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County Sligo contains some of the most important prehistoric monuments in Ireland. The Carrowmore Megalithic burial site near Sligo Town and Carrowkeel Stone Age burial site in the Bricklieve Mountains are two of the most impressive. The grave of the legendary Queen Maeve of Connaught is also reputed to be in Sligo: Maeve's Cairn on Knocknarea Mountain near Carrowmore is over 60 feet high. The legends, folklore, natural beauty and mystique of the county's many lakes, islands and mountains have been captured by the renowned Irish poet, WB Yeats. The Sligo County Museum in Sligo Town has interesting exhibitions about Yeats and the big house at Lissadell, where he stayed with his friend, the staunch Irish nationalist and Easter Rising rebel Constance Markievicz, has other interesting stories to tell. Sligo town grew up on a historically strategic point between the ancient provinces of Connaught and Ulster and was hotly contested by the Anglo-Norman Fitzgeralds and the O'Connells. It was also the last western stronghold of King James Catholic forces after they lost the Battle of the Boyne to the Protestant King William of Orange. It is now the third largest urban centre in the north of Ireland after Belfast and Derry and the main centre for nightlife in the area. Many of the small towns and villages which dot the county are also renowned for their traditional music pubs. County Sligo also has a number of attractive sandy beaches, some of which are popular with surfers. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
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