Things To Do

Soft Archery 

Try your hand at soft archery, a mindful sport that tests your focus and precision using only a bow and arrow.

For a fun, family-friendly twist, enjoy soft archery, where lightweight bows and suction-cup arrows make it safe and exciting for all ages. Perfect indoors or outdoors (weather permitting).

Find out if there’s a little Robin Hood in you!

Walks & Hiking

There’s plenty of space to explore across the estate, with maps provided — and so far, we’ve never lost anyone! Walks can range from 30 minutes to over 2 hours.

Discover Sligo’s stunning and diverse landscapes, from way-marked trails and coastal paths to mountain hikes and fragrant woodland strolls. Every walk refreshes the senses and offers breathtaking views.

The Sligo Way: This 49-mile trail showcases a variety of landscapes — ideal for those seeking a longer adventure. Plan your route and find detailed information on Sligo Walks.

For guided experiences:

Temple House offers scenic walks with expert knowledge of Sligo’s history, flora, and fauna. Book in advance at Wild Wet Adventures.

Auriel Robinson, Wild Atlantic Way Ambassador and head guide of Seatrails, specialises in archaelogical walks and Irish heritage trails.

Lough Key Forest Park

A fantastic day out for all ages — rain or shine! Lough Key Forest Park offers indoor and outdoor adventures, from boat rides and woodland walks to zip lines, playgrounds, and a cosy café.

Boda Borg
Take on the ultimate teamwork challenge! This unique Swedish adventure features 47 puzzle rooms where you’ll need creativity, problem-solving, and collaboration to progress. Great fun for both adults and kids.

Tree Canopy Walk
Explore Ireland’s only Tree Canopy Walk — a self-guided journey through the treetops that reveals the park’s rich history, flora, and fauna. Go at your own pace and soak up the stunning views.

Zipit Forest Adventures
Ireland’s first aerial trail course is pure excitement! Suitable for ages 7 and up, Zipit offers rope bridges, zip lines, Tarzan swings, and climbing walls at varying difficulty levels. Perfect for families and thrill-seekers alike.

Horse Riding

Keash Equestrian Centre caters for all ages starting with beginner lessons for children from the age of 4 years up to adults. Intermediate and advanced lessons for children/adults. Private and Semi private lessons.

Larkhill, Keash Ballymote, Co. Sligo

Traditional Music

Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann sessions keep Irish traditional music alive, while South Sligo emigrants like Coleman, Morrison, and Killoran helped shape Irish music in the U.S. during the 1920s. The local sound is led by the fiddle, flute, tin whistle, accordion, bodhrán, banjo, and guitar.

We’re happy to direct guests to nearby traditional music sessions. There are plenty of lively pubs within 25 minutes of Temple House (just 5 minutes away on Wednesdays and Fridays) where you can enjoy live music — and maybe even a dance — after dinner. Most sessions start around 10 pm.

Seaweed Baths – Strandhill, Sligo

Imagine relaxing in a big bath filled with hot seawater and seaweed. It might sound unusual, but it’s actually wonderfully soothing!

For generations along the Irish coast, the therapeutic properties of wild seaweed have been well known. A seaweed bath helps detoxify the body and leaves you with an overall sense of well-being.

VOYA Seaweed Baths
Strandhill, Co. Sligo
www.voya.ie

Retreats at Temple House

Host your retreat in the heart of mystical Co. Sligo — whether it’s yoga, art, wellness, or something entirely your own.

Temple House offers the perfect setting for retreats and gatherings of all kinds. The tranquil surroundings, fresh air, and peaceful energy create a natural sense of calm.

Our talented chef provides in-house catering and can accommodate all dietary needs, so you can focus fully on your group’s experience. Exclusive hire of the Big House is required, offering 10 elegant bedrooms, plus an optional cottage that sleeps 8 — ideal as a private space for group leaders.

Guests often explore the region by day and return to relax in our bright, welcoming rooms, including the Morning Room — perfect for workshops or quiet reflection.

Popular retreat activities include:

• Yoga and mindfulness

• Visits to ancient sites (Carrowkeel, Carrowmore, Knocknarea, Creevykeel, The Glen)

• Art, painting, and craft workshops

• Surfing, kayaking, or paddleboarding with Wild Wet Adventures

• Cookery, hiking, cycling, or fishing

• Traditional Irish music sessions (in local pubs or on-site)

Read more about our Retreats

Temple House offers traditional rough woodcock shooting in true yesteryear style. Enjoy classic driven shoots across our estate woodlands and nearby forestry, with occasional duck on the lake or river when conditions allow. Woodcock and duck are migratory, so numbers depend on the weather and the skill of the guns — but there’s always great sport and good company.

Typical Itinerary

• 3 days shooting (Thu–Sat)
• 7–9 guns (minimum charge: 8 guns, including non-shooting companions)
• Full board, excluding drinks

Days begin around 9:30am with a proper lunch back at the house and continue until dusk. Evenings feature fine dinners, open fires, and perhaps a brandy or pint in a local pub — the perfect close to a day in the field.

Arrive for dinner the night before shooting begins; depart after breakfast on the final morning.

Dogs & Cartridges

Estate dogs are available. Visitors’ dogs welcome by arrangement (not in the house). Cartridges available locally with notice — approx. 100 over three days (7–7.5 shot for woodcock, 4 for duck).

Requirements

• Public Liability Insurance (€6.5 million minimum)
• Valid Irish shotgun certificate or Non-Resident Firearm Certificate (apply at least 6 weeks ahead; EU residents need a European Firearm Pass)
• Weatherproof gear recommended

Golf Near Temple House

There are three championship links golf courses in Co Sligo. For more info or to book, contact us.

Rosses Point Golf Course
~ 21 km from house

Scenic and challenging 18 hole links course (6,136 metres) and 9-hole links course (2,785 metres). Bordering the Atlantic Ocean with Benbulben and Knocknarea backdrop and with scenic views of five counties from third tee. A challenge to the best of golfers and fun for all. Home to the West of Ireland Amateur Golf Championship at Easter. Open to visitors seven days a week, all year round. Course also has floodlit driving range.

Tubbercurry Golf Course

~ 20 min from house

Tubbercurry was founded in 1991 and is a challenging nine-hole golf course. Its feature hole is the 6th, a 158-meter, par 3, index 12 played from an elevated tee-box, to a difficult green below. It has spectacular views of the Ox mountains and surrounding countryside.

Donegal/Murvagh Golf Course

~ 66 min from house

Donegal Golf Club, often called “Murvagh Links,” is a magnificent championship course located on the Murvagh Peninsula, jutting into Donegal Bay. Designed by Eddie Hackett and refined by Pat Ruddy, this par-73 links course stretches over 7,400 yards, making it one of Europe’s longest.

Its isolated setting, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, Donegal Bay, and framed by the Bluestack Mountains, creates a tranquil and visually stunning golfing environment. The course features two distinct loops of nine, with the outer nine playing along the dunes and the inner nine offering a more protected but still challenging experience. Notable holes include the demanding par-3 5th, “Valley of Tears.” Despite its length, it’s a relatively easy walk. Darren Clarke, the 2011 Open Champion, hails it as “one of my favourite courses in the world,” a testament to its quality and unforgettable Irish links charm.

Explore The Wild Atlantic Way

The Wild Atlantic Way is a stunning route along Ireland’s west coast, from Cork up through the Ring of Kerry, the Cliffs of Moher, the Burren, Connemara, and finally to largely undiscovered County Sligo. Make Temple House your luxury base in Sligo for an unforgettable stay.

Spend 3 nights in Sligo to explore highlights like the megalithic tombs at Carrowkeel and Carrowmore, Queen Maeve’s Cairn on Knocknarea, world-class surfing at Strandhill, Mullaghmore, and Easkey, and WB Yeats’ sites at Lough Gill, Drumcliffe, and Lissadell. Aughris Head is a scenic stop on the Wild Atlantic Way, easily reached via the Ladies Brae.

Heading north, consider Slieve League in Donegal and the Giants Causeway before visiting Belfast and the Titanic Exhibition. Dublin Airport is just 2.5 hours away, making Sligo a perfect addition to your journey.

Wildlife Boat Tours/Deep Sea Fishing

Operated by experienced skipper Declan Kilgannon, this boat tour company offers thrilling trips along Ireland’s Wild Atlantic Way. Guests often encounter dolphins, seals, seabirds, and, with a bit of luck, whales such as Minke, Humpback, and Fin Whales.

Trips typically last 3–4 hours, departing from Mullaghmore Harbour. (45 minutes from Temple House by car) The vessel is wheelchair accessible, and passengers are welcome to bring snacks and drinks on board.

Whether you’re seeking a serene wildlife experience or an exhilarating fishing adventure, Kiwi Girl Mullaghmore offers a unique way to explore the stunning coastline of County Sligo.

Contact Kiwi Girl Mullaghmore 

Heritage

Carrowmore

Carrowmore is home to the largest and oldest collection of stone circles and dolmens known from Neolithic Ireland. These monuments are also among the country’s oldest, with the oldest pre-dating Newgrange by 700 years. Archaeologists have recorded over 60 tombs of which 30 are visible.

Carrowmore is one of the largest megalithic cemeteries in W. Europe and the guides and diagrams there can explain the significance of the Dolmens, Passage graves and stone circles around the visitor centre. Radiocarbon dating suggests 3,800 and 4,600 BC for two of the tombs.

See: www.heritageireland.ie

Creevykeel Court Tomb

This monument is situated at the foothills of Tievebaun Mountain, near the sea at Mullaghmore, and is one of the finest examples in Ireland of what is known as a full-court tomb.

Dating from the Neolithic period (c. 4000 – 2500 BC) it consists of a wedge-shaped cairn about 50m long, incorporating at its eastern end an oval-shaped court.

The entrance into the court is at the east, and consists of a narrow passage-way lined with upright stones. The court is among the largest of its type in Ireland, measuring 15m long by 9m wide. From the court is the entrance to the burial gallery which is divided by upright stones into two chambers and was originally covered by a corbelled roof.

The Glen, Knocknarea

This magical looking glen is more characteristic of a micro-valley. A few days ago I set out to find this hidden glen. After asking a few locals for directions I still passed the entrance twice before even realising. The entrance is basically a hole in a hedge & there are no signs which is a pity as this place truly deserves to be seen & appreciated by our modern generation.

Entering the deep chasm is like entering a walkway to another world! This glen is carved deep into limestone rock for almost 1 mile. There are many specimens of trees & plants growing here that look like they belong in a tropical rain forest. Vines drape from the tree canopy above right down to the valley floor & fresh rain water treacle’s down the uniformed walls on each end which are 60 ft in height along the entire length of the glen.

This glen/valley is near the sacred hill of Knocknarea where the ancient queen Maeve of Ireland is buried on top. There is archaeological evidence that proves our ancestors carved rock from this glen thousands of years ago to use as Dolmen tombs across County Sligo, Ireland. Theory also states that they may have used this valley for ceremonial & ritual practices.

Access to the Glen can be difficult: it is a pretty overgrown spot. Trees and branches fall across the pathway, and during the wet weather often experienced in Sligo, there are often large, deep pools of mud to be crossed. Unless the weather has been dry for weeks, wellingtons or stout boots are essential.

Photo by Gareth Wray

Knocknashee, Hill of the Fairies

Knocknashee ‘Hill of the Fairies’ is one of Ireland’s largest Bronze Age fortified hilltop forts stretching 700×320 meters across this table-top mountain plateau. Being one of Ireland’s seven most sacred hills, its name comes from the Irish words “knock” (cnoc) meaning “hill” and “shee” meaning “fairy”.

Ballymote Castle

Ballymote castle was built around the year 1300 by the Anglo-Norman Richard de Burgo, second Earl of Ulster, who was known as the ‘Red Earl’ in order to protect his newly won possessions in Sligo. The site of the castle was known as Atha Cliath an Chorainn, the ford of the hurdles of Corran. He also built a road from Boyle to Collooney called the ‘Red Earl’s Road’. The old Ordnance Survey maps name the road through Roscrib as the Red Earl’s road.

The castle was possibly the strongest in Connacht at the time. The area within the walls is 150ft square. There was a formidable double towered gate in the centre of the north wall and subsidiary D-shaped towers in the centre of the East and West curtain walls. A postern gate planned for the centre of the south wall was never completed, probably because of the events os 1317, when the castle was lost to the O’Connors. The walls are about ten feet thick and flanked with six noble towers. Passages of about 3 feet wide ran through the centre of the walls all around and the passages were so constructed so that they gave access to the towers, and to the intervening curtains at different heights, and thus they met the need of attack or defence.

The castle changed hands many times down the years. It was captured by the O’Connors of Sligo in 1317, but was taken from them in the course of local struggles by the Mac Diarmada in 1347. By 1381 it had passed to the MacDonaghs. Although attached to Tadhg MacDiarmada in 1561, it had apparently passed to O’Conor Sligo by 1571,at which time he surrendered the castle and had it regranted to him by the English. In 1577 the castle fell into English hands for a few months, and then more permanently in 1584, when it was taken by the notorious govenor of Connaught, Richard Bingham. The O’Connors, O’Hartes and O’Dowds burned it in 1588. The English surrendered it in 1598 to the MacDonaghs who sold it shortly afterwards to the O’Donnells. It was from this castle that Red Hugh O’Donnell marched to the disastrous battle of Kinsale in 1601. When the O’ Donnells surrendered it to the English in 1602, it was already in a bad state of repair. In 1633 the Taaffes owned it for a short time, but had to surrender it again to the English Parliamentary forces in 1652.

In the Williamite wars the castle was held by Captain Terence MacDonagh for King James 11, but he had to surrender it to Lord Granard in the face of an artillery attack in 1690. Soon afterwards the fortifications were made harmless, the moat was filled up and the castle fell into ruins. Underground passages connected Emlaghfad church with the castle and with the Franciscan Abbey.

Sligo Abbey