Glenveagh Castle

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Glenveagh Castle

Glenveagh Castle ( Irish Caisleán Ghleann Bheatha ) is a large country house with battlements that in the 1870s near the villages of Church Hill ( Mín to Lábáin ) and Gweedore in Irish County Donegal was built.

history

Glenveagh Castle was built by Captain John George Adair from 1870 to 1873. It stands within the boundaries of what is now Glenveagh National Park . The house was built in the Scottish Baronial Style and consists of a four-storey donjon with a rectangular floor plan, which is surrounded by a garden. The building stands on an estate of 165.4 km² with mountains, lakes, valleys and forests, which are also home to a herd of red deer . The Irish Gaelic name Gleann Bheatha means "valley of the birch". In the visitor center of the national park there are exhibitions and films about the park. It is also accessible for the disabled.

Captain Adair

Captain John George Adair (1823–1885) from County Laois , a member of the lower nobility, had the house built. Adair had made his fortune through daring land speculation in the United States . He returned to Ireland and bought large estates in County Donegal. In 1869 Adair had married Cornelia Wadsworth Ritchie , daughter of James S. Wadsworth , a Unionist general in the American Civil War . The couple took care of the garden design together. Adair's intention was to create a castle and estate that surpassed Balmoral Castle , Queen Victoria's retreat in Scotland . John Adair was not fondly remembered in County Donegal. In the wake of the great famine in Ireland and the ensuing emigration as well as the Highland Clearances , Adair drove 224 tenants from their blackhouses on his land. He did this not out of profitability, but only to improve the aesthetics of the country house. This eviction of the tenants was called "Derryveagh Evictions". The name of John George Adair as a landowner in County Donegal has gone down in history and folklore, as well as in ballads and documentaries. They all have one thing in common: Adair was notoriously cruel. In 1859 he bought the suburbs of Glenveagh and Gartan and combined them to form an estate of 11,200 km².

His trouble with the landlords began on the spot. A dispute between them and Adair over hunting rights and breaking flocks of sheep culminated in the murder of his Scottish steward James Murroq . Adair then began to evict the tenants. On April 3, 1861, a platoon of 200 policemen, three subordinate officers, the magistrate and the deputy sheriff set off for Letterkenny to carry out their duties. The evictions began in Lough Barra , where a widow, Mrs. Hanna McAward , and her six daughters and only son were the first to suffer. The work of destruction continued for three days through Magerashangan, Staghall, Claggan, Ardator and Castletown, as well as other communities. A total of 44 families, consisting of 244 people, were displaced.

It is said that the country house was put under a curse because of the cruel evictions, which consisted in the fact that none of the subsequent owners had heirs from their own family.

Many of the displaced went to the poorhouse of Letterkenny , others were helped by neighbors and even the clergy collected money. In Australia was Donegal Relief Fund revived so that young people between the ages of 16 and 28 in the emigration helped. Many benefited from this arrangement. When they settled in Sydney , strong oral tradition ensured that the descendants would always remember their bitter family fates.

Adairs' widow, Cornelia (1837–1921), took over the property in 1885 after her husband's death. She spent part of her time at Glenveagh Castle, where she - unlike her late husband - was popular. She beautified the gardens and treated the population considerately. The couple had no children.

The Duke of Connaught and his wife were guests of Mrs. Adair in September 1902.

Henry Plumer McIlhenny

Henry Plumer McIlhenny from Philadelphia bought the property in 1937 after renting it for the summer months since 1933. In the 1970s, McIlhenny gave Glenveagh Castle to the Republic of Ireland so that they could create Glenveagh National Park. But he used the country house as a summer house until 1982.

Gallery images

  • Glenveagh Castle (2015)

  • Glenveagh National Park

  • Glenveagh

  • Glenveagh Castle

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Castle Owners & Derryveagh Evictions . In: Glenveagh National Park . Retrieved October 4, 2018.
  2. ^ Court Circular in The Times , September 23, 1902. p. 7.

Web links

Commons : Glenveagh Castle  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Coordinates: 55 ° 2 ′ 0 ″  N , 7 ° 58 ′ 0 ″  W.