This classic and well-loved history of Sligo was first published on 1889. Its author, the Rev. Archdeacon Terrence O'Rorke, was born and bred in Collooney, County Sligo, and went on to study for the priesthood in Maynooth, where he also engaged in post-graduate work, going on to become Professor of Theology in the Irish College in Paris. Pastoral work, however, took him back to County Sligo and he spent most of his ministry as a Parish Priest of his native Collooney. Conscious of how Ireland's troubled and disrupted history had depleted the country of many local records, he set out to salvage what was known of his country's past, publishing The History and Antiques and Present State of the Parishes of Ballysadare and Kilvarnet in 1878. After discovering discrepancies and inaccuracies in highly respected sources, it led him to pursue his own research into the history of his beloved County Sligo, bringing to his work a critical emphasis on the reliability of his materials.