Glenties
Encyclopedia
Glenties is a village in the northwest of Ireland
in central County Donegal
. It is situated where two glens meet, northwest of the Blue Stack Mountains, near the confluence of two rivers. Glenties is the largest centre of population in the parish of Iniskeel. Glenties has won the Irish Tidy Towns Competition
competition five times in 1958, 1959,1960, 1962 and 1995 and has won a medal many other times. Population 811 http://www.cso.ie/census/documents/census2006_Table_7_and_12.pdf.
s, standing stone
s and earthen ringfort
s dating from the Bronze Age
. The area became part of the baronies of Boylagh and Bannagh in 1609, which was granted to Scottish
undertakers as part of the Ulster Plantation.
Glenties was a regular stopping point on the road between the established towns of Ballybofey
and Killybegs
, and grew from this in the 17th and 18th centuries. The town was developed as a summer home for the Marquis of Conyngham in the 1820s, because of its good hunting and fishing areas. The court house and market house
were built in 1843. The Bank of Ireland
building was completed in 1880.
was built during the Famine at the site of the current Comprehensive School in 1846, serving the greater Inniskeel area. A 40-bed Fever Hospital was later added to care for the sick and dying. The landlord, the Marquis of Conyngham, decided to halve the population of the town in 1847, faced by the rising costs of the workhouse. Only those who could show title
to their land as rentpayers were allowed to remain. The rest were given an option of going to America on a ship provided or entering the Workhouse in Glenties. Over 40,000 people died or emigrated from Co. Donegal between the years 1841 and 1851.
. In 1903 a local water scheme was established, to be replaced in 1925 by the current Lough Anna supply. In 1932 electricity was first generated locally in the town. Rural electrification
came in the 1950s.
Glenties R.I.C.
barracks
were attacked on numerous occasions during the War of Independence
in 1920/1921. On the 29th June 1921, a group of Black and Tans
were ambushed on their way to Ardara
at Kilraine by the insurgants, resulting in the death of a Constable Devine.
Two Free State
soldiers were killed at Lacklea in 1922 by IRA
forces, during the Civil War
In January 1944 a British Sunderland Mark III flying boat
crashed in the Croaghs area of the Blue stack mountains, outside of Glenties, killing seven of its 12 man crew.
In April 2006, IRA informer Denis Donaldson
was shot dead by the Real IRA at a remote cottage near Derryloaghan, 8 km from Glenties.
bought 1200 acres (4.9 km²) of bog
in 1937 to be drained and cut for peat
. By 1943 a railway had been extended from Kilraine across the Owenea River to the bogs at Tullyard. Machine cutting commenced in 1946, utilising German made cutting machines. The company employed 250 men in peak season and peak production was 22,000 tons in 1965. Operations ceased in the late 1990s and the railways and stock
were lifted in 2006.
One of its most striking buildings is its unusual church, St Connell's, which was built in 1974 to replace the old church. The building has a flat roof sloping to the ground at a sharp angle. The original bell from the first church is still used today in the newer church. St. Connell is the patron saint of the parish. Liam McCormack won a European Award for its design in 1974.
In 2004, Glenties was named by The Irish Times as having the highest teen pregnancy rate for any town in the Republic of Ireland with a population of under 5000 residents.
, who was born in Glenties, is located on the bridge over the river in the center of town.
, and an extensive display about the County Donegal Railways Joint Committee
. It also has a reading room with a good collection of local historic records.
(GAA) club - Naomh Conaill
; field teams at all age levels playing gaelic football predominantly.
's fictional village of Ballybeg
, where several of his works were set. His play Dancing at Lughnasa
was set in Ballybeg and was made into a film in 1994 starring Meryl Streep
.
, a narrow gauge railway system. The Glenties branch was the first part of the County Donegal Railways to be closed; the railway station (and the branch line) opened on 3 June 1895 and finally closed on 15 December 1947.
Bus transport is currently provided by Bus Éireann
, operated by McGeehan's Coaches, which provides services to Letterkenny
, Ballybofey
, Dungloe
, Ardara
, Killybegs
and Donegal Town.
Glenties received a Silver Medal in the European Entente Florale competition held in Gyor, Hungary in 2005.
Common surnames in Glenties include Gallagher, McCole, McDevitt, McLoone, O'Donnell, Kennedy, Molloy, Boyle, McHugh, Dunleavy, McSwiggan, McDyre, Bonner, Breslin, and Ward.
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
in central County Donegal
County Donegal
County Donegal is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Border Region and is also located in the province of Ulster. It is named after the town of Donegal. Donegal County Council is the local authority for the county...
. It is situated where two glens meet, northwest of the Blue Stack Mountains, near the confluence of two rivers. Glenties is the largest centre of population in the parish of Iniskeel. Glenties has won the Irish Tidy Towns Competition
Irish Tidy Towns Competition
Tidy Towns is an annual competition, first held in 1958, organised by the Irish Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government in order to honour the tidiest and most attractive cities, towns and villages in the Republic of Ireland...
competition five times in 1958, 1959,1960, 1962 and 1995 and has won a medal many other times. Population 811 http://www.cso.ie/census/documents/census2006_Table_7_and_12.pdf.
History
Evidence of early settlement in the area is given by the many DolmenDolmen
A dolmen—also known as a portal tomb, portal grave, dolmain , cromlech , anta , Hünengrab/Hünenbett , Adamra , Ispun , Hunebed , dös , goindol or quoit—is a type of single-chamber megalithic tomb, usually consisting of...
s, standing stone
Standing stone
Standing stones, orthostats, liths, or more commonly megaliths are solitary stones set vertically in the ground and come in many different varieties....
s and earthen ringfort
Ringfort
Ringforts are circular fortified settlements that were mostly built during the Iron Age , although some were built as late as the Early Middle Ages . They are found in Northern Europe, especially in Ireland...
s dating from the Bronze Age
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a period characterized by the use of copper and its alloy bronze as the chief hard materials in the manufacture of some implements and weapons. Chronologically, it stands between the Stone Age and Iron Age...
. The area became part of the baronies of Boylagh and Bannagh in 1609, which was granted to Scottish
Scottish people
The Scottish people , or Scots, are a nation and ethnic group native to Scotland. Historically they emerged from an amalgamation of the Picts and Gaels, incorporating neighbouring Britons to the south as well as invading Germanic peoples such as the Anglo-Saxons and the Norse.In modern use,...
undertakers as part of the Ulster Plantation.
Glenties was a regular stopping point on the road between the established towns of Ballybofey
Ballybofey
Ballybofey is a town located on the south bank of the River Finn, County Donegal, Ireland. Along with the smaller town of Stranorlar on the north side of the River Finn, Ballybofey makes up the Twin Towns....
and Killybegs
Killybegs
Killybegs is the largest fishing port in County Donegal and in Ireland. It is located on the south coast of the county, north of Donegal Bay, near Donegal Town. The town is situated at the head of a scenic harbour and at the base of a vast mountainous tract extending northward...
, and grew from this in the 17th and 18th centuries. The town was developed as a summer home for the Marquis of Conyngham in the 1820s, because of its good hunting and fishing areas. The court house and market house
Market house
A market house or country market is a type of building traditionally used as a marketplace at street level and for public functions on the upper floor....
were built in 1843. The Bank of Ireland
Bank of Ireland
The Bank of Ireland is a commercial bank operation in Ireland, which is one of the 'Big Four' in both parts of the island.Historically the premier banking organisation in Ireland, the Bank occupies a unique position in Irish banking history...
building was completed in 1880.
The Famine in Glenties
A WorkhouseWorkhouse
In England and Wales a workhouse, colloquially known as a spike, was a place where those unable to support themselves were offered accommodation and employment...
was built during the Famine at the site of the current Comprehensive School in 1846, serving the greater Inniskeel area. A 40-bed Fever Hospital was later added to care for the sick and dying. The landlord, the Marquis of Conyngham, decided to halve the population of the town in 1847, faced by the rising costs of the workhouse. Only those who could show title
Title (property)
Title is a legal term for a bundle of rights in a piece of property in which a party may own either a legal interest or an equitable interest. The rights in the bundle may be separated and held by different parties. It may also refer to a formal document that serves as evidence of ownership...
to their land as rentpayers were allowed to remain. The rest were given an option of going to America on a ship provided or entering the Workhouse in Glenties. Over 40,000 people died or emigrated from Co. Donegal between the years 1841 and 1851.
20th Century
The railway was completed in 1895 from BallybofeyBallybofey
Ballybofey is a town located on the south bank of the River Finn, County Donegal, Ireland. Along with the smaller town of Stranorlar on the north side of the River Finn, Ballybofey makes up the Twin Towns....
. In 1903 a local water scheme was established, to be replaced in 1925 by the current Lough Anna supply. In 1932 electricity was first generated locally in the town. Rural electrification
Electrification
Electrification originally referred to the build out of the electrical generating and distribution systems which occurred in the United States, England and other countries from the mid 1880's until around 1940 and is in progress in developing countries. This also included the change over from line...
came in the 1950s.
Glenties R.I.C.
Royal Irish Constabulary
The armed Royal Irish Constabulary was Ireland's major police force for most of the nineteenth and the early twentieth centuries. A separate civic police force, the unarmed Dublin Metropolitan Police controlled the capital, and the cities of Derry and Belfast, originally with their own police...
barracks
Barracks
Barracks are specialised buildings for permanent military accommodation; the word may apply to separate housing blocks or to complete complexes. Their main object is to separate soldiers from the civilian population and reinforce discipline, training and esprit de corps. They were sometimes called...
were attacked on numerous occasions during the War of Independence
Irish War of Independence
The Irish War of Independence , Anglo-Irish War, Black and Tan War, or Tan War was a guerrilla war mounted by the Irish Republican Army against the British government and its forces in Ireland. It began in January 1919, following the Irish Republic's declaration of independence. Both sides agreed...
in 1920/1921. On the 29th June 1921, a group of Black and Tans
Black and Tans
The Black and Tans was one of two newly recruited bodies, composed largely of British World War I veterans, employed by the Royal Irish Constabulary as Temporary Constables from 1920 to 1921 to suppress revolution in Ireland...
were ambushed on their way to Ardara
Ardara
Ardara is a small town in County Donegal, part of the Province of Ulster in Ireland. It is located on the N56 road.Ardara is a small town with a population of 578 . Over recent years the town has seen some great growth with a lot of the pubs and shops being renovated...
at Kilraine by the insurgants, resulting in the death of a Constable Devine.
Two Free State
Irish Free State
The Irish Free State was the state established as a Dominion on 6 December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty, signed by the British government and Irish representatives exactly twelve months beforehand...
soldiers were killed at Lacklea in 1922 by IRA
Irish Republican Army
The Irish Republican Army was an Irish republican revolutionary military organisation. It was descended from the Irish Volunteers, an organisation established on 25 November 1913 that staged the Easter Rising in April 1916...
forces, during the Civil War
Irish Civil War
The Irish Civil War was a conflict that accompanied the establishment of the Irish Free State as an entity independent from the United Kingdom within the British Empire....
In January 1944 a British Sunderland Mark III flying boat
Flying boat
A flying boat is a fixed-winged seaplane with a hull, allowing it to land on water. It differs from a float plane as it uses a purpose-designed fuselage which can float, granting the aircraft buoyancy. Flying boats may be stabilized by under-wing floats or by wing-like projections from the fuselage...
crashed in the Croaghs area of the Blue stack mountains, outside of Glenties, killing seven of its 12 man crew.
In April 2006, IRA informer Denis Donaldson
Denis Donaldson
Denis Martin Donaldson was a volunteer in the Provisional Irish Republican Army and a member of Sinn Féin who was exposed in December 2005 as an informer in the employment of MI5 and the Special Branch of the Police Service of Northern Ireland Denis Martin Donaldson (Short Strand, Belfast,...
was shot dead by the Real IRA at a remote cottage near Derryloaghan, 8 km from Glenties.
Bord na Móna
Bord na MónaBord na Móna
Bord na Móna , abbreviated BNM, is a semi-state company in Ireland, created in 1946 by the Turf Development Act 1946. The company is responsible for the mechanised harvesting of peat, primarily in the Midlands of Ireland...
bought 1200 acres (4.9 km²) of bog
Bog
A bog, quagmire or mire is a wetland that accumulates acidic peat, a deposit of dead plant material—often mosses or, in Arctic climates, lichens....
in 1937 to be drained and cut for peat
Peat
Peat is an accumulation of partially decayed vegetation matter or histosol. Peat forms in wetland bogs, moors, muskegs, pocosins, mires, and peat swamp forests. Peat is harvested as an important source of fuel in certain parts of the world...
. By 1943 a railway had been extended from Kilraine across the Owenea River to the bogs at Tullyard. Machine cutting commenced in 1946, utilising German made cutting machines. The company employed 250 men in peak season and peak production was 22,000 tons in 1965. Operations ceased in the late 1990s and the railways and stock
Rolling stock
Rolling stock comprises all the vehicles that move on a railway. It usually includes both powered and unpowered vehicles, for example locomotives, railroad cars, coaches and wagons...
were lifted in 2006.
Around Glenties
Glenties is situated at the meeting of two glens, and two rivers; the Owenea and Stranaglough.One of its most striking buildings is its unusual church, St Connell's, which was built in 1974 to replace the old church. The building has a flat roof sloping to the ground at a sharp angle. The original bell from the first church is still used today in the newer church. St. Connell is the patron saint of the parish. Liam McCormack won a European Award for its design in 1974.
In 2004, Glenties was named by The Irish Times as having the highest teen pregnancy rate for any town in the Republic of Ireland with a population of under 5000 residents.
Tourism
The village has a reasonably large tourist trade and boasts a hotel (The Highlands) and a variety of lively pubs and the locally famous 'Limelight' night club which is one of the largest entertainment venues in the county. There are several guesthouses around the village. The majority of visitors come for the area's scenic beauty.Patrick MacGill statue
A memorial to the 'Navvy Poet', Patrick MacGillPatrick MacGill
Patrick MacGill was an Irish journalist, poet and novelist, known as "The Navvy Poet" because he had worked as a navvy before he began writing.MacGill was born in Glenties, County Donegal...
, who was born in Glenties, is located on the bridge over the river in the center of town.
St. Connell's Museum
St. Connell's Museum and Heritage Center has a good collection of local history artifacts, including some from the famine. The museum is named after St. Connell Caol, who founded a monastic settlement on Inishkeel Island in the 6th century. The museum also has a display about Cardinal Patrick O'Donnell, mementos from the filming of Dancing at LughnasaDancing at Lughnasa
Dancing at Lughnasa is a 1990 play by dramatist Brian Friel set in Ireland's County Donegal in August 1936 in the fictional town of Ballybeg. It is a memory play told from the point of view of the adult Michael Evans, the narrator...
, and an extensive display about the County Donegal Railways Joint Committee
County Donegal Railways Joint Committee
The County Donegal Railways Joint Committee operated an extensive 3 foot gauge railway system serving county Donegal, Ireland,from 1906 until 1960...
. It also has a reading room with a good collection of local historic records.
Sport
The local Gaelic Athletic AssociationGaelic Athletic Association
The Gaelic Athletic Association is an amateur Irish and international cultural and sporting organisation focused primarily on promoting Gaelic games, which include the traditional Irish sports of hurling, camogie, Gaelic football, handball and rounders...
(GAA) club - Naomh Conaill
Naomh Conaill
Naomh Conaill, Glenties GAA Club, is the name of the Gaelic Games Club for the area covering the Glenties parish in south west County Donegal. As well as the town of Glenties, the club also covers the area to the village of Fintown and the areas of Kilraine, The Glen and Maas down to the Gweebara...
; field teams at all age levels playing gaelic football predominantly.
Glenties in popular culture
Glenties was the model for Brian FrielBrian Friel
Brian Friel is an Irish dramatist, author and director of the Field Day Theatre Company. He is considered to be the greatest living English-language dramatist, hailed by the English-speaking world as an "Irish Chekhov" and "the universally accented voice of Ireland"...
's fictional village of Ballybeg
Ballybeg
Ballybeg is a generic name given to small Irish towns. The name comes from the Gaelic words Baile Beag which literally means Little Town...
, where several of his works were set. His play Dancing at Lughnasa
Dancing at Lughnasa
Dancing at Lughnasa is a 1990 play by dramatist Brian Friel set in Ireland's County Donegal in August 1936 in the fictional town of Ballybeg. It is a memory play told from the point of view of the adult Michael Evans, the narrator...
was set in Ballybeg and was made into a film in 1994 starring Meryl Streep
Meryl Streep
Mary Louise "Meryl" Streep is an American actress who has worked in theatre, television and film.Streep made her professional stage debut in 1971's The Playboy of Seville, before her screen debut in the television movie The Deadliest Season in 1977. In that same year, she made her film debut with...
.
Transport
Glenties was formerly served by a branch line of the County Donegal Railways Joint CommitteeCounty Donegal Railways Joint Committee
The County Donegal Railways Joint Committee operated an extensive 3 foot gauge railway system serving county Donegal, Ireland,from 1906 until 1960...
, a narrow gauge railway system. The Glenties branch was the first part of the County Donegal Railways to be closed; the railway station (and the branch line) opened on 3 June 1895 and finally closed on 15 December 1947.
Bus transport is currently provided by Bus Éireann
Bus Éireann
Bus Éireann provides bus services in Ireland with the exception of those operated entirely within the Dublin Region, which are provided by Dublin Bus. Bus Éireann, established as a separate company in 1987, is a subsidiary of Córas Iompair Éireann. The logo of Bus Éireann incorporates a red Irish...
, operated by McGeehan's Coaches, which provides services to Letterkenny
Letterkenny
Letterkenny , with a population of 17,568, is the largest town in County Donegal, part of the Province of Ulster in Ireland. The town is located on the River Swilly...
, Ballybofey
Ballybofey
Ballybofey is a town located on the south bank of the River Finn, County Donegal, Ireland. Along with the smaller town of Stranorlar on the north side of the River Finn, Ballybofey makes up the Twin Towns....
, Dungloe
Dungloe
Dungloe is a Gaeltacht town in County Donegal, Ireland. It is the main town in the Rosses and the largest in the Donegal Gaeltacht...
, Ardara
Ardara
Ardara is a small town in County Donegal, part of the Province of Ulster in Ireland. It is located on the N56 road.Ardara is a small town with a population of 578 . Over recent years the town has seen some great growth with a lot of the pubs and shops being renovated...
, Killybegs
Killybegs
Killybegs is the largest fishing port in County Donegal and in Ireland. It is located on the south coast of the county, north of Donegal Bay, near Donegal Town. The town is situated at the head of a scenic harbour and at the base of a vast mountainous tract extending northward...
and Donegal Town.
Tidy Towns
Glenties was the national winner of Ireland's Tidy Towns competition in 1958, 1959, 1960, 1962, and 1995. Other recent results include being a Gold Medal winner in 2004, 2005, and 2006 and a silver medal winner in 2003.Glenties received a Silver Medal in the European Entente Florale competition held in Gyor, Hungary in 2005.
People
- Enda BonnerEnda BonnerEnda Bonner is a Fianna Fáil Councillor for the Glenties electoral area in Donegal. He once played for the Donegal Gaelic Athletic Association team and was also an Irish Senator from 1997–2002....
- policitian, football player - Thomas F. BreslinThomas F. Breslin"Colonel" Thomas F. Breslin was a civil engineer and a civilian contractor for the United States Army. He was pinned as a Colonel at the outbreak of the Battle of the Philippines and died during the Bataan Death March, the brutal POW march in the aftermath of the Battle of Bataan.-Birth and early...
- Colonel, victim of Bataan Death MarchBataan Death MarchThe Bataan Death March was the forcible transfer, by the Imperial Japanese Army, of 75,000 American and Filipino prisoners of war after the three-month Battle of Bataan in the Philippines during World War II, which resulted in the deaths of thousands of prisoners.The march was characterized by... - Brian FrielBrian FrielBrian Friel is an Irish dramatist, author and director of the Field Day Theatre Company. He is considered to be the greatest living English-language dramatist, hailed by the English-speaking world as an "Irish Chekhov" and "the universally accented voice of Ireland"...
- playwright - Tom Gildea - politician
- Patrick MacGillPatrick MacGillPatrick MacGill was an Irish journalist, poet and novelist, known as "The Navvy Poet" because he had worked as a navvy before he began writing.MacGill was born in Glenties, County Donegal...
- the Navy Poet - Patrick O'Donnell - Primate of All Ireland
Common surnames in Glenties include Gallagher, McCole, McDevitt, McLoone, O'Donnell, Kennedy, Molloy, Boyle, McHugh, Dunleavy, McSwiggan, McDyre, Bonner, Breslin, and Ward.
See also
- List of towns and villages in Ireland