Discover Alone
“Maeve is judging your outfit.”
Knocknarea is a big deal in Sligo, rising 327 metres over the Coolera Peninsula with steep limestone cliffs that look like they were carved by a giant with a grudge. Up top sits Queen Maeve’s Cairn, a massive heap of stones about 55 metres across. It is one of Ireland’s largest cairns and likely hides a Neolithic passage tomb, but nobody has fully dug it up yet. The story goes that Queen Maeve of Connacht is buried inside, though she is myth, not verified history. This hill overlooks Carrowmore and the Atlantic, forming part of an ancient ritual landscape. It is a protected National Monument, so while the views are spectacular, please do not climb on the stones. Recent years have seen damage from careless hikers. Wear good boots, watch the weather, and leave the queen’s roof alone. She has had enough for one week.
Photo: Oliver Dixon, CC BY-SA 2.0
Then Tom went looking for the oddest places around it.
Stop 2 · Hop back in the car, 5 minutes
The Glen
“Seagulls are unionising, mind the nettles.”
The Glen in County Sligo is where the seagulls hold their weekly board meetings about how to annoy the tourists most effectively. They really think they run this place, so you might as well let them. Mind the nettles, they're the real guards here.
The Glen is recorded as a wood in County Sligo.
From OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors) w1533709892Photo: Enda O Flaherty, CC BY-SA 2.0
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Stop 3 · 5 minutes down the road
Listoghil
“Waiting for a postcard from nowhere.”
Listoghil in Carrowmore has an imaginary twin across the sea that sends it postcards with no return address, which is why it’s so confused right now. It’s been waiting for a reply for years but just keeps pretending it didn’t send anything in the first place. Bring someone who'll believe anything.
See linked document with details from Seán Ó Nualláin, Survey of the Megalithic Tombs of Ireland. Volume V. County Sligo. (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1989) This is a National Monument in State care (No. 153). Attached images: SL014-209022-_01.JPG viewed from…
From the National Monuments Service (Archaeological Survey of Ireland) record SL014-209022Photo: Andreas F. Borchert, CC BY-SA 4.0
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Stop 4 · A 10-minute spin away
Coney Island
“Check the tide before your pride.”
Sligo has a Coney Island too, and I had better specify which one before somebody sends you to New York. Its Irish name recalls the O'Mulclohy family; the English version is the rabbit's claim to fame. In 1862, 124 people lived here and 45 children attended the local school. Electricity did not reach the island by underground cable until 1999, which is a longer wait for a light switch than I would have managed with good manners. Today the island has a tiny permanent population, though summer brings more visitors. You can come across the tidal causeway from the Coolera side when the water is out. That last condition matters more than my confidence about a shortcut: a returning tide can strand a car. Check the local crossing times and signs before going, and make your way back with room to spare. A rabbit might risk another hour; you have a clock and no excuse.
Coney Island is recorded as an island in County Sligo.
From OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors) w87357581Photo: Pampuco, CC BY-SA 4.0
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Stop 5 · Five minutes' walk
The Metal Man
“Rusty iron staring at your boat.”
The Metal Man beacon in Sligo Bay has a family tree mostly made up of rust spots and sea spray that nobody wants to trace back to 1819. Thomas Kirke cast it in London, but it looks like it’s been living here forever, judging every ship that passes with its cold iron stare. It’s sturdy enough to survive anything, which is reassuring given that the podium seems to be doing all the standing.
Freestanding, stone navigation beacon, erected 1821. Circular plan. Painted cast-iron statue of Royal Navy petty officer pointing on battered painted coursed ashlar limestone podium with moulded torus roll cut stone string course. Navigation light mounted to…
From the Buildings of Ireland (National Inventory of Architectural Heritage) record 32304007Photo: Lonelytrekker, CC BY-SA 4.0
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The whole day on one map
See everything else around Knocknarea →
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