Shipping

Sligo Port

Photograph of Sligo Port in the early 1900s.

Copyright Sligo County Library.

Sligo Port
Copyright Sligo County Library.

Sligo Port

Photograph of Sligo Port in the early 1900s.

Copyright Sligo County Library.

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Sligo Harbour was a very important port in the 18th. and 19th. Centuries. The port became more accessible in the era of steam in the 1900s as the narrow channel was difficult to navigate using sailing ships.

Painting of the SS Sligo

This painting is from a collection of paintings of the SS Sligo by C. Cookerham, which are now housed in Sligo County Museum

Courtesy of Sligo County Museum

Painting of the SS Sligo
Courtesy of Sligo County Museum

Painting of the SS Sligo

This painting is from a collection of paintings of the SS Sligo by C. Cookerham, which are now housed in Sligo County Museum

Courtesy of Sligo County Museum

Enlarge image

There were regular services between Sligo and both Liverpool and Glasgow, with even on one occasion, a service between Sligo and London. During these centuries it was sometimes easier to travel to other coastal destinations by sea than by road.

This is an advertisement for ship sailings to and from Sligo

This is an advertisement for ship sailings from Sligo. It includes cross channel sailings to Glasgow in Scotland and Liverpool in England. It also includes a timetable of steamer sailings between Sligo and Belmullet in County Mayo.

Copyright Sligo County Library.

This is an advertisement for ship sailings to and from Sligo
Copyright Sligo County Library.

This is an advertisement for ship sailings to and from Sligo

Copyright Sligo County Library.

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One example of this is the operation of the service between Sligo and Belmullet in Co. Mayo by the Sligo Steam Navigation Company.

The Tartar

This is a photograph of a ship called the Tartar.

Copyright Sligo County Library.

The Tartar
Copyright Sligo County Library.

The Tartar

This is a photograph of a ship called the Tartar.

Copyright Sligo County Library.

Enlarge image

The Sligo Steam Navigation Company in 1899 commenced one such service between Sligo and Belmullet calling at RossesPoint, Ballycastle and Belderg. The ship was called the Tartar. Passengers wishing to disembark en-route would have to arrange small boats to come out to the ship to collect them and bring them ashore.

Just as the railways went into decline in the 1930's, so too did the shipping movements through the port of Sligo. Road communication improved and the need to travel by ship to coastal destinations declined. Today no passenger ships leave Sligo. Instead there are cargoes of scrap metal and coal.

Planning Your Trip

Look at the map of North Sligo and Mayo. Plot your trip from Sligo to Belmullet by boat.

Map of Sligo and Belmullet

Look at the route from Sligo to Belmullet. If you were travelling from Sligo to Belmullet, compare the choices you would have today with the choices you would have had in 1900 to make your journey. How do you think you would choose to travel?