![Picture](/uploads/5/9/7/2/59720699/400px-sligo2-county_orig.jpg)
In the upper part of the shield is placed an open book, with on the right hand side a red rose. The design represents collectively the literary and cultural history of the County - the cross referring to such early material as the Book of Ballymote, and the rose to the poetry of W.B. Yeats, in whose work the red rose was a significant theme.
In the lower part of the shield is placed a boar's head, in recollection of the story of Diarmuid and Gráinne on Benbulben.
The Motto: Land of Hearts Desire, is taken from the title of a play by Yeats which has a local setting.