Glenveagh

Lough Veagh in Glenveagh

Glenveagh is an area of over 65 square miles in County Donegal which has been declared a National Park; the second-largest in the Republic of Ireland. Its name is from the Irish Gleann Bheatha, meaning 'Glen of the birches'.

Within the glen and the park are, and much of the Derryveagh Mountains.

The park includes much of the Derryveagh Mountains, and within the glen are such sights as Lough Veagh and Glenveagh Castle standing on its shore. The castle gardens displays a multitude of exotic and delicate plants.

• Location map: 55°1’0"N, 8°3’0"W

History

Glenveagh Castle and gardens

Captain John George Adair (1823–1885), an Ascendancy businessman, built Glenveagh Castle and founded the Glenveagh estate. Adair came into dispute with his Irish Catholic tenants over hunting and fishing rights and trespassing sheep. During the 1861 famine, Adair evicted 44 families (224 people total) from their blackhouses on his land, earning him the nickname "Black Jack Adair".

The estate passed to his wife Cornelia Adair. It was then bought by Arthur Kingsley Porter in 1929, before being bought by Henry Plumer McIlhenny in 1937. McIlhenny gave Glenveagh to the Irish state in the 1970s, but continued to use the castle as a part-time residence until 1982.

The park is home to the largest herd of red deer in Ireland and the formerly extirpated golden eagle were reintroduced into the park in 2000. In winter 2018 and spring 2019, many native and non-native trees and plants were cleared from the park, and the water and pipe system was updated.

Outside links

("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Glenveagh)

• Glenveagh National Park
• National Parks
• Walk of the Week: Glenveagh National Park Donegal