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Letterkenny Accommodation -
Glenveagh National Park
Telephone: 074 91 37090
Glenveagh National Park lies in the heart of the Derryveagh Mountains in
the north-west of Co. Donegal. It is a remote and hauntingly beautiful
wilderness of rugged mountains and pristine lakes. The Park, over 14,000
acres in extent consists of three areas. The largest of these is the
former Glenveagh Estate, including most of the Derryveagh Mountains. To
the west are the quartzite hills around Crocknafarragh and to the south,
the peatlands of Lough Barra bog, Meenachullion and Crockastoller.
Glenveagh is the haunt of many rare and interesting plants and animals
and is famous for it’s fine herd of red deer. The Park contains the
peaks of the two highest mountains in Co. Donegal, Errigal (752m) and
Slieve Snaght (683m). The steep sided valley of Glenveagh holds the
5.5km-long Lough Veagh.
Much of the land which comprises modern Glenveagh National Park was
originally consolidated into a single holding in the 19th Century by
John George Adair, a wealthy land speculator from Co. Laois. The holding
was managed as a private deer forest until 1975, when it was sold to the
state and placed in the care of the Commissioner of Public Works to
become a national Park.
A fine Victorian castle surrounded by beautiful gardens is picturesquely
located on the eastern shore of the lake and provides the focal point
for visitors to the Park. The last private owner Henry P. McIlhenny
donated the castle, including much of its contents in 1983. The Park and
gardens were officially opened to the public in 1984 and the Castle in
1986.
The network of mainly informal gardens displays a multitude of exotic
and delicate plants from as far afield as Chile, Madeira and Tasmania,
all sheltered by windbreaks of pine trees and ornamental
rhododendrons.The park now has the largest herd of red deer in Ireland
and golden eagle, formerly extinct in Ireland, were reintroduced into
the park in 2000.
Glenveagh Castle
Glenveagh Castle is a 19th century castellated mansion and was built
between 1867 and 1873. Its construction in a remote mountain setting was
inspired by the Victorian idyll of a romantic highland retreat. It was
designed by John Townsend Trench, a cousin of its builder and first
owner, John George Adair, with whom he had been raised in Co. Laois. The
designer appears to have imitated the style of earlier Irish
Tower-houses adding an air of antiquity to the castle. The building
stone chose was granite, plentiful in Donegal but difficult to work and
allowing for little detail.
The forbidding architecture of the castle is quickly forgotten amidst
the varied comforts within. Henry McIlhenny, the last owner of the
castle, served the Philadelphia Museum of Art as Curator of Decorative
Arts and his expertise in this field is evident throughout the castle.
Through time, each room acquired a different character, some roughly in
keeping with the period of the house, others freely inventive. Few of
the great houses of Ireland are preserved in this condition, with their
original furnishings, and in Glenveagh Castle one catches a glimpse of a
lifestyle belonging to an earlier age.
Access to the castle is by guided tour which last approx. 30 mins
Location
Glenveagh National Park is located 24km north-west of Letterkenny and
can be reached via the villages of Kilmacrennan or Churchill.
Access from Letterkenny is by the (N56) road through Kilmacrennan,
turning left on to the Gweedore road (R255), or alternatively via Church
Hill, and past Gartan and Akibbon lakes (R251). This route passes close
to both Newmills and the Glebe Gallery.
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