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| Glenties Na Gleannta |
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WGS-84 (GPS) Coordinates:
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| Irish grid reference G818944 |
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| Province: | Ulster | |
| County: | County Donegal | |
| Elevation: | 78m | |
| Population (2006) | 811 | |
Glenties (official name: Na Gleannta, meaning The Glens)1 is a small town in the northwest of Ireland in central County Donegal. The town 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 National Tidy Towns competition five times and has won a medal many other times. Population 811 [1].
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Around Glenties
One of the town's 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.
During the Great Famine, an old hospital and workhouse stood on the site of the current comprehensive school.
In 2004, Glenties was named by The Irish Time as having the highest teen pregnancy rate for any town in the Republic of Ireland with a population of under 5000 residents.citation needed
Tourism
The town has a reasonably large tourist trade and boasts a hotel (The Highlands) and a variety of lively pubs and the locally famous 'Lime Light' night club which often have traditional Irish music. There are several guesthouses around the town. The majority of visitors come for the area's scenic beauty.
Patrick MacGill statue
A statue to the 'Navvy Poet', Patrick MacGill, 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 Patrick Cardinal O'Donnell, mementos from the filming of Dancing at Lughnasa, 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.
Glenties in popular culture
Glenties was the model for Brian Friel'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.
Transport
Glenties was formerly served by a branch line of the County Donegal Railways Joint Committee, 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 1947.2
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.
People
- Enda Bonner - policitian, football player
- Thomas F. Breslin - Colonel, victim of Bataan Death March
- Brian Friel - playwright
- Thomas Gildea - politician
- Patrick MacGill - the Navvy Poet
- Patrick Cardinal O'Donnell - Primate of All Ireland
References
- ^ Placenames (Ceantair Ghaeltachta) Order 2004
- ^ "Glenties station". Railscot - Irish Railways. Retrieved on 2007-10-14.
External links
- Glenties.ie
- Glenties Online
- Glenties GAA
- Dun-na-nGall.com's Glenties entry
- St. Connell's Museum
- Glenties entry
- Tidy Town results - page 2 shows past winners
