Eleanor, Countess of Desmond (1545-1638) and her Sligo Connection

Eleanor Countess of Desmond (1545-1639)

2024 is the 400th anniversary of an impressive burial monument which was installed in Sligo Abbey in 1624. The monument commemorates one of history’s most remarkable, if forgotten, heroines, Eleanor Butler, Countess of Desmond, as well as her second husband, Sir Donogh O'Connor.

Lady Eleanor was an active participant in a period of immense social and political upheaval, chaos and change, to save her family and inheritance, Eleanor’s heroic efforts become embroiled in the final struggle between the outmoded world of Gaelic Ireland and the acquisitive Machiavellian world of Tudor England.

Eleanor’s biographer, the acclaimed author Anne Chambers, presents the life of this extraordinary woman and her association with County Sligo.

The Abbey's very own Trad-Fusion duo - the Cloister Boys - will play from 1:30 a.m.; talk begins at 2:30. Bring a brolly, just in case!