In 1837, Samuel Lewis's Topographical Dictionary of Ireland described Raghly like this:
RAUGHLEY, a village, in the parish of DRUMCLIFF, barony of LOWER CARBERY, county of SLIGO, and province of CONNAUGHT, 10 miles (N. W.) from Sligo; containing 122 inhabitants. This place, which is situated on the north side of the bay of Sligo, takes its name from a small elevated peninsula connected with the sand hills on the shore by a long narrow isthmus; and having on the south-west side the Wheaten Rock, which extends nearly half a mile to the north-east and south-west, and is partly dry at spring tides; and off the south end, the Bird Rocks, about two cables' length from the shore. ...
A pier has been erected by government, which affords great accommodation to vessels trading with Sligo, and to the boats engaged in the fisheries off this coast, in which more than 200 persons are occasionally employed; large quantities of sea manure are landed at the pier, which is within half a mile of the nearest public road, and a coast-guard station is placed here, forming one of the five that constitute the district of Sligo. The village contains 25 dwellings, most of which are thatched cabins. Near it is Rockley Lodge, the residence of John Jones, Esq. Near the western shore is the romantic hill of Knocklane, under which are some remains of fortifications; and on the eastern shore, about half a mile from the village, are the ruins of the old castle of Artarmon, now deeply buried in the sand, the ancient residence of the Gore family. The blowing sands of Knocklane extend northward from the village, and are about two miles long and two broad; they have already covered a great tract of good land and about 150 cabins, and are constantly in motion, giving a dreary and desolate appearance to the country around. On the western shore is a remarkable chasm in the limestone rock, called the Pigeon Holes, and by the peasantry the Punch Bowls; into these the sea rushes with great impetuosity, and in rough weather is forced upwards to a considerable height. Close to the shore is a chalybeate spring of great strength, which is sometimes covered by the tide.
GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth, History of Raghly, in and County Sligo | Map and description, A Vision of Ireland through Time.
URL: https://www.visionofireland.org/place/29969
Date accessed: 26th May 2024
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