Sligo Travel Guide 

Live Music

Traditional Irish, folk, rock, jazz, dance – whatever you’re into, Sligo has it. Throughout Sligo’s many cosy pubs, there is live music every night of the week, from local stars to visiting acts. You’ll find a mixture of traditional and contemporary music sessions, depending on your tastes. John the Map is a brilliant resource to follow what’s on around the county.

Interested in Irish trad music? Check out our guide here, and bop along to our Ultimate Irish Playlist while you get a chance.

Festivals

Each year sees the return of Sligo Live, Wild Roots, Sligo Jazz Week, and the Cairde Arts Festival, to name a few. A mix of music and arts, the festivities attract visitors from far and wide to experience Sligo’s unique and vibrant culture. Most offer free events and exhibitions showcasing local and global talent.

W.B. Yeats

Sligo heavily inspired the Irish poet W.B. Yeats, and many local sights and landscapes feature in his work – Glencar Waterfall, Hazelwood Forest, Benbulben mountain, the isle of Innisfree, the forests and geology around the lakeside Dooney Rock and Lissadell House and grounds, to name a few.

As a result, his legacy lives on in the Yeats Society’s Summer School and the Fiddler of Dooney music competition. His final resting place is in Sligo, at Drumcliffe Church, beneath the majesty of Benbulben.

Surfing

Famous worldwide for its incredible surfing spots, Sligo is a water enthusiast’s playground. The Mullaghmore headland attracts big wave surfers, some riding up to 60 ft waves, particularly in winter. Even if surfing isn’t your thing, why not pull up a chair and a thermos of tea and watch the pros tackle the big waves?

Other places of note for catching waves are Strandhill, Easky, and Streedagh. A new international centre of surf has opened in Strandhill, marking this sleepy beachside town as an ideal hub for surfing enthusiasts and beginners alike.

If you don’t fancy the surf, grab your SUP board or kayak and opt for the gentler swell of the gorgeous Lough Gill.

Learn more about surfing here.

Hiking & Mountaineering

The slow adventure of a trek is a perfect way to get up close and personal with the sights, sounds, flora and fauna of your chosen expedition.

There are four mountain ranges to choose from in Sligo – Dartry, Ox, Curlew and Bricklieve – and a wealth of trails among them. Most notable are Knocknarea, Benbulben, Benwhisken, Knocknashee, Carrowkeel, and Keash Hill.

If you prefer an easier ramble, coastal walks such as Aughris Head, Dunmoran Strand and Mullaghmore Head are ideal options. Read more about coastal walks here.

Cycling

Sligo offers plenty of options to get on your bike. Road cycling is hugely popular in Sligo, with gorgeous routes to choose from such as the Lough Gill Loop, the coast road to Enniscrone or the Ladies Brae route through the Ox Mountains.

For those searching for more heart-pounding adventures, Mountain biking is also on the rise, with a brand-new MTB Trail Network in Coolaney.

Check out our list of our favourite Irish bike loops here, which features Sligo’s lovely Lough Gill route.

Carrowkeel & Keash

A gentle ascent up Carrowkeel in the Bricklieve Mountains rewards you with multiple fascinating cairns to explore. They are evidence of Neolithic settlers in the area, and although they date as far back as 3500 BC, they remain relatively intact. From this summit, you will see how they align with other neighbouring cairns of the complex – such as Knocknarea, Heapstown Cairn and The Pinnacle at Keshcorran. Currently in a bid for UNESCO status, access to the site is limited. Check before visiting.

Heapstown Cairn

This is the largest site of the Carrowkeel complex and has many stories from Irish Mythology linked to it. The most notable tale hints that there is a well beneath the stones.

The tale states that a druid named Dian Ceacht used this well to heal Dé Danaan warriors during battle by filling it with herbs and chanting spells. The Formorians, mortal enemies of the Dé Danaans, caught wind of this method and sought to end it. They filled the well with stones until they had covered it completely, creating the cairn we see today. Historically, Heapstown Cairn was once used to crown the chieftains of the local clan, the McDonaghs.

Access to the site is closed, but it is visible by road.

Knocknarea & Carrowmore

The most famous cairn in the whole county, Knocknarea overlooks the surfing kingdom of Strandhill. Knocknarea is a commanding presence and striking feature of the landscape in North Sligo. Local lore tells it to be the final resting place of the fearsome Queen Maeve of Connacht, where she is buried standing upright, in full armour, facing her enemies in Ulster.

There are two ways to climb the hill to the tomb from the top: from Queen Maeve car park, or up the boardwalk from the rugby club. There is also a longer walk that connects the paths into a loop at the base of the hill. Or combine Knocknarea with the coastal path of Killasprugsbrone to visit a medieval church with a connection to St Patrick.

Nearby, don’t miss the incredible Carrowmore Neolithic site, one of Ireland’s richest and most dense spots for Neolithic monuments. Explore the dolmans, stone circles, and cairns of the Coolera Peninsula, and learn about Irish Neolithic archeology at the visitor centre.

Lean More about Sligo’s archaeology on our guide here.

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