Lissadell House

Top choice in County Sligo


The imposing ancestral home of the Gore-Booth family is one of Sligo's top sights. Revolutionary nationalist and socialist Constance Goore-Booth (Countess Markievicz) grew up here and WB Yeats used to frequently drop by. The extensive grounds include a gorgeous walled alpine garden that boasts sea views. A 45-minute guided tour leads through the house's grand guest rooms and the servants' quarters.

Take the N15 from Sligo to Drumcliff, head along the L3305 through Carney and follow the signs.

In 1918 Countess Markievicz was the first woman elected to the British House of Commons. The tour winds through the rooms she grew up in: the anteroom, drawing room, dining room, billiard room and basement (where the kitchens were), but as it is a home in use, the upstairs rooms are inaccessible. For a cheaper ticket, you can explore the exhibition in the coach house and the grounds, but it's the house, restored at great cost by the current owners, that's worth seeing.


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