Glenlough Valley

 

Glenlough Valley is a remote sheep pasture located a little north of Port in western County Donegal, bounded by 460-meter high Sliabh Tuaidh, Port Hill, other peaks, and Lough Annafrin. During the first half of the 20th century, the thousand acre property was owned and inhabited by Dan and Rose Ward. The glen has an interesting history, having once been the summer getaway for the American landscape artist and illustrator Rockwell Kent, as well as a sanctuary for the Welsh poet Dylan Thomas to write and to sober up. Local legend reports that Bonnie Prince Charlie also stayed in this valley “for twelve months and a day” until a French ship ferried him away. The bay at the end of the valley was once used by tobacco smugglers. Additionally, a traditional Irish fiddle tune — “The Road to Glenlough” — is a tribute to its namesake.

The single stone cottage in Glenlough was last inhabited in the 1970s, at the time by two reclusive brothers who would ride into Glencolumbkille on horseback every two weeks to buy provisions. Horse or donkey would have been the only means of transport into and out of the valley, as it has no road access. The cottage is considered to be one of the most inaccessible dwellings in all of Ireland.

 

Rockwell Kent lived and painted here during the summer of 1926, and once described the place as “nothing was there but grass and the presence of God.” He had convinced the Wards to take a lodger, and proceeded to convert the cow shed into a habitable living space. He lugged his supplies, including 50-pound flour sacks, to the valley on foot. Apparently, the people in the nearby villages initially thought he was mad but they liked and trusted him enough to agree to pose for his paintings. It was here that his artwork, which typically focused on wild, untamed lands, showed human connection and his acceptance by the local community. His most famous landscape depicts local Annie McGinley, age 20 at the time, looking out to sea with distinctive rock towers emerging from the waters. Kent was also permitted to observe and sketch local activities, including the illicit brewing of poitín (a form of moonshine that had been brewed until 1922 as a means of resistance against British rule and continues to be brewed as an artisanal drink today).

Kent loved this remote corner of County Donegal so much that he later tried to buy the stone cottage and surrounding land from the Wards when they were ready to leave the isolated valley. However, the US state department, influenced by Senator Joe McCarthy, intervened due to Kent’s leftist leanings. Kent eventually won his court case against the federal government (at the Supreme Court level), but by the time he arrived back in Ireland in 1958 the land had been sold.

Thomas came to the valley nearly a decade after Kent on doctor’s orders, as his alcoholism was affecting his health and his work. Initially planning to stay only two weeks, he ended up staying for the whole summer of 1935. While he initially enjoyed romping over the mountains and cliffs, and fishing in the lakes for his meals, he later became indifferent to the surroundings, writing “I can’t see a landscape,  scenery is just scenery to me.” He was lonely here — “as lonely as Christ sometimes,” he wrote — and haunted by the night. He also had poor relationships with the locals, describing them as “mad, whining or boring” and going so far as to order a daily newspaper so that the postmaster would have to trek an extra eight miles each day. (quotes)

The attempt to sober up did not succeed, as Dylan walked 10 miles to Meenaneary once a week to knock down a few drinks at O’Donnell’s pub. He also developed a taste for poitín, which was still brewed illicitly in the valley. At the end of the summer, he abruptly returned to Wales without paying the Wards for his room and board.

Today, the heather and fern-covered valley is used as a pasture for sheep and the cottage and cow shed are run down, partially taken over by bracken and thistles. Accessibility remains limited, and still best achieved via horse or donkey. Despite being located less than 1.5 miles away from the cottage where we stayed, it took us about 2 hours on foot to reach the old structures due to the difficult terrain we had to navigate.

Directions to reach the structures from Meenasillagh are as follows: Climb the sheep path to the left of waterfall, then continue straight (north). Skirt around the left side of Lough Anafrin, then turn right (east) and proceed through the pass until the valley is visible. Use sheep paths to move left (north) while also proceeding downhill. Either aim for the left side of the fenced-in pasture, where it will be more difficult to cross the stream but possibly a little less boggy, or aim for the right side, as there is a crossing near the corner post and then hug the fence until you can climb over the stone wall. For the return trip, aim uphill and left (south) toward the hills with the three stone-faced cliffs, continue west to the end of the lake, then turn left (south) and look for the gap between two large rocks where the waterfall starts.