IRELAND, DAY 5: SLIGO

 July 8, 2024

Sligo, population 20,000, is located on the coast just west of Northern Ireland.

As we drove into town, I spotted this mural, which I have since identified as the 1916 Easter Rising Mural. We would learn more about the Easter Rising, an armed insurrection by Irish nationalists against British rule that took place during Easter week in April 1916, when we got to Northern Ireland. The large figures of seven men and one woman at the bottom of the mural were key figures in the revolt.

This mural, known as "Sligo, Set your Spirit Free," pays tribute to the big waves that have made this area a surfing hotspot.

Sligo has what looks like a classic small town American Main Street:

Because of the rental car debacle and our cancelled sheep farm excursion, we arrived in Sligo a little earlier than planned and had some time for a leisurely dinner and stroll.

We stumbled on a great restaurant on the riverwalk, Eala Bhan, Irish for "female swan." Bob had soup and a fish dish that was beautifully presented . . . 

. . . and I had Sherlock's of Tubbercurry Loin of Lamb and buttered mash. (No way could I resist those names!) All the food is locally sourced and was very good.

We noticed all kinds of awards on the walls and posts. I was especially intrigued by the Lucinda O'Sullivan Awards. I've learned since coming home that she is Ireland's most widely-read Food and Hospitality Critic. See her review of the restaurant here.

The poet and dramatist William Butler Yeats (1865-1939) was born in Dublin but grew up in Sligo and considered it his home. Sligo is more than happy to claim him. Eala Bhan's walls are decorated with large tapestries inscribed with verses from his poems.

Sometimes the verse is written right on the wall, surrounded by framed restaurant awards.

Here is a readable close-up:

Irish poet and 1995 Nobel Prize in Literature recipient Seamus Heaney was born in Northern Ireland in 1939 two months after Yeats died, and he lived until 2013. I don't think he had a particular tie to Sligo other than liking to visit, but apparently he dined at this restaurant fairly often. The table in a window alcove is dubbed the "Seamus Heaney Table."

After dinner we had a delightful walk alongside the picturesque Garavogue River, also known as the Sligeach or Sligo River.

There are five bridges spanning the river, three for cars and two for pedestrians only.

The river, which empties into the sea, is known for its long season for salmon fishing. Legend has it that St. Patrick met two fisherman on this river and asked them for some salmon, but the fisherman explained that no salmon swam upriver in the winter. Nevertheless, they cast their net into the river, and when they brought it up they found a large salmon, which they gave to St. Patrick. In return, St. Patrick blessed the river to yield salmon throughout the year.

  

I love the city signs that are popping up all over the world. This one is very unique.

Sligo has the charming appearance of an old seaside town.

The riverwalk has all kinds of interesting things to see.  For example, we came across a monument to a father and son: Ambrosio and Bernardo O'Higgins. Those are very Irish-sounding names, but while Ambrosio was born in Sligo, he was the Viceroy of Peru and Governor of Chile. His son Bernardo, born in Chile, was the "Captain General Liberator and First President of the Republic of Chile" who "advanced the cause of independence in Spanish America."

This large disk has a map of the city of Sligo in the center surrounded by sites to visit inscribed in the gray area. The Irish writing at the top in the gold band, Fáilte go Sligeach" means "Welcome to Sligo."

Here is another of the romantic flower-bedecked foot bridges. I was impressed that it was so clean (no graffiti or "locks of love") and well-maintained. 

And what is the economy like in Sligo? Well, like just about every other place in Ireland, it seems to be ruled by Guinness. Guinness is everywhere.

But there are other options as well, such as this one:  

We drove past this statue on our way to our bed and breakfast, and I was so intrigued that I made Bob detour on our way out of town the next morning to get a closer look. He dropped me off and drove around the block, and I enjoyed a few quiet moments with Sligo's favorite son, Mr. W. B. Yeats.

He is literally clothed in his own words, which are embossed on his jacket, shirt, and pants:

The unique tribute was erected in 1989 in remembrance of the 50th anniversary of the writer's death.

W.B. spends his days looking at an interesting combination of old and new Sligo.

Our bed and breakfast in Sligo was called "Old Fort Lodge," a bizarre name for a modern tract home situated in a modern neighborhood. 

READING AND MOVIES

At least a dozen years ago I read the award-winning novel The Secret Scripture by the Irish novelist and playwright Sebastian Barry.  It tells the story of Roseanne McNulty, a 100-year-old woman who has been a resident of an Irish asylum for decades and who has secretly written her memoir in the margins of an old Bible and hidden it in her room. It details her life in Sligo and the tumultuous years in the 1920s through 1940s. Meanwhile, her psychiatrist tries to assess her true mental state while his own life unravels. 

A few years ago we watched a 2016 movie version of the book starring the fantastic Vanessa Redgrave as the centenarian Roseanne. In some ways, I actually liked the movie more than the book, a rare thing for me, but both are worth your time.

Seamus Heaney (1939-2013) was born just eleven weeks after the death of William Butler Yeats (1865-1939). That's W.B. on the left and Seamus on the right. They look a little alike, don't you think?

Ireland has every right to be proud of these two writers. Yeats is considered one of the most influential figures in 20th-century literature and was awarded the 1923 Nobel Prize in Literature. Heaney was described by American poet Robert Lowell as "the most important Irish poet since Yeats" and himself was awarded the 1995 Nobel Prize in Literature. It was fun to encounter both of them in Sligo (in a manner of speaking), and I felt motivated to go home and delve into their works. I was quite familiar with Yeats from my college years, but Heaney became a literary force after I finished school, so I'd had very little exposure to him.

I scouted out a poetry anthology for each of them, and I can recommend these two books, each providing an accessible, broad survey of their careers: The Collected Poems of W. B. Yeats  and Seamus Heaney: 100 Poems.