Talk:Sligo

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[edit] Requested move

This article has been renamed as the result of a move request. violet/riga (t) 10:12, 24 Apr 2005 (UTC)


[edit] Spanish Armada

Looking for a non-copyright-vio photo of Streeda Strand to illustrate Spanish Armada in Ireland. Help.--shtove 23:52, 18 May 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Ring Road, Mid-Block or Inner Relief Route?

I've never commented on a discussion page before, so forgive me if I'm approaching this matter incorrectly (If so, I'd be grateful if someone would advise me on the correct approach to take in this matter).

In the Transport section, the first line reads 'Sligo is also well known for having a ring road that goes through the middle of the town, thereby obviating the need for a ring road.'

I'm not sure that this is fair comment. The road, which was opened mid 2005, has always been called either a 'mid-block' or an 'inner relief route'. A ring road, by it's very nature, rings or encircles the town it is attempting to bypass, but this road's express purpose was to relieve the traffic congestion through residential and commercial areas of Sligo town. While the road may or may not be as successful as was originally envisaged (and that's another debate!), I believe it's unfair to call it a ring road in this article, as I don't believe it has ever been called that by anyone involved in the process of planning and building of this route over the last 3 decades. In my opinion, it characterises the planners and therefore the people of Sligo in an unfair manner.

Does anyone else have a comment on this?

The.Q 16:18, 7 June 2006 (UTC)

I got caught up in a revert war with someone on that recently (month ago) but eventually gave up. My main disagreement is that it does not read well at all - sounds like "our little town is unique, go away, outsider". Gave up because did not have enough time or knowledge to stand over its removal. Djegan 18:10, 7 June 2006 (UTC)
It's called the "Sligo Inner-Relief Road" and is a three-lane (six in total) dual carriageway that cuts through the centre of the town. It ends at a roundabout that leads on to the N4 Dual-Carriageway (two-lane (four in total)). Jvlm.123 19:25, 7 June 2006 (UTC)

Sligo is NOT a city Together&forever

I don't think event the good citizens of Sligo are sure about this one. On their web site the Sligo Borough Council refer to both "Sligo Town" and "Sligo City"! Their address is "Sligo Borough Council, City Hall, Quay Street, Sligo", which is next door to the Sligo City Hotel. I was there last week for the Sligo Live Festival and was given a street map of the "City of Sligo" from the Tourist Office and bus timetables from Bus Éireann for "Sligo City" Services.
--Maelor 19:16, 14 June 2006 (UTC)

they think they are great but were you in the quayside shopping centre. once you go downstairs you don't know how to get back up, it's that badly laid out. and anyway what city doesn't have easons--Together&forever 11:39, 15 June 2006 (UTC)Together&forever

Having a branch of Easons is not one of the criteria necessary to become a city! I had no problems in finding my way out from the basement of the Quayside Shopping Centre. I used the up escalater which is conveniently situated adjacent to the down escalator.
--Maelor 13:09, 15 June 2006 (UTC)

Sligo HAS official city status, but is commonly refferred to as a town because people did not get used to calling it a city. Anyway, Sligo also has an Easons now, not that that has anything to so with it being a city, so stop making stupid comments. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Acidbreath (talk • contribs) 23:04, 11 April 2008 (UTC)

Hi Acidbreath. Unfortunately, I don't think that's quite true. In an article in the Sligo Weekender (as recently as two months ago) you'll see it noted that Sligo doesn't have city status yet.[1] Certainly, the "borough council" (note, NOT "city council") make reference to "city" in a few documents. And, from a planning and spacial strategy (Department of the Environment) perspective Sligo is considered a "gateway center". But sligo is NOT a "city" per sé. It isn't treated as such in the census, or any other national artifact.
It all seems a little arbitrary really, but OFFICALLY (according to the Dept of Environment and Local Govt), there are:
  • 5 "cities" - Cork City, Dublin City, Galway City, Limerick City, and Waterford City all have City Councils.
  • 1 "historical city borough" - Killkenny has a Borough Council (and is formally a town) but claims "city status" for historical reasons, and uses "city" ceremonially usage. It isn't a "city" however in terms of planning and management.)
  • 4 "boroughs" - Clonmel, Drogheda, Sligo, Wexford (and Kilkenny) all have Borough Councils - but don't have as much autonomy as city councils and none are "cities" in terms of planning and management.
  • 49 "towns" - 49 towns (Arklow to Youghal) have town councils.
Cheers. Guliolopez (talk) 00:28, 12 April 2008 (UTC)


well a lot of people did have problems and there is no point pedestrianising o connol street because what is the point? there is nothing on the street and i don't think there will be so much people walking on it that they will take up the whole street. and don't tell me it is because of the traffic it's just another way sligo want themselves to be made known as a city. and by the way the retail park is ...... well i will just say no good to put it politely --Together&forever 13:24, 15 June 2006 (UTC)Together&forever

The four images have been deleted as they have been found on other websites. Please refrain from stealing from other websites and making out you did the work. If this continues you will be unable to edit wikipedia in the future. Thank You

Together&forever You are incorrect! As I stated above I was in Sligo last week and took the photographs myself (along with several hundred others). The photographs have been automatically replaced on the Sligo site. Any attempt to delete them again will produce the same results. Are you able to make any positive contributions to Wikipedia yourself?
--Maelor 15:06, 15 June 2006 (UTC)


Much as I may disagree with Together&forever on some of the comments made here, I probably have to agree with him that Sligo is probably not a City. I was born and raised and have lived almost all of my live in Sligo, and most Sligo people (Sligonians) will probably tell you that Sligo is a city, while in reality we know that it isn't. We will use the often accepted (but not necessarily correct) reasons that we have not just one, but two cathedrals (Roman Catholic Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception and St. John's Church of Ireland Cathedral), that we have a Borough Council with a mayor and elected representatives, that we are a 'Gateway City' according to the Government's 'Spatial Strategy' and many other reasons. However, the Wikipedia article 'Cities in Ireland' refers to those with a city charter, which Sligo does not have.
No, we also don't have an Easons, but we don't miss it, we have other, far superior, bookshops, and if you can't find your way upstairs when you've just come downstairs, I'm not sure you can blame anyone else but yourself ;-)
The.Q 14:26, 15 June 2006 (UTC)

brodericks & Keohans aren't very good bookshops though, that is my opinion and it should be accepted. Sligo bookshop is ok 2 out of 6 stars. and the booknest is o.k and the liber bookshop is not satisfactory and i am pretty sure most sligo people would agree with me. and if you could find someone better to build your auld shopping centres i might find my way in and out. and by the way the shopping centre with tesco isn't satisfactory it takes 5 seconds to walk through it. just name one good shop in it other than tesco. i shouldn't be blocked from editing as the info. i'm giving is good.

Sligo is not a city; if it was then it is Ireland's best kept secret. A royal charter, city hall or branch of easons do not, in themselves, make a place a city; a royal charter can confirm just about any status of a place or thing. The Local Government Act, 2001 does not identify Sligo as a city even thou' Section 10 specifically mentions Kilkenny as been a city, for the purposes of description which is not in conflict with the act otherwise. Djegan 18:19, 15 June 2006 (UTC)


I was thinking about travelling to sligo over the weekend but I only like certain shops. Would you be able to tell me where I can find the following shops in the town.

-Atlantic Homecare

-Gamestop

-Easons

-Argos

-Aldi ( I don't like lidl)

-Jean Scene

I can't wait to visit Sligo and all these wonderful shops. --Together&forever

You will be disappointed to hear that they don't have a Mothercare or Toys 'R' Us either!
--maelor 12:11, 16 June 2006 (UTC)


Go i will if there is champion sports, brown thomas or roches stores--Together&forever 18:10, 16 June 2006 (UTC)

You know, this may be getting away from the topic, but if all you're looking for is a town/city like any other with exactly the same shops as everywhere else, perhaps Sligo is not the place for you. While we have many of the well-known chain stores (such as Next, TK Maxx, River Island, Tesco, Lidl, Sasha, Vero Moda, Etc., Etc.) Sligo has plenty of its own unique shops, many of which are immediately identifiable as being part and parcel of Sligo, and in fact known the world over. --The.Q 12:21, 23 June 2006 (UTC)

I reverted this Sligo page to remove the following by Inanimate:

' The "Inner-Relief Road" was originally designed to be a ring-road, but the planners quickly changed the name following the stark and shocking realisation that the new road was not going to ring the town but go straight through it.'

It doesn't really bear comment, except to say that more than 25 years ago (c. 1980/81 when I was about 10 years old) I knew that this road was planned to go through the town. If the children in the town knew this, it's hardly likely that the town planners were "surprised" by it. --The.Q 14:29, 23 June 2006 (UTC)

Please keep in mind that the information that you submit should be Encyclopedic in nature and that Wikipedia is not intended to be a tourist guide. Entries such as "Sligo is also well known for having a ring road that goes through the middle of the town, thereby obviating the need for a ring road." and "Sligo's airport is peculiar for the fact that the control tower closes before the last plane has landed." are based on cynical conjecture and are presumably attempts to invoke a flame / revert war.

For example, given that the primary purpose of ATC is to provide aircraft separation in BUSY air traffic zones, it is remarkable that Sligo has ATC at all since it handles such a low voulme of air traffic. As a pilot myself, I can attest that it is common practice GLOBALLY for ATC towers in areas of LOW TRAFFIC to close its services to aircraft at a reasonable and usually well documented time (often 1/2hr before sunset),irrespective of any airbourne aircraft in the vicinity. Separation is thereafter, easily and routinely self-managed by any remaining pilots by means of IFR/IMC/Night rules (VFR if applicable).

Please stick to factual information and refrain from posting conjecture, personal opinion, shopping preferences etc. as this is in no way 'Encyclopedic' or helpful for that matter. I have therfore removed the comment on Sligo ATC.

--Pmcdon 23:19, 8 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Grammatical Correction

Excuse me The. Q I was recently reviewing your previous mumblings and couldn't help but notice that you seem to have added an utterly unneccessary apostrophe on your otherwise reasonably creditable synopsis dated 23rd June 2006. May I ask if at all you are a qualified Wikipedian and if so why you would allow such an obvious typographical error to destroy what would have otherwise been an argument that I simply could not have disagreed with. However since this mistake I have been unduly traumatised and suffered the nightmare of severe sleep disturbance with dramatic side effects such as breaking out in a cold sweat nightly as I fear for the safety of this exceptional information mine if it is being prowled by grammatically ignorant miscreants such as yourself.

--Qwertyuiopasdfgh vfen 19:03, 1 September 2006 (UTC)

Please excuse my poor grammar. I suppose one incorrectly placed apostrophe could ruin it for you, but I hope the meaning of what I was trying to say was not lost. Please accept my humblest apologies. --The.Q 12:32, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Apologies for unconsidered edit

I am posting this to apologise for an edit I made on the main page without properly understanding wikipedia norms and protocol. It involved the shortening of the last line in the introductory paragraph to omit the statement made without citation that Sligo was voted the shitiest town in Ireland, a comment which was not only vulgar but also completely unnecessary, and I mentioned previously, lacking in citation. I apologise for my hastiness, but would be open to discussion on the matter. Bilbotv 20:59, 11 December 2006 (UTC) Who voted it the sh*test town in Ireland and how many votes did it get? Vintagekits 21:13, 11 December 2006 (UTC)

That was the point I was making, it's impossible to know because the "fact" had no citation to it's source or even any relevant figures. It was just some idiot trying to have a cheap shot. Bilbotv 18:07, 15 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Access issues on Sligo mountains?

Walkaware inserted "It should be noted that hillwalkers are not encouraged to walk these mountains due to access issues." While I'm aware that there are access issues to Benwiskin and generally around the Gleniff horseshoe area (basically Benbulben mountain), I am not aware of any issues around access to, walking up or otherwise climbing Knocknarea. Before I move this line of Walkaware's, can anyone verify (or otherwise) that climbing Knocknarea is causing access problems? --The.Q 15:33, 15 September 2006 (UTC)

OK, I'm moving the statement from Walkaware to ensure it only applies to Benbulben. --The.Q 12:21, 19 September 2006 (UTC)

I would like to remove the line completely as it is too far removed from the subject matter (Sligo - History). It realy belongs in a hill-walkers guide book, under the heading "Walking restrictions in the North Sligo area". Pmcdon OK Did it - Line removed.Pmcdon This article needs some images of the awesome inland cliffs. It is notable, they are considered the Highest Cliffs in Europe. 64.180.237.144 (talk) 14:52, 10 April 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Clean-Up

This article needs a major clean-up. It mentions things that are not anything to do with Sligo Town. e.g. Strandhill, Carrowroe. Please clean-up this article.

[edit] Twin Cities and Flags

I reverted the changes recently made by 82.19.14.180 for two reasons -

  • I don't believe Flag icons are appropriate here, but more appropriate to an infobox, or other place where full country names cannot be shown easily.
  • This user removed links to other pages, Etc., without any reason given, so I have now reinstated them.

--The.Q | Talk 13:38, 15 December 2006 (UTC)

Actually if anything flags are more appropriate than links to other languages of wikpedia. Djegan 14:29, 15 December 2006 (UTC)
You're probably correct about the links. I was thinking about that, but wanted to have some reference to prove the details. I may move those links (both the non-english language Wikipedia ones and the the Talahassee web page) to a references section, where they are probably more appropriate. Would that suffice, or do you think the flags should be reinstated as well? I haven't been around here as long as you, djegan, so I'd be happy to change it back again. --The.Q | Talk 14:39, 15 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] recent edits

This article is becoming a bit of a mess.

Does anyone want to make a go at retuning it?

Djegan 00:07, 2 February 2007 (UTC)

Had a bit of a go fixing some of the POV over the pedestrianisation 86.40.200.160 17:26, 3 June 2007 (UTC)

[edit] The meaning of Sligeach

There was recently an edit changing the translation of Sligeach from shelly place to shelly river. I do not know the Irish language but have a reference regarding Irish place names which suggests abounding in shells as its meaning. (Reference: Deirdre Flanagan and Laurence Flanagan, Irish Place Names, Gill & MacMillan, ISBN 0-7171-2066-X.) This sounds as if Sligeach has just a reference to shells but not to river. My Irish dictionary tells that sliogán is the Irish word for shells and abhainn for river. In conclusion, I do not think that shelly river is the correct translation. However, a native Irish speaker or an expert in Irish place names might have a more educated opinion. --AFBorchert 05:49, 22 May 2007 (UTC)

I believe that you are correct. The Irish for shell is "sliogán". "Sligeach" therefore (at a low level) just means "shelly" - or - by extension, "shelly place". I think it is OK for you to revert - unless the anon editor can provide additional reference for the change. Guliolopez 10:36, 22 May 2007 (UTC)
I have always been informed that it meant "shelly river".--Vintagekits 10:37, 22 May 2007 (UTC)


Well - my interest is peaked now. Per above, if "Sligeach" is derived from "sliogán", then a direct translation is just "shelly". However, "shelly" is just an adjective, and so (on it's own and unless applied to a noun), it doesn't mean much. So, the question is then therefore, what was "Sligeach" applied to? The river? Or the place? Or, the river at a certain place?

If we accept that it "originates in the abundance of shellfish found in the river and its estuary, and from the extensive 'shell middens' or Stone Age food preparation areas in the vicinity", then BOTH are probably correct. (Certainly, the britannica article says "Shelly river", but the Sligo council website says "Shelly place".)

The wikipedia article should therefore probably make mention of both - or neither(?) IE: Either:

  • Sligo's Irish name Sligeach - meaning "shelly place" or "shelly river" - originates... , OR
  • Sligo's Irish name Sligeach - meaning "shelly place/river" - originates... , OR JUST
  • Sligo's Irish name Sligeach - meaning "shelly" - originates...

Thoughts? Guliolopez 11:41, 22 May 2007 (UTC)

I like the current state which provides a very generic translation (shelly place) which is interpreted in various ways in the rest of that paragraph, i.e. by giving references to shellfishes, the river, and shell middens. If shelly place is replaced by a more specific variant like shelly river, references to the other possible interpretations do no longer make sense. Finally, this generic variant is supported by Flanagan & Flanagan (see above) and the Sligo county council web page. I would suggest to provide a reference which points to this book and to the web page. Regarding the Britannica: I'm not sure but this could be based on early Ordnance Surveys which can not always be relied upon. --AFBorchert 17:51, 22 May 2007 (UTC)
Maybe it's better to just leave as is - as you say. "Place" is a (possibly) generic enough a word to cover both "midden" and "river", and the following text provides additional context. Guliolopez 18:38, 22 May 2007 (UTC)
Page 36 of this weeks Sligo Post says that it means "bay of shells"!--Vintagekits 19:48, 8 June 2007 (UTC)

[edit] pronunciation

Just want to confirm pronunciation is sly-GO, as we have it now, not SLY-go. kwami 08:29, 20 October 2007 (UTC)

Because you have written the GO part of sly-GO in capital letters, do you mean that this is the stressed syllable? If so, I'll have to take issue with you. I've lived in Sligo almost all my life, and no-one I know has ever pronounced it that way, but always with the stress on the first syllable. If I've misunderstood you (and I'll be the first to acknowledge that I have no idea about IPA English), please let me know, otherwise I'm going to change this back to SLY-go. --The.Q(t)(c) 10:20, 1 November 2007 (UTC)
I have no idea how to pronounce it. Someone wrote it with final stress, and I found that odd. I'll move the stress to the first syllable. kwami 13:31, 5 November 2007 (UTC)
The first syllable is to be stressed according to the Collins Dictionary of the English language, ISBN 3-12-517931-9. --AFBorchert 22:21, 5 November 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Dirty ol' town?

Regarding this addition to the article recently: On 7 January 2008, it was revealed that Sligo was the "dirtiest town" in Ireland according to the Irish Business Against Litter survey.

I'm wondering if anyone has any comment on it.

Yes, it's true, this survey did find Sligo the dirtiest town of 50 surveyed in Ireland, but there has also been some criticism of the survey and it's methodology. Now, I'm not talking about the current Mayor of Sligo's pronouncements see here, which were embarrassing and only to be expected (he certainly had me rolling my eyes in despair). However, having looked at the IBAL website, the Final Results for 2006 show Sligo had Litter Free Status.Secondly, in 2005, the incongrous nature of the methods used was shown in starker relief, when Ennis won the 2005 Tidy Towns competition, two weeks after being named a litter black-spot by the IBAL survey see here. I'm not sure how to put this into the article, or whether the survey results should be removed from the article altogether. Any comment? --The.Q(t)(c) 15:53, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

Yes, my comment is that the survey result are about as notable as a shooting in Cranmore - news today and forgetten about tommorrow. Shouldn't be contained within the article unless the place has a history or is known as a place that is duuurdi.--Vintagekits (talk) 17:21, 8 February 2008 (UTC)
Should I remove the offending text as NN, or is that taking it a step too far? --The.Q(t)(c) 15:12, 12 February 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Population and references

I have reinstated the reference to the CSO 2006 Census for the population of the town. This was removed by 86.154.128.196 in this diff, for no apparent reason. This user also changed the rural population of the town from 24,096 to 1,510 (quite a significant drop).

The figure of 24,096 (which was also previously referenced, and has been re-referenced) came from those same Census figures (see page 112 of this link), in particular the heading Sligo rural area, which gives a population of 24,096 for 2006. I don;t know where the figure of 1,510 came from, as it;'s not referneced. If there is a better reference for the rural population of Sligo town, which shows a population of 1,510, please feel free to change this back. However, I believe valid references shouldn't be removed unless the reference has been shown to be suspect in some way (and I don't think that can be said of the CSO. --The.Q(t)(c) 16:04, 12 February 2008 (UTC)

Well, I've found it myself, so I'll change the figures and references. It's on the CSO website at Table 7 of Census 2006. I'll properly reference it, also. --The.Q(t)(c) 10:45, 13 February 2008 (UTC)

[edit] continuing city/town debacle!

I'm sure I'll probably cause a little controversy by my last edit, but I wanted to set it straight here.

I'm the first to admit that Sligo is a town and not a city (see elsewhere on this talk page for references), and I believe that this article should reflect that. However, where the term city is erroneously used in other documents/websites, Etc., and this article quotes directly from those, the term city should, of course, be used. This is why the naming of the bus service in the town is highlighted as the city service. This is what Bus Éireann call it on their website and on the side of the buses, so to call it anything else would be inaccurate.

I also think this is what a user (Acidbreath I think) was trying to do a while ago, but perhaps was not able to articulate it. Hope this makes sense. --The.Q(t)(c) 12:14, 15 May 2008 (UTC)

The changed wording seems reasonable to me. So long as the term doesn't "creep" into other areas. Guliolopez (talk) 12:26, 15 May 2008 (UTC)
Completely agree, Gulio, which is why I tried to be careful about how I phrased it, and this explanation. --The.Q(t)(c) 13:00, 15 May 2008 (UTC)