The story
Welcome to Riverstown, a place where the map only tells half the story. Known in the Irish tongue as Baile idir dhá Abhainn—the town between two rivers—this village serves as a gateway to a landscape that feels ancient because it truly is. As you move through the area, you will likely notice the Unshin River.
It is a river of great character, one of the few in Ireland that flows north, draining the waters of Lough Arrow toward the sea. But the real story under Riverstown isn’t just in its waters; it is etched into the very limestone of the surrounding hills and the deep memory of the soil. Just to the east lies the ridge of Moytirra, the Plain of the Pillars.
To the casual observer, it is a high, windswept pasture. To those who know the lore, it is the site of the Second Battle of Moytura. This was the legendary collision between the Tuatha Dé Danann, the shining people of craft and wisdom, and the Fomorians, the dark giants of the sea.
It was here, in this very landscape, that Lugh of the Long Arm struck down the monstrous Balor of the Evil Eye. When you see the massive, erratically placed stones like the Labby Rock—one of Ireland’s largest portal tombs—you are looking at a monument that has stood for over five thousand years. Legend says it was the burial place of the hero Nuada, but science tells us it is a sophisticated piece of Neolithic engineering, a heavy capstone balanced perfectly by ancient hands.
Just a short distance away, the horizon is dominated by the shimmering expanse of Lough Arrow. This lake is a sanctuary of stillness, famed for its trout and its hidden history. Beneath the surface and along its wooded fringes lie crannogs—artificial islands built by our ancestors for protection.
They lived out their lives surrounded by water, a tradition that persisted for centuries. Back in the village, the Sligo Folk Park offers a different kind of time travel. It preserves the rural heritage of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, showing how the people of Riverstown survived and thrived through hard work and community spirit.
From the grandeur of Cooper’s Hill House to the humble forge, the layers of time are stacked one on top of the other. As you explore, remember that every hillock and every bend in the river carries a name and a memory. You are walking through a living museum where the myths of gods and the history of hardworking people are inseparable.
Take your time, breathe in the sweet Sligo air, and let the landscape reveal its secrets to you.