Lough Gill & Lake Isle of Innisfree
Loch Gile
A wooded lake on the eastern outskirts of Sligo. The island in Yeats's famous poem 'The Lake Isle of Innisfree' sits in the lake, and boat tours circle the shore.
Loch Gile is about 8 km long and ringed by forest. Of its more than 20 islands, the most famous is the one in Yeats's poem 'The Lake Isle of Innisfree' ('I will arise and go now, and go to Innisfree'). In summer, the Rose of Innisfree boat leaves from the Parke's Castle pier and circles the lake in about an hour, with Yeats's poems read aloud on board. Tickets cost about €20. You can also drive around the lake, a loop of about 40 km, passing Dooney Rock, the Slish Wood forest trails and several viewpoints. The island itself has no facilities, but you can see it from a parking spot on the southern shore.
Opening hours
Open all day (cruises operate seasonally)
Nearby sights
- Parke's Castle
- Tobernalt Holy Well
- Glencar Waterfall
- Devil's Chimney (Sruth in Aghaidh an Aird)
- The Model
- Sligo Abbey
- Sligo County Museum
- Drumcliffe Churchyard (Yeats's Grave)