Glenveagh

Glenveagh National Park
IUCN Category II (National Park)
Lake at Glenveagh
Location	Donegal, Ireland
Nearest city	Derry
Coordinates	55°01′N 8°03′W
Area	169.58 square kilometres (41,900 acres)
Established	1984
Governing body	NPWS National Parks and Wildlife Service

Glenveagh (from Irish: Gleann Bheatha meaning "glen of the birches") — covering 170 square kilometres of hillside above Glenveagh Castle on the shore of Lough Veagh (Loch Ghleann Bheatha), some 20 km from Gweedore in County Donegal, Ireland — forms the heart of the Glenveagh National Park (Páirc Naisiúnta Gleann Bheatha), the second largest national park in Ireland. 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 estate was established by John Adair, who became infamous for evicting 244 of his tenants and clearing the land so they would not spoil his view of the landscape. The gardens and castle were presented to the Irish nation in 1981 by Henry P. McIlhenny of Philadelphia who had purchased the estate in 1937.

The park is home to the largest herd of red deer in Ireland and golden eagle, formerly extinct in Ireland, were reintroduced into the park in 2000.

Gallery

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See also

• List of loughs in Ireland

External links

• Website
• Glenveagh Gardens guide
• In Depth History of Glenveagh
• Letterkenny and Glenveagh
• Glenveagh National Park Donegal