Islands of Ireland: A visit to another Sligo island that might have inspired WB Yeats

The Stolen Child mentions 'Sleuth Wood' which might actually refer to Slishwood East

Slishwood East Island, Lough Gill, County Sligo. Setting for Yeats's 'The Stolen Child'. Visited by famous botanist Robert Lloyd Praeger. Picture: Dan MacCarthy 

This wooded County Sligo island is an important touchstone in the WB Yeats firmament. Slishwood East island is of minute size though a tiny bit larger than its near, obvious namesake, Slishwood West. The two islands, very close to the shore, but inaccessible from there, lie on the southern side of Lough Gill, County Sligo. They are named after one of the large woods that skirt this stunning lough and have as a near neighbour the unforgettable Inishfree and its eponymous, timeless poem that generations of schoolchildren have quoted by heart.

We know that the poet walked these woods and drew inspiration from them. In fact, some have suggested that the island that fired the poet’s imagination one wet day in London may have been Fairy Island on the northern shore of the lough and not Inishfree.