Unofficial anthem is Innisfree, A lyrical ode to Innisfree, an island in Lough Gill, inspired by W.B. Yeats’ poem The Lake Isle of Innisfree. It celebrates Sligo’s serene landscapes and spiritual connection. Written by Dick Farrelly, composed for the film The Quiet Man. ON match day, Down by the Sally gardens by WB Yeats is played.
Innisfree
I’ve met some folk who say that I’m a dreamer
And I’ve no doubt there’s truth in what they say
For sure a body’s bound to be a dreamer
When all the things he loves are far away
And precious things are dreams unto an exile
They take him through a land across sea
Especially when it happens he’s in exile
From that dear lovely Isle of Innisfree
And when the moonlight peeps across the rooftops
Of this great city, wondrous though it be
I scarcely feel the beauty or the magic
I’m once again back home in Inisfree
I wander o’er green hills and dreamy valleys
And find a peace no other land could know
I hear the birds make music fit for angels
And see the rivers laughing as they flow
And then into a humble shack I wander
My own sweet home and tenderly behold
The folks I love around the turf fire gathered
On bended knees, their rosary is toldBut dreams don’t last though dreams are not forgotten
When we are back to stern reality
And though they pave the footways here with gold dust
I still would choose the Isle of Inisfree
Sally gardens
Lyrics by William Butler Yeats, published as a poem in 1889. Yeats reconstructed it from fragments remembered by an old woman in Ballisodare, Sligo; set to a traditional air, it tells a tale of young love and regret amid the willow gardens.
- Down by the Sally gardens my love and I did meet
- She passed the Sally gardens with little snow-white feet
- She bid me take life easy, as the leaves grow on the tree
- But I being young and foolish with her I did not agree
- In a field by the river my love and I did stand
- And on my leaning shoulder she placed her snow-white hand
- She bid me take love easy, as the grass grows on the weirs
- But I was young and foolish, and now I am full of tears
- Down by theSally gardens my love and I did meet
- She passed the Sally gardens with little snow-white feet
- She bid me take love easy, as the grass grows on the weirs
- But I was young and foolish, and now I am full of tears
Anthem of the county
Antrim – Armagh – Carlow – Cavan – Clare – Cork – Derry – Donegal – Down – Dublin – Fermanagh – Galway – Kerry – Kildare – Kilkenny – Laois – Leitrim – Limerick – Longford – Louth – Mayo – Meath – Monaghan – Offaly – Roscommon – Sligo – Tipperary – Tyrone – Waterford – Westmeath – Wexford – Wicklow
Songs from the county
Antrim – Armagh – Carlow – Cavan – Clare – Cork – Derry – Donegal – Down – Dublin – Fermanagh – Galway – Kerry – Kildare – Kilkenny – Laois – Leitrim – Limerick – Longford – Louth – Mayo – Meath – Monaghan – Offaly – Roscommon – Sligo – Tipperary – Tyrone – Waterford – Westmeath – Wexford – Wicklow
County Sligo:
Ireland’s county Sligo is renowned for its poetic heritage and coastal scenery, with the Carrowmore Megalithic Cemetery offering one of Europe’s oldest prehistoric sites. The Benbulben mountain provides striking hiking trails, while Strandhill’s beaches are ideal for surfing. Other attractions include the historic Lissadell House and its gardens. Sligo is Ireland’s 22nd largest county by size (1,796 square km) and seventh smallest by population (70,198). Population peaked at 180,886 in 1841 and reached its lowest point, 50,275 in 1971. In terms of hospitality, Sligo is Ireland’s 17th most visited tourist county with around 133,000 international visitors per year.
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