Overview
Ballintogher means Baile an Tóchair, the town of the causeway – a togher being the old bog road that once crossed the wet ground here. It’s a village of about 351 people (2022 census), eight kilometres southeast of Sligo town on the R290, near enough to Lough Gill to sit inside Yeats country without the coach traffic. Be honest with yourself about what it is, though: Ballintogher is essentially one street. The reasons to stop are scattered in the countryside around it, not in the village itself.
If you have an hour, spend it climbing to Cashelore. It’s the best-preserved thing here and the short walk up rewards you with the fort and the view in one go.
History & the greenway
The Anglo-Normans laid out a borough at Ballintogher in 1266, and stones from the older Cashelore cashel were reused to build that first settlement. Centuries later the village grew around the Sligo, Leitrim and Northern Counties Railway, which opened in the 1870s and closed in 1957.
The old trackbed, long overgrown, is the basis for a community-led greenway. When it’s finished, the Sligo–Leitrim Greenway will turn the former railway corridor into a traffic-free route for walkers and cyclists, linking Ballintogher to Sligo town, Manorhamilton and the wider network. Work is going ahead in stages, and early sections already give a sheltered alternative to the road.
Walking & nature
Cashelore Stone Fort sits on a steep hill about 1.3 km northwest of the village, and it’s the standout. This is a well-preserved cashel dating to somewhere between 500 and 1000 AD, built as a defensive farmstead to keep livestock safe from raiders and wolves. The oval enclosure measures 23 by 16 metres, with walls up to 2.4 metres high. A signposted path gets you to the entrance in about five minutes. Inside are visible flagstones and a partly blocked doorway, and records from 1891 note a souterrain that once led down the hill.
Down at lake level, Slish Wood is about 4.6 km from the village – a looped path beside Lough Gill, a stream near the car park, and a few shaded picnic spots. The gentler walk closer to the village runs through hedgerow-lined fields with views out to the wood.
If you’re tracing Yeats, the Lake Isle of Innisfree lies offshore in Lough Gill, a few kilometres away and best seen from the shoreline; it’s a stop on the official Sligo Yeats Trail. The reed beds and rocky outcrops are much as the poet described them.
Culture & community
Music runs deep here. Each year in late October or early November the village hosts the Ballintogher Traditional Music Festival, set up in 1998 to honour local flute player John Egan and the townland of Lavally, where playing and dancing were once household habits. The programme usually takes in a feis, céilí and set dancing, pub sessions and a commemorative concert. Most events are free, though the bigger concerts may charge.
The area has its own chronicler, too: local historian Séamus McCormack wrote the 320-page In the Shadow of Sliabh dá Éan: Ballintogher and Surroundings (2009), and during Heritage Week he leads a free guided walk taking in Cashelore, Kilerry church and graveyard, and Creevelea Abbey.
Out of festival season the village keeps a steady rhythm. The Innisfree Bar is the local institution, good for live sessions and pub food, and there’s a playground for younger children.
Practical information
- Getting there: Ballintogher is on the R290, roughly 15 minutes’ drive southeast of Sligo town, and clearly signposted.
- Public transport: TFI Local Link DSL runs Route 566 between Sligo town and Dowra, stopping in Ballintogher. Pay by Leap Card, the TFI Go app or cash; Free Travel Passes are accepted. Pre-book for door-to-door services in the surrounding townlands.
- Parking: Free car parks in the village centre, at Slish Wood, and near the turn-off for Cashelore.
- Admission: The walking trails, the stone fort, Slish Wood and the playground are all free.
- Timetables: Bus schedules at locallinkdsl.ie or on 074 974 1644.
Spring and summer are the safe bet for the trails and a lakeside picnic; autumn brings the festival and the colour in the woods. Time your visit for the festival weekend to catch the village at its liveliest, or come on a quiet weekday and have Cashelore and the Lough Gill shore to yourself.