The County of SLEGO.
UP higher, the County of Slego (very fit for grazing, by reason of the excellent grass it produces) lyes full upon the Sea, boun∣ded on the North by the River Trobis, which Ptolemy calls Ravius, springing from the Lough Ern in Ulster. It is divided from Letrim and Roscoman (which border upon it) by the rugged Curlew-moun∣tains and the river Succas. Somewhere in this Coun∣ty, Ptolemy places the City of Nagnata;* 1.1 but for my part, I am not able to discover it. The same Au∣thour has likewise the River Libnius* 1.2 in these parts, which has been misplaced by a mistake of transcri∣bers; and a little above is reduced to Dublin. But the place which Ptolemy points at is now called the Bay of Slego, a creeky road for ships just under the town; which is the chief in this County, adorned with a castle, now the seat of thea 1.3 O-Connors, sirnamed de Slego from this place, and descended, as they say, from that Rotheric O-Conor Dun, who was so potent, that when the English invaded Ireland, he acted as Monarch of that Kingdom, and would hardly sub∣mit to King Henry the second, but was often re∣coiling, though he had promised submission. And as an anonymous writer of that age says, he was wont to exclaim against these words of Pope Adrian in his Diploma to the King of England, as injurious to him: You may enter into that Island,* 1.4 and do any thing therein that will contribute to God's glory, and the well-being of the Country; and let the people of that Island re∣ceive you, and respect you as their Lord. And this he continued to protest against, till Pope Alexander the third made another Diploma, confirming this right to the Kings of England. For then he grew milder, and willing to hear of other terms, as we shall ob∣serve hereafter. The greatest families in these parts, besides the O-Conors, are O-Dono,b 1.5 O-Haris,c 1.6 O-Ghar, and Mac-Donagh.