Tread softly as you walk...
WHY NOT ENJOY ONE OF A SERIES OF YEATS INSPIRED FREE WALKS WITH LOCAL GUIDES AS PART OF TREAD SOFTLY?
THERE are a series of free walks on offer as part of the Yeats Tread Softly festival. We’ve asked the various guides to explain what the walks mean to them.
1. Gibraltor ‘Out To The Rocks’ MAYOR Rosaleen O’Grady moonlights as a walking guide along a stretch close to where she grew up. Starting at Merville Community Centre the walk to Gibraltor will also serve as a history lesson as Rosaleen recounts tales of swimming at Gibraltor, alas no longer possible, and of the many characters you would see there, including Jimmy Moffat who took the walk twice a day 365 days a year.
She says: “The walk will be a reunion and a reminiscence for those of us who spent our childhood at the Rocks. That was our Costa del Sol growing up, most of us didn’t have cars, so that was where we learned to swim and spent many happy Summer days. There was a lovely seawater pool there, where the late Tommy Finan from Treacy Avenue taught us all how to swim. It would be a long term wish of mine and others that the pool return to its former glory.”
Where and When: Monday July 23rd 11am. Duration: 3 hours
2. Salley Gardens
SETTING out from the handball alley alongside the bridge in the centre of Ballisodare, this walk will take in local sites, including Pollixfen’s Mill, where Yeats spent much of his childhood holidays. You’ ll also get to enjoy the new walk which was developed by Sligo Walks in partnership with Ballisodare Community Council. Guided by Margaret Savage. Margaret says: “Yeats was fascinated by the rapids that flow through the heart of the village. Alongside lay a row of thatched cottages, behind which grew the salley rods used for thatching, a striking image in one of his most famous poems.”
Where and When: Tuesday July 24 th 2pm. Duration 2.5 hours
3. Slish Wood
Local historian and raconteur Máirtín Enright will guide walkers along this stretch of the Sligo Way – taking in favourite Yeats settings like the Lake Isle of Innisfree as well as Slish (Sleuth) Wood itself. Máirtín says : “An area of great natural beauty, Yeats found inspiration at places like Dooney Rock and Slish Wood. We’ ll read some of the poetry inspired by this landscape as we take in what is one of the most beautiful walks in Sligo.”
Where and When: Wednesday July 25 th 7pm. Duration 2.5 hours
4. Carrowkeel Archaeologist Sam Moore will give an insight into Carrowkeel, a megalithic site which dates back some 5,300 years. Sam says: “Without doubt, it’s the most spectacularly located series of passage tombs – there are 25 in all - anywhere in the country. It’s not that well known, so the monument is very well preserved.
Where and When: Thursday July 26 th 2pm. Duration: 3 hours
5.
Rosses Point
Rosses Point will host poet Anne Joyce and RNLI member Willie Murphy for this Tread Softly walk. This begins at Harry’s Bar and takes in various points of interest in the village including, Elsinore House, where Yeats stayed as a child, the old watch house and Deadman’s Point.
Willie says: “It has been said that Rosses Point was one of the greatest influences on Yeats’ writing. A special place with a unique seafaring tradition, anyone who comes along on this walk with Anne and me will get a sense of the literary and the maritime connections, and what life was like in Rosses Point at the time of Yeats.”
Where and When: Friday July 27 th 11am. Duration: 2 hours