merrion street

Minister Heather Humphreys T.D., will today welcome Their Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, and his wife, the Duchess of Cornwall, to Glenveagh National Park in County Donegal. The visit forms part of a three day visit by Their Royal Highnesses to Ireland and Northern Ireland. Their Royal Highnesses will visit Glenveagh Castle while in the National Park.

Speaking ahead of the visit, Minister Humphreys said:
“I am delighted to welcome Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall to Glenveagh National Park. Prince Charles’ interest and commitment to the environment and natural heritage is well known and we were delighted to introduce him to the Burren Farming for Conservation Programme during his visit here last year. Glenveagh National Park is one of the jewels of our natural heritage. It is the only National Park in Ulster and a key stopping point on the Wild Atlantic Way. I am sure their Royal Highnesses will be impressed not just by the natural beauty of their surroundings, but also by the wonderful work going on in the Glenveagh Education Service to make the teaching of science, nature and biodiversity more attractive to our young people.

“This visit to Donegal is a wonderful reflection on the improved relationship between our countries, a relationship which has never been better and which continues to evolve at pace. I am confident that visits such as this will greatly aid this process.”

Notes to Editors:
Glenveagh National Park is one of six national parks in Ireland. Situated in the Northwest of Co. Donegal, Glenveagh encompasses some 16,000 hectares in the heart of the Derryveagh Mountains. The Park is home to many interesting plants and animals. These lands were managed as a private deer forest before becoming a national park in 1975. With the completion of public facilities Glenveagh National Park was officially opened to the public in 1986.

Glenveagh Castle
Glenveagh Castle is a 19th century castellated mansion and was built between 1867 and 1873. Its construction in a remote mountain setting was inspired by the Victorian idyll of a romantic highland retreat.
It was designed by John Townsend Trench, a cousin of its builder and first owner, John George Adair, with whom he had been raised in Co. Laois. The designer appears to have imitated the style of earlier Irish Tower-houses adding an air of antiquity to the castle. The building stone chose was granite, plentiful in Donegal but difficult to work and allowing for little detail.
The forbidding architecture of the castle is quickly forgotten amidst the varied comforts within. Henry McIlhenny, the last owner of the castle, served the Philadelphia Museum of Art as Curator of Decorative Arts and his expertise in this field is evident throughout the castle. Through time, each room acquired a different character, some roughly in keeping with the period of the house, others freely inventive.
Few of the great houses of Ireland are preserved in this condition, with their original furnishings, and in Glenveagh Castle one catches a glimpse of a lifestyle belonging to an earlier age.