Glenveagh National Park

Introducing Glenveagh National Park

Lakes cluster like dew in the mountainous valley of Glenveagh National Park (Pairc Naísúnta Ghleann Bheatha; glenveaghnationalpark@duchas.ie; admission free; 10am-6pm Feb-Nov, last admission 5pm), one of the most beautiful spots in Ireland. Alternating between great knuckles of rock, green-gold swathes of bog and scatterings of oak and birch forest, the 16, 500-sq-km protected area makes wonderful walking country. It is also home to a variety of wildlife, including the golden eagle, which was hunted to extinction here in the 19th century but was reintroduced in 2000.

Yet such serenity came at a heavy price. The land was once farmed by 244 tenants, who were forcibly evicted by landowner John George Adair in the winter of 1861 following what he called a ‘conspiracy’, but really because their presence obstructed his vision for the valley.

Adair put the final touches on his paradise (1870–73) by building the spectacular lakeside Glenveagh Castle, while his wife, Adelia, introduced two things that define the national park’s appearance: the herd of red deer and the rhododendrons. Green fingers and a love of animals notwithstanding, the Adair name still meets with dripping scorn. However, a rather poetic revenge was enacted when Adair’s body was to be buried in 1885. As the funeral cart rolled up to his grave, it’s said they found a donkey already occupying his would-be home for eternity.

If anything, things got even more surreal after Adair’s death. The castle was briefly occupied by the IRA in 1922. Then in 1929 the property was acquired by Kingsley Porter, professor of art at Harvard University, who mysteriously disappeared in 1933 (presumed drowned, but rumoured to have been spotted in Paris afterwards). Six years later the estate was bought by his former student, Henry McIlhenny, once described by Andy Warhol as ‘the only person in Philadelphia with glamour’. In 1975 McIlhenny sold the whole kit and caboodle to the Irish government and it is now administered by Dúchas, the Heritage Service.

The park features nature trails along lakes, through woods and blanket bog, as well as a viewing point that’s a short walk behind the castle.

The Glenveagh Visitor Centre (074-913 7090; Churchill) has a 20-minute audiovisual display on the ecology of the park and the infamous Adair. The restaurant serves hot food and snacks, and the reception sells the necessary midge repellent, as vital in summer as walking boots and waterproofs are in winter. Camping is not allowed.

Last updated: Feb 17, 2009