SLIGO, a county of Ireland, in the province of Connaught, is bounded on the east by Leitrim, on the south by Roscommon, on the south-west and west by Mayo, and on the north by Donegal Bay. Its great est length from north to south, from Bunduff to the Curlew mountains, is 391 miles, its greatest breadth 38, and its area 465,280 English acres. It contains six baronies and 39 parishes, and sends to parliament three members. About a third part of this county is occupied with bogs, mountains, and lakes. The best part of it is to the south of Sligo, where the county is fertile and beautiful, there being about 140 square miles where the soil is suited for grazing or tillage. In other places a good deal of the soil is shallow and moo•ish, lying above what is caned or grey flag. The waste land lies principally in the north and west.
The principal streams are the Sligo, Bonnet, Owen more, Arta, Cooloney, Esky, and Moy, which sepa rates the county for several miles from Sligo. The Sligo, which flows out of Lough Gill. is navigable to Sligo, and the Moy is navigable for six or seven miles from the sea.
The chief fresh water lakes are Lough Gill, At'va, Tait, and Gara. Lough Gill, which possesses some charming scenery, has a number of wooded islands, on one of which, viz. Innismore, are the ruins of a church, and the remains of other buildings. Lough Arm is about eight miles long, covered with islands. and irregular in its form. The Arta flows out of it northward to Ballysadere, and throws itself in a stu pendous cataract into the ocean. The chief bays are those of Killala and Sligo, which communicates with Lough Gill. The island of Innismurry lies to the north of Sligo Bay. There are salmon fisheries of
considerable importance on the Sligo and the Aloy. Trout abounds in the Talt and Clara, and is found plentifully on the coast.
The principal minerals in Sligo are iron, which has _ „ for some years been wrought, lead, manganese, cop per, and silver. There are strong indications of coal near Lough Gill, and there are various fine clays fit for pottery. Limestone, and limestone gravel abound, and also marl.
The estates in Sligo vary from £5000 to £9000 a year, and belong chiefly to absentees. The size of farms varies from three Irish acres to 500. The leases are for 36 years and three lives, and sometimes for 61 years and three lives. The chief articles of pro duce are oats, barley, and potatoes. Illicit distilla tion is carried on very generally. Cattle and sheep are reared to a considerable extent.
The principal articles of export are linen, salt, kelp, butter, and corn.
The principal places in this county are Sligo, and about 20 hamlets, at which fairs are held.
The state of the peasantry in Sligo is nearly as bad as in any part of Ireland, with respect to their labour, their food, and their clothing. In 1815 the price of labour was only 10d. a day, and ls. ld. in seed time and harvest.
The population of the county was about 60,000 in 1790; but in the last census, taken in 1821, it was 127,879. The catholics are to the protestants as 80 to 1; and in 1815 there were in the parish of Kil mactige 1200 catholic, and only ten protestant fami lies. See Parlan's Statistical Survey of Sligo, 1802.