Glenveagh

Glenveagh National Park Páirc Náisiúnta Ghleann Bheatha
IUCN category II (national park)
Lake at Glenveagh
Location	County Donegal, Ireland
Nearest town	Letterkenny
Coordinates
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") is the second largest national park in Ireland. The park covers 170 square kilometres of hillside above Glenveagh Castle on the shore of Lough Veagh (Loch Ghleann Bheatha), 20 km from Gweedore in County Donegal. 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 the formerly extinct golden eagle were reintroduced into the park in 2000.

Gallery

• Glenveagh park.JPG
• Glenveagh National Park (2578204505).jpg
• Glenveagh national park.jpg
• Glenveagh National Park - Walled Garden area - geograph.org.uk - 1189163.jpg

  Glenveagh Castle

• GlenveaghNationalPark.jpg

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