The Gardens Trust presents a series of 4 online talks on some of the well- and lesser known historic gardens of Ireland Wednesdays from 1 Feb £5 each or £16 for all. Register through Eventbrite HERE., or visit https://thegardenstrust.org for more details. Attendees will be sent a Zoom link 2 days prior to the start of the talk, and again a few hours before the talk (If you do not receive this link please contact us). A link to the recorded session (available for 1 week) will be sent shortly afterwards. This February 22 talk is the last of the series, on Glenveagh Castle with Seán Ó Gaoithín.
Glenveagh Castle Gardens are part of Glenveagh National Park in the northwest of County Donegal. The site occupied by the castle and gardens was formerly wild mountain moorland, with construction of the castle beginning in 1869 and the gardens in the mid-1880s. The two major elements of the garden, the Pleasure Gardens and the Walled Garden, were built in the late 1880s. The gardens, which were constructed for Cornelia Adair, still retain their original Victorian layout.
From the late 1950s through to the early 1980s, the design and layout of the garden were developed to include the Gothic Orangery, the Italian Terrace, the Tuscan Garden and the development of the plant collection. Today, Glenveagh is well known for its rich collection of trees and shrubs specializing in southern hemisphere species and a diverse rhododendron collection.
Seán Ó Gaoithín was born and raised in Dublin, educated at The National Botanic Gardens, Glasnevin, Chelsea Physic Garden (London), Royal Botanic Gardens Kew (UK), and holds an MScArg from University College Dublin. He has been serving as Head Gardener at Glenveagh Castle Gardens, Glenveagh National Park since 1995. Aside from his training Sean has written for Horticultural Journals on Glenveagh and on his extensive travels to study the temperate flora of the Planet. He has represented Glenveagh at International Botanic Garden conferences speaking on subjects such as the Historic Development of the Castle Gardens at Glenveagh and the history and management of The Ancient Woodlands of Glenveagh National Park.
