestone wave-cut platform overlooking the beach, with the sea to the west and a flight of cut limestone steps leading up to street level to the north-east. It is a particularly important architectural survival in Enniscrone, reminiscent of the town’s history as a popular Edwardian seaside resort, and of the fashion for such seawater treatments in that era. It is of importance, also, as a striking landmark feature on the seafront. It makes an interesting pair with a second bathhouse further up the hill to its north-east.

23 Knocknashee,

The Hill of the Fairies

Knocknashee means “Hill of the Fairies” and was one of Ireland’s Sacred hills. Knocknashee is a plateau hill. Archaeological evidence on top includes two cairns from 3000 B.C., the remains of 30 circular house sites and the enclosure around the top makes it one of the seven largest hillforts in the country.

The hill can be climbed from the eastern side and provides panoramic views of the North West of Ireland.

25 Rathlee Signal Tower Napoleonic signal tower at Rathlee, not far from Enniscrone. These towers were built between 1804 and 1806. There were 81 of them extending from Dublin to Bantry in Co. Cork, up the west coast as far as Malin Head in Co. Donegal.

They were built as observation points along the coast for potential threat of French invasion and were manned by soldiers. They had masts with flags and symbols and signals would be made to another one if something was seen on the water or threatening.

24 Ballyara Graveyard

Impressive 15th Century Graveyard located on the western edge of Tubbercurry, on the R294 (Tubbercurry/Ballina Road), opposite St. Attracta’s School. The graveyard got its name from the townland Ballyara – the town of O’Hara and was used for burials until the 1950s Credit: Seatrails

Please be advised that this Heritage Trail is intended to be enjoyed from the public realm. Many of the sights are in private ownership and some are unsafe to enter. Please be advised that all local information signage should be strictly adhered to in terms of accessing these sites. No dogs are permitted at certain sites i.e. Caves of Keash and Carrowkeel due to sheep grazing. This booklet forms part of Sligo’s Hidden Gems series. ®

South & West Sligo Sligo County Council

Tourism

www.southandwestsligo.ie