The Lady Erin Monument

Overlooking the Market Cross, one of Sligo Town’s busier shopping areas, is the Lady Erin Monument, (co-ordinates 54.2705 -8.4735) which was erected in 1899 to honour the centenary celebrations for the lost Sligo heroes who had fought in the Insurrection of 1798.

Designed by the Dublin sculptor Herbert G. Barnes, the memorial, which is over sixteen feet high, was unveiled on September 3rd 1898 in front of a crowd of several thousand people.

The Lady Erin Monument also serves as a marker to signify the centric 1 mile maker to distinguish between the areas of Sligo Borough Council and Sligo County Council. A circle, with the statue at it’s centre and stretching out 1 mile (1.6k) encompasses an area of 3,143 acres, the official responsibility land mass of Sligo Borough Council.

Should this official marker ever be moved, it would undoubtedly result in numerous claims costing several millions of euros in land boundary disputes.

To one side of the Lady Erin monument stands “Shoot the Crows” public house, which features painted murals on the front window and inside there are more mysterious murals and skulls surrounding the bar.

Whilst behind Lady Erin is the quaint 19th-century style Cosgrove’s grocery shop, if you have a few minutes to spare, it’s well worth having a look inside at the amazing array of foods which are displayed in a shop still living in a bygone age.