History of Sligo, county and town, from the earliest ages to the close of the reign of Queen Elizabeth (to the present time) . With illustrations, etc

Front matter

ISY TUB SAME AUTHOIt. Just published, Crown Svo., Cloth, price 5s. Second Edition, gnlarged, with Map. SLIGO AND THE ENNISKILLENERS. OPINIONS OF THE PRESS. " The author has evidently gone to the original sources for his information, and has collated with great care and narrative interest old records and quaint authorities A graphic and instructive addition to the history of the period." — Irish Times, March 18, 1881. ' ' We have read no book which gives a clearer picture of the kind of warfare which then was waged There is nothing in the book which could give offence." — The Express, February 7, 1881. " We have read it with much pleasure as throwing clear light upon a very obscure portion of the history of 1688."— Belfast News-Letter, December 23, 1880. ' ' The information is derived from the best historic sources, and the amount of research displayed is very considerable.

" — Dublin Evening Mail, December 22, 1880. ' ' Though dealing with a period of eventful and religious history, it is written in an impartial and commendatory spirit," — Impartial Reporter, February 10, 1881. "Altogether, the work adds another important page to the chapter of our history." — Londonderry Sentinel, February 12, 1881. "The different battles, sieges, &c. , are well described, and the political events are referred to in an impartial manner." — Sligo Independent. "The local, historical, and descriptive information which the volume contains will be heartily welcomed." — Sligo Chronicle. " Written in a liberal vein." — Sligo Champion. Also favourably noticed in the Graphic and Freeman's Journal. \0-- G0. THE FIRST SETTLEMENT OP SIjIGO (Nagnata) Slish and the Slieve Dæane Range in the distance.

" Stay yet, illusion stay awhile, My wildered fancy stm beguile ! * * * * « * It will not be — it may not last — The vision of enchantment's past : Like frost-work in the morning ray, The fancied fabric melta away." OF HISTORY OF SLIGO, COUNTY AND TOWN, PROM THE EARLIEST AGES TO THE CLOSE OF THE REIGN QUEEN ELIZABETH. WITH Illustrations from (Drigmal gratomgs anb flairs. BV W. G. WOOD-MARTIN, MAJOR, SLIGO ARTILLERY, Author of - SUgo and tke Enniskilleners." C-pisj.ll4.rn Cirnce-s.lt Sligije " Shall we tread the flnst of ages, Musing dream-Iike on the past, Seeking on the broad earth's pages For the shadows Time hath cast.'" DUBLIN: HODGES, FIGGIS, AND CO., GRAFTON STREET. MDCCCLXXXII. [ALL BIGHTS RESERVED.] CONTENTS PAGE Preface vn-xiv

Appendix

. A. — Caves of Sligo 375-378 B. — Chancery Inquisitions 378-387 C. — Exchequer 388-401 D. — Survey of Coolavin 402-405 Index Locorum 407-411 ILLUSTRATIONS AND PLANS. The First Settlement of Sligo ... ... ... Frontispiece Map of Carrowmore Antiquities... ... ... to face page 28 Site of a Crannoge ... ... ... ... ... 70 Ballinafad Castle ... ... ... ... ... 96 Plan of Innismurray, Cashel, &c. ... ... ... 160 Drtjmcliff Cross... ... ... ... ... ... 174 In the Cloister,., Sligo Abbey ... ... ... ... 196 Tober Monia ... ... ... ... ... ... 206 Ballindoon Abbey ... ... ... ... ... 228 The Last of the Spaniard ... ... ... ... 324 On the Mountains of Doonaveeragh ... ... ... 356 Map of the County ... ... ... ... ... E>ui

Preface

. N eloquent writer has observed that history would offer additional charms for every class of reader, did those who undertake to furnish it, faithfully endeavour to embrace within the circle of their investigations, the whole life of a community, honestly labouring to represent this as it existed, " with what of completeness, beauty, and veri-similitude is possible, and banish ing from their thoughts every design beyond or beside this." The author, without making pretension to the rare qualifica tions thus depicted, yet feels the responsibility of his task, and to the best of his ability, has earnestly endeavoured to present a thoroughly faithful and vivid picture of the whole life of the community of Sligo, from its cradle upwards, from pre-historic or legendary times, to historic and comparatively modern days.

History furnishes the key to many perplexing anomalies of our present social system, and this little journey through one of the by-paths of Irish History, may perhaps afford some degree of instruction or amusement, even to those who have already travelled along its well-beaten highways. In this work it is sought to rescue from oblivion, traditions and stories relating to Sligo, which are fast passing from local memory, and over which tLe stream of time is ever and ever more deeply flowing — whilst to hold up to clearer view, tha habits, actions, and motives of Sligo-men in past ages, may

PREFACE.

. fairly be supposed to interest Sligo-men of the present day, and yet, to be not altogether unworthy the notice of others who may have turned their attention to subjects relating to Ireland. The County of Sligo lay without the Pale, and was for a considerable period but little under English influence. Many of the most ancient relics of by-gone ages are to be found within its bounds — many of the early literary productions which throw light on the past of Ireland may be said to have emanated from the county. The poetic and the prose compositions of the Mac- Firbis' of Laccan (hereditary historians) are of peculiar interest. The system of chiefs, with their respective sub-chiefs, set forth in the poem of Giolla Iosa More MacFirbis (1416) as subsisting in the Barony of Tireragh therein described, was, it may be inferred, but similar to that which existed in other baronies of Sligo, and probably wherever the ancient customs of the Irish had not been superseded, or modified by English influence.

With regard to the various traditions noted in this work, it has been observed that, "Although legends are not history, they form no unimportant portion of it, for they often paint to us the character and sentiments of the age better than history itself, and in the present instance they, at least, give us notions formed at the earliest period." In a legal sense, priority of possession is said to be nine points of the law ; in a literary sense, priority does not seem to act so beneficially. The author of this work has found himself in pretty much the position of an old-world mariner, before the power of tbe magnetic needle was discovered — or that of a pioneer in a new country, endeavouring to make his way through its untravelled wilds and tangled undergrowth. The labour has been considerable of arranging, in consecutive order, the various events bearing on tbe history of Sligo ; and of gathering together and putting into shape all the materials available for that purpose. The author has anxiously sought for his authorities in the oldest

PREFACE.

. IX MSS. and books attainable, bearing in mind the truth uttered by Chaucer that — " Out of old fields, as men saith, Cometh all this new corn from year to year ; And out of old books, in good faith, Cometh all this new science that men lere." Wherever illustrative of its history, a description has been given also of the antiquities of Sligo ; from those of the very earliest period, such as the Cromlech, Kistvaen, and Rath to " Ivied arch and pillar lone." The History of Sligo may be divided into four eras — (i.) Prehistoric, legendary, and Milesian. (ii.) Danish. (iii.) Anglo-Norman. (iv.) English or Modern. The foundation, so to speak, rests on the Annals of the Four Masters, to which Sligo may lay peculiar claim, from the work having been undertaken at the instigation of one of its chiefs, Fergal O'Gara of Coolavin ; it is the product of the joint labour of four celebrated antiquaries, and compile.d from numerous MSS. collected by Michael O'Clery from various parts of the kingdom; the compilation was made, a.d. 1632-4, in the Fran ciscan Monastery of Donegal, hence the work is quoted by many writers as " the Annals of Donegal."

" The Four Masters " would now carry greater weight in the way of historical reference, did not the various authorities form ing the ground-work of the Annals seem to have themselves originally derived their information from a common source : those that commence with the narration of events of an early date, do so all, with a degree of exactitude and minuteness which bear internal evidence of this fact. The remark has often been made, that it is not unusual to find historical writers quoting

PREFACE.

. X from four or five different authorities in support of each other's testimony to the truth of a statement when, in reality, all have alike copied from the same original chronicler, who may, perhaps, himself have been not altogether deserving of trust. In this category of facts must be placed the statement, repeated in " the Four Masters " from other chroniclers, relative to the peopling of Ireland before the Deluge. W. M. Hennessy, in his able introduction to the " Annals of Loch Ce," observes (p. xli.) that " the value and authority of the Annals of ' the Four Masters ' have been seriously diminished by the disingenuous practice too frequently followed by the compilers, of omitting or suppressing entries which may have seemed to them to exhibit the character of ecclesiastics in a questionable light, or to cast discredit on the Church of which they were zealous members."

Dr. Reeves also has condemned their great and unwise partiality, and O'Donovan, when noticing an inaccuracy in the Annals of " the Four Masters," says, " this and many other entries of a similar nature, prove that their work is a hurried compilation." Tigernach, the celebrated historian, who flourished in the eleventh century, states that all records of the Irish prior to the second century, B.C., are wrapped in obscurity ; it would have proved more satisfactory to enquiring minds, could he have assured their trustworthiness after that date ; but this point he leaves in doubt. (i.) Prehistoric or Legendary History may be said to extend down the long roll of time to the introduction of Christianity. That division of the work, therefore, is grounded on the com pilation of " the Four Masters," together with the " Chronicon Seotorum," the " Annals of Boyle," and some Bardie accounts ; they alone attempt to treat of that distant epoch.

(ii.) A reliable standpoint is attained with the introduction of Christianity, but no remarkable advance in civilisation or educa tion was thereby produced during the first few centuries, except

PREFACE.

. XI iii the case of those who were destined for the priesthood. Again, too, it is from Irish annals that the events of the Danish era must, in greater part, be drawn. (iii. and iv.) When the Anglo-Norman and English Epochs are entered upon, another class of documents is reached. Prior to these periods all native annals contain very similar information ; mere chronological records of the predatory expeditions of one petty chief against another; "battle, murder, and sudden death ;" no variation in the mode of relation ; little or no information as to the origin of these feuds, or the motives instigating them ; the bare skeleton of facts is recorded ; in short, the chronicles are so sketchy and imperfect, that little could be known of important occurrences in the county, did not Saxon documents and State Papers come to our aid.

A remarkable exception to the meagreness and disingenuousness charged against the Irish annalists, is presented by the compilation called the " Annals of Loch Ce." Unfortunately the MS. does not commence earlier than the year 1014, opening with a de tailed account of the battle of Clontarf. These Annals have been selected by the author as the best native work of reference during the Anglo-Norman and English Eras. Sligo may claim that some portion of them was either written within its bounds, or compiled from Annals of the County, now lost, perhaps the missing "Book ofthe O'Duigenans."1 In describing the wooded nature of the county, much valuable information has been obtained from a voluminous MS. Survey of Connaught, discovered by the author in the Library of the British Museum. This Survey was made between the years 1633-6 ; it is most accurate in details as regards Sligo.

The nature of the soil of each townland, its situation, capabilities, and whether wooded or not, the proprietary , tenants, castles, mills, &c., are noted down with the greatest exactitude. The 1 See p. 278.

PREFACE.

. XII MS. is in a cramped handwriting, difficult to decypher. Can it be Strafford's Survey ? The inference is plain, that a country so thickly wooded as described in the Survey of 1633-6, must have been still more so at the prior period under review. It is worthy of notice that in the Annals and other ancient MSS. great importance is attached to the planting of hazel, and for so doing, various chiefs are specially mentioned in terms of high eulogy. It is difficult to imagine that the fruit alone could render the tree of so much value ; but for the wicker-work, largely used by the ancient Irish, the hazel was indeed essential. It was employed in the formation of their "crannoges," of their "cots," of their bridges, for making hurdles whereby to render swampy ground passable ; in short, its uses in the every-day life of the people were manifold.

In Petty' s "History ofthe Down Survey" (p. 57), the following occurs relative to Strafford's Survey : — " To the Honourable Commissioners of the Commonwealth. Particularly of the county of Sligo, we find an office of enquiry, made by virtue of a commission from the late King (Charles I.) of all that were reputed proprietors of laud within each barrony of the said county distinctly, and what estates each of them claimed, in possession or reversion ; and what or how many towns, quarters, cartrons, or other quantities or denominations of land, any or either the said particular per sons held and what were the severall name or names of the said lands ; but neither the quality or number of acres according to 21 foot to the perch, or value of the said lands, were by the said commission to be enquired after, mentioned or exprest . . . ."

From page 51-62 " contains an official report on the Strafford Survey of the County of Tipperary, which may perhaps be taken as an example of the much larger portion of that work, which extended over the whole province of Connaught ; and it possesses a peculiar value, as, from the almost total destruction of the

PREFACE.

. XIII maps and documents of that survey by fire in 1711, it is the only account of any importance which remains." In the Appendix (D) will be found not only the Survey (1633-6) of the barony of Coolavin, which is given as a specimen of the documents, but also the Chancery (B) and Exchequer (C) Inquisitions of the reign of Elizabeth. These latter are valuable to persons interested either in tracing pedigrees or investigating and explaining local etymologies. It has been observed, that " The Inquisitions preserved in the Court of Chancery, Ireland, are records of the highest authority and value. They may be classed under two distinct heads, viz., Inquisitions post mortein, which are the most numerous, and Inquisitions on attainder. They are divided according to the four provinces and the several counties of Ireland, into reigns, and generally commence in the time of Queen Elizabeth, few being prior to that period.

These Inquisitions have been published for the provinces of Leinster and Ulster, but not for Connaught and Munster." Another interesting source of information has been a MS. correspondence of the time of the Ordnance Survey, 1836-7, which contains references to the topography, etymology, and legendary lore of the county. The information was collected by O'Donovan and his subordinates. At that period some of the old natives with whom they came in contact could recite Irish stories,, legends, and poems, portions of the then fast-dying Celtic traditions ; they were professed Seannachies, or persons of unusual powers of memory. Amid such a fund of materials, if it be considered that too much prominence has been given to minute details of feuds amongst petty rival chiefs, it should be borne in mind that the history of a county is necessarily made up of minutiæ ; and it is also a matter of great and general interest to note the serious evils resulting, in the times treated of, from that most fruitful source of dissension, the absence of a fixed law of succession.

PREFACE.

. For much of that portion of the subject-matter of the third chapter, which relates to the general topography and geology of Sligo, the author is indebted to the kindness of C. B. Jones, Esq., the County Surveyor (as also for the map at the end of the volume) ; and he cannot conclude without acknowledging his great obligation to Colonel Cooper, of Markree, for the loan of MSS. from his library, and to Colonel ffolliott (whose artistic talent is well known) for the various sketches illustrative of the monuments and scenery of the county. Since this work passed through the press, the author has, after a close and diligent search, discovered the inscribed stone in the church on Inishmore, Lough Gill, of which the first mention was made by a stranger who visited the locality up wards of ten years since.

The notification attracted no further interest at the time, or, perhaps, as the position of the supposed inscription had not been defined, ordinary searches for it had proved fruitless. A cast has now been submitted to Sir S. Fer guson, who has pronounced it to be in Ogham characters, placed in this instance on the flat of the stone, instead of being notches on the arris, the more usual form. The stone, rough and un even in shape, measures eighteen inches by seven inches, and is built into the wall on the inner side of the entrance door of the church. Wood ville, July, 1882.

Book I

. CHAPTERS I.. H., III. Chap. I. PREHISTORIC OR LEGENDARY. II. FIRST GLIMPSES OF SLIGO. III. TOPOGRAPHY, &c.

BOOK I. CHAPTER

I. PREHISTORIC OK LEGENDARY. ' ' Where are the heroes of the ages past, Where the brave chieftains, where the mighty ones Who flourished in the infancy of days 1 All to the grave gone down." Henry Kirke White. LL ancient historians of Ireland, with the exception perhaps, of Tigernach, refer its origin to the dim prehistoric ages. Tigernach1 states, "omnia Monu menta Seotorum usque Cimboeth incerta erant.'' As, however, Cimboeth is supposed to have founded Armagh, B.C. 289, and taking Tigernachas the earliest reliable authority, there still remains a large limit of time within which to proceed with lessened risk of dealing in mere fiction. All nations whose origin, like that of the Irish, does not commence with some well authenticated event, have shown the disposition to claim a remote antiquity extending beyond the ear liest traditions of the human race.

Pride of ancestry is a very excusable foible of human nature ; for, as qualities of mind and 1 Tigernach, Abbot of Clon-mac-noise, wrote the annals of Ireland partly in Latin and partly in Irish, from a.m. 3596 to his own time. A copy of these annals is in the library of Trinity College, Dublin, and is amongst the most valuable of existing worke referring to Irish History. Tigernach died a.d. 1088. B body are transmittible, all must feel a keen interest in the character of their direct ancestors. In pride of ancient descent the Irish do not stand alone. For boastfulness of their antiquity, the Tyrians are rebuked by Isaiah in these words : " Pass ye over to Tarshish ; howl, ye inhabitants of the isle. Is this your joyous city, whose antiquity is of ancient days ? Her own feet shall carry her afar off to sojourn." * It would be of little utility to pass in review the various legends related in ancient Irish manuscripts of the peopling of Ireland before the flood, or the various extravagancies narrated by Keating, or to enumerate the many hypotheses, both ancient and modern, or the absurd tales regarding the origin of the Irish people.

Such narrations might afford the same amuse ment as perusal of a fairy tale, but would be as little profitable. The " Annals of the Four Masters," however, being the favourite authority with Irish antiquarians, our readers ought to have the benefit of the startling information therein contained, i.e., that Cæsar — not Julius, but a grand-daughter of Noah — came to Ireland forty days before the flood, with fifty girls and three men,2 who consequently escaped the fate which overtook the rest of mankind ; and thus was the Green Isle peopled. An old Bishop of Ferns is reputed to have shut up " Gulliver's Travels," with the remark, "Amusing, but I can't believe half the fellow says." To this conclusion a puzzled reader might fairly come, after exploring the narratives of the old chroniclers. The first inhabitants of Ireland are, it is conjectured, of the same stock as that which pnopled Gaul, Spain, and Britain ; but the immigration to England was through Gaul, whilst Ireland was peopled principally through Spain.

On the Spanish littoral the Phœnicians had intermingled with the aboriginal Celts, im parting to them their arts — probably their religion also. In the reign of David and Solomon, the Phœnicians were undisputed masters of the Mediterranean and neighbouring seas, their com merce extending to the eastern shores of Spain and to Albion. Most historians admit that they planted colonies at a very early date in Ireland, and they are reputed to have enriched the mother-country by its mineral productions, though from whence 1 Isa. xxiii. 6, 7. 2 A colony of antediluvian Mormons evidently. drawn it is difficult to imagine, for Ireland is not now a land prolific in resources of that nature. The " Book of Ballymote " contains an ancient Irish poem, wherein we read that — "It was Tigearnmas first established in Ireland The art of dyeing cloth of purple and many colours, sAnd the ornamenting of drinking cups and goblets ; And breastpins for mantles of gold and silver."

Does not this seem to refer to the celebrated Tyrian dye of which Ezekiel, prophesying against Tyre, says : " Blue and purple from the isles of Elishah was that which covered thee." ' The Phœnicians were also celebrated for their workmanship in the precious metals. Many of the ancient Irish annalists aver that Parthalon, a Seythian, sailed from Greece, and landed on the coast of Ireland, a.m. 2520, i.e., 278 years after the Deluge ! 2 During this first colonisation mention is made of a locality in the present County of Sligo. Several lakes in different parts of the kingdom are said to have then suddenly burst forth and overflowed the surrounding alluvial plains, A.M. 2532. Amongst those enumerated is Lough Teched, Teithed, or Decet, now Lough Gara, on the borders of Sligo and Roscommon. The formation of the lake must have been caused by no ordinary convulsion of nature, for Lough Gara covers nearly 5,000 acres.

On its eastern side it is indented with numerous deep and narrow bays, between which are corresponding long narrow pro montories. An incident in the life of St. Patrick demonstrates the iden tity of Lough Teched and Lough Gara. Being in Sligo, St. Patrick became desirous to visit Roscom mon, and for this purpose he journeyed towards " the river Boyle which takes its rise in Lough Teched." Whilst crossing the river his chariot was upset in the ford, and the saint was pre cipitated into the flood. In consequence of this accident the ford was called Ath-Carbuid, the ford of the chariot. It is stated to have been close to the waterfall of Eas-mac-n-Eirc. 1 Ezekiel xxvii. 7. 2 " When the exact date of a king or dynasty anterior to Abraham is confidently given us, we may be sure we are in the region of the creative imagination."— Goldwin Smith's Irish History and Irisli Character, p. 7.

The name of the ford is not now remembered, but the waterfall is well known; it is near Boyle, and is now called Assylin. The following wild legend in the Dinnsenchus 1 accounts for the origin of the ancient name of the lough. Teched, a skilful architect, erected Suidhe-Aoedha" over Eas-ruadh,3 or the Salmon Leap, a cataract near Ballyshannon, on the river Erne. On completion of the work, he demanded as his wages the fishing of the river. This monopoly he enjoyed till the Nor therners erected a fortress to prevent the dwellers in Connaught from taking salmon at the Leap. Teched, thus deprived of his right, demanded an equivalent, which was accorded to him in the shape of food and usquebaugh sent to his then residence, which derives its name, Magh-Luinge* i.e., the plain of the eating, from this circumstance.

At Magh-Luinge Teched lived happy as a king, till one day he drank to such excess that he became mad, ran to the lake, leaped in, and was drowned : the first recorded instance of delirium tremens in the County of Sligo. This extravagant fable clearly demonstrates not merely the derivation of the name Teched given to the lake, but also the fact that Magh-Luinge was in its immediate vicinity, the distance from one to the other not being more than a drunken man's race ! The first invasion of Ireland after Parthalon's colonisation was by a tribe called Fomorians : in a battle fought between them and the first arrivals, the Fomorians were defeated, and " all slain." Shortly after the battle, Parthalon's people were annihilated by a plague ; so that, if these two accounts be taken in a literal sense, poor Erin must have remained without inhabitants during about thirty years, till Nemedius, another Scythian, arrived upon the Irish coast, a.m. 2850, with a new importation of adven turers, by whom and their posterity the island was possessed ' The Book of Dinnsenctius is supposed to have been composed in the sixth century, by Amergin, chief bard to King Dermod.

This celebrated work, many additions to which have been made by later writers, contains much interesting, if not very reliable information, on ancient Irish his tory, topography, and the origin of the names of cities, fortresses, raths, mountains, plains, lakes, and rivers. ' Hugh's seat. 3 Assaroe. 4 In County of Mayo. during a little over two centuries, or (it is well to be accurate !) during two hundred and seventeen years. In a.m. 2859 Magh-n-Eabha, or Machaire-Eabha, anglice Magherow, was cleared of wood by these settlers. Not merely a fishing village as now, Magherow was then the generic name applied to the large plain in the barony of Carbury, situated between the Ben Bulbin range and the sea, and anciently celebrated for its fertility. An interpretation given of the name is that Magh signifies a plain, and Eabha, Eve, a woman's name, i.e., Eve's Plain.1 The country-people vary in their description of this ancient plain ; some reduce it to a small tract near the sea-shore, in the middle of which stands a remarkable rock, whilst others apply the term to the entire expanse lying between Carney and Drumcliff.

This plain is again mentioned in a.m. 3656, when the battle of Congnaidh was there fought by the monarch Tigearnmas. The Fomorians, who were seafaring rovers, early hoisters of the black flag, again appear on the scene. A.M. 3060 found them established along the coasts of Ulster and Connaught. In the latter province, especially in Sligo, they were very strong ; but their principal strongholds were at Tor-Innis, the island of the tower, now Tory Island, off the Donegal coast, and at the Giant's Causeway, that wondrous natural formation, which tra dition assumes to have been built by this people, who are represented as a race of giants. A.M. 3266, a colony of Firbolgs, who were of the same race as the Nemedians,2 poured into Ireland. One of their contin gents landed in Mayo, and quickly overran the neighbouring territory of Sligo.

In the " Chronicon Seotorum"3 an arrival of Firbolgs, a.m. 2358, is recorded, with, however, the serious quali fication appended, " but this has not been proved." The Fir bolgs, or Firvolgians, are variously supposed to be Belgæ or Scythians, who came from Greece ; most generally they are con sidered to have been a tribe from Belgic Gaul, who settled in 1 MS. Letters, Ordnance Survey. 2 O'Donovan's edition of the " Four Masters," p. 13. 8 MS. H. I. 18, Trinity College, Dublin, published by tho Lords Commissioners, and edited by W. M. Hennessy, M.R.I. A. Meath and Leinster, but principally in Connaught, Sligo being one of their chief colonies. Some depict the Firbolgs as strong and athletic, famous as champions and wrestlers. They are reputed to have had skulls of an elongated form, dark hair, and swarthy complexion.

At a later period they are described in the "Book of Laccan,"1 as " black, loquacious, lying, tale-bearing, and of low grovelling mind;" but this picture, it must be stated, was drawn by their conquerors. The Firbolgs, on the completion of their conquest, divided Ireland into five provinces. Their principal commanders were five brothers. One of these, Geannan, ruled the territory after wards called Connaught, from Limerick to Bundrowes in Leitrim, thus, amongst other counties, comprising the entire of Sligo. They seem to have been a simple pastoral people, and no inventions or improvements are ascribed to them; not even the clearing of woods or erection of forts. In the time of the colony of Parthalon, as also during the supremacy of the Neme dians, Fomorians, and Firbolgs, Ireland was known as Fiodk Inis, or the woody island, from the great forests of oak and other trees with which the country was covered, and to which frequent allusion is made when describing the appearance of the County of Sligo in days of yore.