From the parking lot, it was a 2 mile walk along the lakeside, Lough Veagh, to the castle. There was a shuttle bus, but it was a nice day so I walked. Glenveagh Castle was built of rough hewn granite in the Scottish Baronial style between 1870-73 by John Adair who was married to an American woman, Cornelia Ritchie. He chose to bring Scottish sheep to the land along with a shepherd/agent who was unpopular with the tenant farmers. When they murdered him, Adair took the opportunity to evict 247 people, many widows, women and children, and it was a dark day in local history. Some went to Letterkenny work houses, and 150 went to Australia, never to return. There was an informative video about it at the visitor's center.
In later years, there were two additional owners, Porter and McIlhenny, who added to the castle and even installed a lakeside pool and round tower. In 1929, 2nd owner Professor Arthur Kingsley Porter of Harvard University came to Ireland to study Irish archaeology and culture. The Kingsley Porters mainly entertained Irish literary and artistic figures including close friend AE Russell whose paintings still hang in the library of the castle. Their stay was to be short however as Arthur Kingsley Porter mysteriously disappeared from Inishbofin Island in 1933 while visiting the island. Rumors abound...
The last private owner was Mr Henry McIlhenny of Philadelphia who bought the estate in 1937. Henry McIlhenny was an Irish American whose Grandfather John McIlhenny grew up in Milford a few miles north of Glenveagh. After buying the estate Mr McIlhenny devoted much time to restoring the castle and developing its gardens. Eventually Henry McIlhenny began to find travelling to and from Ireland too demanding and the upkeep of the estate was also becoming a strain. In 1975 he agreed the sale of the estate to the Office of Public Works allowing for the creation of a National Park. In 1983 he bestowed the castle to the nation along with its gardens and much of the contents.
The home had a lively social and hunting scene and in later years Greta Garbo, Prince Charles and many others have been guests. We took a guided tour of the elegant main floor and some upstairs bedrooms.
The gardens and hiking trails were lovely too, and we spent about 3.5 hours there. The gorse bushes were in full bloom... beautiful!
Our next stop was Grianan of Aileach a hilltop fort, 3000 years old with panoramic views of 5 of the counties of Ulster and legendary stories from every era of Irish history. It was super windy once I climbed to the top, but the views were amazing, from Lough (lake) Swilly to Lough Foyle!
The Grianan of Aileach is a very fine restored stone fort of cashel on Greenan Mtn. The name means rocky place. Evidence of a prehistoric hill fort survives in the form of 3 low ramparts and ditches which enclose the fort. An ancient roadway ran up to the site, and there is a holy well dedicated to St Patrick, as well as a burial cairn. The lintel covered entrance in the cashel leads into an interior enclosed by a wall and 3 terraces, and is accessible by inset stairways.
Brrr!
The fort was probably constructed in the late 8th or early 9th century AD as the capital of the Cenel Eogain. over kings of this part of Ulster. In 904 amd 939, AIleach was plundered by Vikings. The final destruction took place in 1101 by the army of Muirertach Ua Briain, King of Munster.
In the 1870s, the cashel was restored by a Derry doctor who recorded the finding of the stone objects. In 2001, there were further digs that uncovered glass, pottery, clay pipe fragments.
Shortly after, we crossed into Northern Ireland... someone had spray painted the sign to remove "Northern"... shocker.
Then it was on to Derry / Londonderry for an in-depth walking tour of Derry's walls (1613) and the well known Bogside district famed in the U2 song "Bloody Sunday" after the tragic events of January 1971. Our guide was Ruairi, pronounced Rory. We climbed the town's old stone walls and took a leisurely stroll around the entire city. Derry is the only remaining completely intact walled city in Ireland and one of the finest examples of a walled city in Europe.
Ireland's history is complicated, and I still can't get my head around it. The Brits figure prominently, going back centuries, and not in a good way. They weren't fond of the Irish or Catholics... or Presbyterians for that matter. Many Presbyterians, called "billys" for their support of King William, emigrated to America, and settled in the Appalachian Mtns, bringing with them their music, a precursor to Bluegrass. I learned to day that the term "hillbillies" came about from this! There is an Anglican and a Catholic cathedral in Derry. For the life of me, I can't remember which side of the wall was/is Catholic /Protestant. In the old days, Catholics had to leave the city at night, but it seems like now, the Loyalists live on the opposite side of the river from the old city? I give up....
The old city walls were built in 1613–1619 by The Honourable The Irish Society as defences for early 17th century settlers from England and Scotland The Siege of Derry was the first major event in the Williamite War in Ireland. The siege was preceded by a first attempt against the town by Jacobite forces on 7 December 1688 that was foiled when 13 apprentices shut the gates. This was an act of rebellion against James II.
Planters organized by London livery companies through The Honourable The Irish Society arrived in the 17th century as part of the "Plantation of Ulster", and rebuilt the town with high walls to defend it from Irish insurgents who opposed the plantation. The aim was to settle Ulster with a population supportive of the Crown. It was then renamed "Londonderry".
During the Irish War of Independence, the area was rocked by sectarian violence, partly prompted by the guerilla war raging between the Irish Republican Army and British forces, but also influenced by economic and social pressures. By mid-1920s there was severe sectarian rioting in the city. Many lives were lost and in addition many Catholics and Protestants were expelled from their homes during this communal unrest. After a week's violence, a truce was negotiated by local politicians on both unionist and republican sides. In 1921, following the Anglo-Irish Treaty and the Partition of Ireland, it unexpectedly became a 'border city', separated from much of its traditional economic hinterland in County Donegal. There's so much more to this, and we'll hear about it tomorrow in Belfast. Ive barely scratched the surface. It's fascinating.
A civil rights demonstration in 1968 led by the Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association was banned by the Government and blocked using force by the Royal Ulster Constabulary. The events that followed the August 1969 Apprentice Boys parade resulted in the Battle of the Bogside, when Catholic rioters fought the police, leading to widespread civil disorder in Northern Ireland and is often dated as the starting point of the Troubles. On Sunday 30 January 1972, 13 unarmed civilians were shot dead by British paratroopers during a civil rights march in the Bogside area. Another 13 were wounded and one further man later died of his wounds. This event came to be known as Bloody Sunday. We visited the monument to the victims.
These days, Loyalists call the town Londonerry and Republicans call it Derry. Despite a peace agreement in 1998, the city is still divided, at least by neighborhood. From the walls, we saw both the Loyalist and Free Derry sides of town, with their curbs striped with either red, white and blue, or the Irish tri-color, green, white and orange. Personally, I think it sounds like old grudges still simmer under the surface and the town could be a tinder box in certain pockets... at least for a few more generations until bitter memories fade a little. There is a peace bridge connecting the two sides of town... promising. 20 years ago, violence ad bombings were common, and women would bang trash can lids on the ground to alert the men when British black and tans were entering the Irish areas in search of IRA members! No tour group would have dared toured these areas back then, but things are different now. Murals around town tell the tales.
Afterwards, we drove back to Letterkenny for a second night. I was lucky once again and had a nice comfy bed and private bath in a hostel room that was meant to sleep 6 but was all mine! That's the laundry on clothes lines outside.. sheets etc! The hostel actually offered fruit and yogurt for breakfast instead of just toast and cereal ;) Nice... all I've seen for coffee here is the instant Nescafe stuff. ha. Guess the locals drink tea. Tomorrow we head back to N. Ireland and Belfast!
