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GLENTIES |
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Set at the foot of two glens, GLENTIES lies six miles east of Ardara
on the N56, a tidy village of plantation grandeur that is reflected in
its elegant Neoclassical courthouse, old lodge and Highlands Hotel . It
also sports one of the largest discos in the northwest, the Limelight at
the north end of town (Saturday nights), and a host of bars on the main
street. Another community attraction is a beautiful modern church at the
Ardara end of town, designed by the Derry architect Liam McCormack; the
vast sloping roof reaches down to six feet from the ground, and the
rainwater drips off the thousand or so tiles into picturesque pools of
water.
Opposite the church, the St Conall's Museum and Heritage Centre (June-Sept
Mon-Fri 11am-1pm & 2.30-5pm, Sat & Sun 2.30-6pm; £1/¬1.27) houses items
from all periods, including an interesting set of pleas submitted to the
courts during the Famine and an Edison phonograph that plays It's a Long
Way to Tipperary . The town's most famous son was Patrick MacGill
(1890-1963) who was sold by his parents at a hiring fair for servants.
He escaped and fled to Scotland, working as a farm-labourer and a navvy,
while at the same time writing poems and attempting to hawk them around.
He was lucky to attract patronage and ended up working on the Daily
Express , was wounded in France fighting for the British in World War II,
then returned to Ireland before marrying the American author Margaret
Gibbons and emigrating to the US. His best-known work is the semi-autobiographical
Children of the Dead End which brilliantly recounts the wayward lives of
migrant navvies, while The Rat Pit parallels this in its tale of young
Irish women forced into prostitution. A huge summer school is held in
his honour annually in mid-August, drawing hundreds of people to its
exhibitions, seminars and literary debates.
Accommodation in town includes the family-run Highlands Hotel (tel
075/51111, highlandshotel@ireland.com ; £40-55/¬50.79-69.84), on Main
Street, and, among several B&B choices, nearby Marguerite's (tel
075/51113; £33-40/¬41.90-50.79). Alternatively, outside the village are
Lisdanar House , Mill Rd (March-Oct; tel 075/51800; £33-40/¬41.90-50.79)
and Claradon Country House , less than a mile out on the R253 (tel
075/51113, mccafferty@tinet.ie ; £33-40/¬41.90-50.79). Next to the
museum is the comfortable Campbell's Holiday hostel (March-Oct; tel
075/51491, campbellshostel@eircom.net ). Options for eating out are
limited, but the excellent Highlands Hotel , very much the centre of
town life, with traditional-music sessions on Sundays and a small art
gallery displaying the works of its landlord, John Boyle, offers a wide
range of food - the gargantuan lunches are exceptional value.
Alternatives on the main street include Nighthawk for pizzas, and
Central Café and Jim's Café . McGeehan's buses en route to Letterkenny
and Glencolmcille stop outside Jim's .
Although there's little in the way of entertainment, there are plenty of
places to drink - Wee Joe's Bar and McMonagle's Riverside Bar are both
good. For traditional music , Paddy's Bar has Wednesday night sessions
and there's the fiddlers' weekend at the beginning of October; otherwise
head for the Glen Inn , three miles out on the Ballybofey road,
beautifully situated by the river at the foot of the Blue Stacks; there
are sessions most Wednesday nights. Fishing equipment and advice are
available at McDevitt's Tackle Shop.
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