Sligo

County of the Republic of Ireland, in the province of Connacht, situated on the Atlantic coast of northwest Ireland; county town Sligo; area 1,800 sq km/695 sq mi; population (2002) 58,200. Limestone mountains rise behind a boggy coastal plain. There is some mineral wealth, including barytes, coal, lead, and copper. Agricultural activity includes cattle farming and dairy farming. The other principal town is Ballymote.

Sligo is notable for its important megalithic remains, including the cemetery site at Carrowmore Hill. W B Yeats wrote much of his poetry about Sligo, where he lived for many years.

Topography Sligo is bounded on the north by the Atlantic, on the southwest and west by County Mayo, on the east by Leitrim, and on the southeast by Roscommon. The bays of Killala and Sligo indent the shore, and the mountains behind the coastal plain are the Slieve Gamph or Ox Mountains, the highest point of which is is Mount Knockalongy (545 m/1,788 ft), and the Dartry Mountains, the highest point of which is Mount Truskmore (641 m/2,103 ft) on the eastern border. The principal rivers are the Garavogue and the Owenmore. The lakes include loughs Arrow, Easky, Gara, Gill, Glencar, Talt, and Templehouse.