Page 10 - Sligo X North West

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Sligo, who knew?
The sheer of number of diverse things to do in Sligo is astounding, given the size of the county. From high-oc- tane adventure tourism to the slower pace of life that all of Ireland was once known for, it’s a visitor’s dream.
Ciaran Byrne
One minute we’re driving along
minding our own business and suddenly we’re inside a rural country market scoffing lemon drizzle cake. And it’s still only 10am.
All around us, people are grabbing loaves of bread, picking up cabbages, making crepes, pouring tea and generally having a good old chin-wag.
Beltra Village Hall in Co Sligo, looks like something you’d happen upon in rural Vermont, all brown-painted corrugated iron and surrounded by big fir trees.
Inside it’s Avoca meets the Great Irish Bake-off with charming chaos as the ladies (mostly) in charge count up the takings and divide the spoils.
After our Saturday morning cake-stop, we push on and ten minutes later, we arrive at our intended destination, an absolutely deserted beach.
We open our lungs and take it all in. Dunmoran has the kind of cinematic sweep that takes your breath away. The skies are blue and the sun is sparkling on the breakers.
It’s stunning to look across the sea to Sligo town and the brooding outlines
of Knocknarea and Benbulben, the two mountains that frame almost every angle of Sligo’s skyline.
Up along the way and over a small head- land is Aughris Head and there we learn that the place, once blighted by emigra-
tion, has a new lease of life from tourism - and surfing.
All of this is on the path of the Wild Atlantic Way, the clever Failte Ireland initiative that is getting people to come to places that were, well, always here, but just less visited.
At the Beach Bar in Aughris Head, an impossibly pretty pitstop nestled in a perfect little cove, people are getting out of vans and fancy Volvo estate cars with Dublin and Cork regs and squeezing them- selves into wetsuits. Alongside the pub is a postcard-pretty camping ground.
Part of the story of Sligo in recent years has been something of discovery, learn- ing a bit about the things that tend to get overlooked in this little county.
When local people last year sat down and asked ‘who knows about this place?’ the answer was: a few surfers, some Dutch tourists and ‘the poetry people’.
A hashtag was born: #sligowhoknew promotes Sligo as a kind of secret yet vis- ually decadent destination. It was a clever idea and it has worked because everyone with an interest (that ghastly word, stake- holders) got behind it and gave it a push. Denise Rushe of Starling Digital (@ ladydotty on Twitter) was involved in the marketing strategy and says the idea was to generate interest in all of the other things going on in Sligo. There was a burst of local pride recently with the movie Calvary starring Brendan Gleeson; prob-
ably the first time Sligo’s jaw-dropping landscape has featured so handsomely on celluloid.
Between August 10 and 17, the town hostd Fleadh Cheoil na hEireann, the nation’s marquee trad music and cultural event, which drew over 150,000 people from across Ireland and beyond.
Sligo is an easy sell for touring. Nowhere in the county, if you are staying in town, is more than 30 minutes drive in any direction. Easkey (key scenes from Calvary were filmed here) is just 30 min- utes west; Mullaghmore (stunning beach and harbour, cliff-jumping) is just 25 minutes north; Stran- dhill (surfing, walking, eating and a Sunday morning market) is 15
minutes west of town.
My own favourite bit of Sligo involves
some tide readings and faith in your driving. Coney Island can only be reached by driving across the sands. A tiny sliver of heaven, it’s a sparsely populated little island plopped in the middle of Sligo bay.
Sligo Stories
Donal Hackett, photographer
My name is Donal Hackett and I have lived in Sligo for the last 35 years after moving here from Trim in Co Meath.
I have only taken up photography in the last 3 years after spending a few years unemployed and have been doing it semi professionally for less than 2 years now. Photography is not just a profession it is a passion for me and I am beginning to make my mark in the industry.
Sligo is a wonderful place to do photography with its beautiful mountains, lakes and coastal region which is part of the Wild Atlantic Way.
The West coast has stunning sunsets and I really appreci- ate the wonderful landscape especially coming from the flatlands of Co Meath.
Sligo town is a fantastic
place to photograph because
there is always exciting
events on in it and I have been recently concen- trating on photographing Sligo town architecture and landscape. I currently do freelance work for the Sligo Champion and also primarily concentrate on commercial photography.
Auriel Robinson
The Seatrails story
For many years I wondered would I ever settle in Ireland. I had travelled abroad a fair bit already and had itchy feet. Yet I loved Ireland and was proud of my country. Being a maritime archaeologist means seeking answers about the lives, beliefs and traditions of past cultures and civilisations.
I remember the first day I set foot in Sligo. I drove through Castle Street thinking ‘there’s an old feel to this city’ and I liked it. It had character and once I travelled up the Sligo coast in search of waves, I realised everything that appealed to me was
pretty much here-the wild
Atlantic, an awe-inspiring
land and seascape, ancient
and fascinating archaeol-
ogy and history, the arts
and a great warmth in the
Sligo people. Setting up
Seatrails is my way of shar-
ing Sligo’s antiquity and its
natural gems through guided walking tours. Trails can be found at seatrails.ie and
on Twitter @seatrails1
Val Robus, Sligo blogger
I moved to Sligo from 23 years ago with my husband Andy and children Jonathan and Lucy, now adults. We came over on holiday and fell in love with the place. Sligo has that special something; a real wow factor and 23 years on that still hasn’t left me. I’m passionate about the place; we really have it all from beaches to lakes, mountains to forests. The best of restaurants, adventures and everything in between. It’s the perfect place for me to combine my passion for photography as well. I started the blog (magnum-
lady.com) as a hobby 5 years
ago. I’d started taking photos
and it seemed like a good idea
to combine it with the blog.
My daughter is following in my
footsteps and started her own
blog (life-according-to-lucy.
blogspot.ie). This year I started sligo-secrets.com which was an idea I’d had buzzing around my head for a long time. It’s a labour of love but I hope it goes a small way to show people how beautiful Sligo is.
26 November 2014