Sligo Abbey
Where friars’ prayers echo among the ruins
17 March - 5 November 2023
Admission
Adult: €5.00
Group/Senior: €4.00
Child/Student: €3.00
Family: €13.00
Follow us
Sligo Abbey
This Dominican friary has dominated Sligo town centre since the mid-thirteenth century, when it was created by Maurice FitzGerald, the founder of the town itself. Some of the building from that period has survived the next nine centuries of turmoil.
The abbey was partially destroyed by burning in 1414, when it fell foul of an unattended candle, and suffered further mutilation following the Rebellion of 1641. According to legend, worshippers salvaged the abbey’s silver bell at that time and threw it into Lough Gill. You can hear it peal even now – provided, that is, that you are wholly free from sin.
Despite the ravages of history, the abbey contains a great wealth of carvings, including Gothic and Renaissance tomb sculpture, a well-preserved cloister and a sculptured fifteenth-century high altar – the only such altar to survive in an Irish monastic church.
Highlights

Gallery
Opening Times
17 Márta – 5 Samhain 2023
Go Laethúil 10:00- 18:00
Cead isteach deireanach 17:15
Getting Here
Located in the centre of Sligo town
Click the relevant icon below to open Maps directions
Facilities
- Guided tours
- Toilets
- Wheelchair Accessible Toilet
Restrictions
- Assistance dogs only
- Limited Access
- Uneven walkways
Nearby sites to visit
Sligo Abbey
Carrowmore Megalithic Cemetery
Ireland’s oldest megalithic tombs set in a dramatic neolithic landscape
Approx. 3.9 km from Sligo Abbey
Parke’s Castle
Walk in the footsteps of planters and Gaels
Approx. 8.9 km from Sligo Abbey
Seán Mac Diarmada Cottage
One of the cradles of the Rising
Approx. 30.2 km from Sligo Abbey
Resources
Social Guide
Download, print and read our social guide (PDF) about visiting Sligo Abbey. This will help first-time visitors, families and people with developmental and learning disabilities to prepare for a visit to Sligo Abbey.
Download the Social Guide