Gaelic  Chieftain

Two miles north of the town of Boyle, is the site of the Battle of the Curlieus, which took place in 1599. It is commemorated by one of Ireland's most magnificent road-side pieces of sculptured metal of a Gaelic Chieftain, sculptured by Maurice Harron. There is a picnic area provided, allowing one to sit and take in the magnificent views over Lough Key.

The Battle of Curlew Pass was fought on the 15th of August 1599, during the campaign of the Earl of Essex in the Nine Years' War, between an English force under Sir Conyers Clifford and a rebel Irish force led by "Red" Hugh O'Donnell. The English were ambushed and routed while marching through a pass in the Curlew Mountains, near the town of Boyle, in northwestern Ireland. The English forces suffered heavy casualties. Losses by allied Irish forces were not recorded but were probably minimal.