Glenties Holiday Homes Donegal

Glenties is a very pretty village which is host to the McGill Summer School each August, and has won the award of Ireland’s tidiest town on 5 occasions.

This success is, no doubt, helped by its splendid location, but is primarily down to the great community spirit of the townspeople. Its name in Gaelic, Na Gleanntaí, tells us that it is located where a number of glens meet.

Nearby villages include Ardara and the seaside villages of Narin and Portnoo

Although Glenties is a small town, it is indeed proud of its reputation as an attractive place, with an enviable literary reputation. The town has been described as an oasis by many people who visit. It is the trees and bushes that give the town its appearances as the visitor approaches the town, through or over the almost treeless mountains.

It is the largest centre of population in the parish of Iniskeel. St. Connell is the patron saint of the parish. The eastern half of the parish is in the gaeltacht. It is reputed to be the largest parish in Ireland. The Church of Ireland church dates from 1825.

The Catholic Church is a modern building dedicated to St. Connell in 1974. It has a moat at the front and its setting among the trees and shrubs enhances its long sloping roof which imitates the nearby mountains.

The designer; Liam McCormack won an European Award for its architecture in 1974. Its well worth a visit. At the other end of the town is the comprehensive school; one of the first of its kind in Ireland. It stands on the site of an old hospital and workhouse which was the last refuge for the poor and destitute during the Great Famine.