SLIGO, the chief town of the above county and an important seaport, is finely situated at the mouth of the founded in 1252 by Maurice Fitzgerald, lord-justice, is one ' very perfect, is of the date of the original structure. The principal modern buildings are the new Catholic cathedral, in the Norman style with a finely sculptured doorway, the town-hall (1865-66), the county court-house, the custom-house, the lunatic asylum, and the barracks. The quays are commodious, and steamers ply to and fro between Sligo and Glasgow, Liverpool, and Londonderry, - the principal exports being cattle, fowls, eggs, and butter, and the imports coal, iron, timber, and provisions. The port is under the control of harbour commissioners. There is an important butter-market, and maize, flour, and corn mills. The population in 1861 was 10,693, and in 1881 it was 10,808.

A castle was built at Sligo by Maurice Fitzgerald in 1242, which in 1270 was taken and destroyed by O'Donnell ; in 1310 it was rebuilt by Richard, earl of Ulster, and was again partly destroyed in 1369 and 1394. Early in the reign of James I. the town received a market and two annual fairs; in 1613 it was incorporated and received the privileges of a borough ; and in 1621 it received a charter of the staple. In 1641 it was besieged by the Parliamentary forces under Sir Charles Coote, but was afterwards evacuated, and occupied by the Royalists till the termination of the war. In 1688 it declared in favour of James II., and, after being captured by the Enniskilleners, was retaken by General Sarsfield, but ultimately surrendered to the earl of Granard. The borough was disfranchised in 1870.