Glenveagh

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Another Glenveagh park view
Another Glenveagh park view
Loch Ghleann Bheatha in the grounds of the castle at Gleann Bheatha
Loch Ghleann Bheatha in the grounds of the castle at Gleann Bheatha

Glenveagh (Irish:Gleann Bheatha) — covering 11 hectares of hillside above Glenveagh Castle on the shore of Lough Veagh (Irish:Loch Ghleann Bheatha), some 20 km from Gweedore in County Donegal, Ireland — forms the heart of the Glenveagh National Park (Irish:Páirc Naisiúnta Gleann Bheatha). 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.

Gleann Bheatha translates into English as "Glen of the Birches".

The estate was established by John Adair who was 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 now has the largest herd of Red Deer in Ireland and Golden Eagle, formerly extinct in Ireland, were reintroduced into the park in 2000.


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