A county-wide Community Arts Project & Flagship Event for Sligo Colmcille 2021 

Produced by Blue Raincoat Theatre Company 

Supported by The Arts Council of Ireland

In association with IT Sligo | Creative Ireland | Sligo County Council |Sligo Tourist Development Association | Mayo Sligo Leitrim Educational Training Board

This celebrated community arts publication The Book of Sligo was published by Blue Raincoat Theatre Company in November 2021.

An elegant and beautifully designed publication The Book of Sligo is a completely unique celebration of one county. Each page draws upon ancient Civic Parish structures, to bring the reader an eclectic sampling of Sligo’s diverse social, archeological, and ecological heritage from every corner of the county.

Between November 2021 and May 2022, 32,000 free copies of the book were distributed to households throughout County Sligo as the key part of one of the most ambitious community arts projects to have been staged in Ireland. This delivery programme was carried out by a host of Community Groups and volunteers. 

Inspired by the life of Colmcille, the 1500th anniversary of whose birth occurred in 2021, and his reputed association with the Battle of the Books which is said to have taken place on the lower slopes of Benbulben, The Book of Sligo is a significant county-wide cultural initiative, and an important part of Sligo’s Decade of Commemoration.  

Featuring contributions from each of Sligo’s 41 recognised civil parishes collected and curated specifically for this project, The Book of Sligo portrays how the landscape of the county has shaped its people, places, history, and culture, and how we in turn have shaped and affected this landscape over several millenniums. Equal in ambition is the delivery of a hard-bound copy of the Book into each of County Sligo’s 24,500 households, a feat accomplished from November 2021 with the assistance of a county-wide network of local volunteers.

The delivery by hand of copies of the book, undertaken by volunteers and community groups, is a key aspect of the project as it celebrates and embodies the importance of community connection and relationships with our neighbours. Though the Book of Sligo was conceived prior to the pandemic, it will hopefully be a timely reminder of shared community bonds as well as a celebration of our community.

Building upon a history of producing and delivering large-scale cultural and community initiatives, Blue Raincoat Theatre Company assembled two project teams who worked in tandem to deliver The Book of Sligo. One, an editorial team comprising Sligo-based literary figures, musicians, historians, and archaeologists is responsible for curating the book, and a second, comprised of experienced project organisers and administrators, was responsible for co-ordinating the delivery of the book to every household in the county.

Copies now available to purchase on-line