0:00:07 > 0:00:11Glenveagh National Park lies at the heart of the Derryveagh Mountains
0:00:11 > 0:00:13in the north-west of County Donegal.
0:00:15 > 0:00:18It's a remote and hauntingly beautiful wilderness
0:00:18 > 0:00:20of rugged mountains and pristine lakes.
0:00:23 > 0:00:27It's the second largest of Ireland's six National Parks
0:00:27 > 0:00:30and, like so many properties that now belong to the state,
0:00:30 > 0:00:34Glenveagh Castle was given to the nation by a generous benefactor.
0:00:37 > 0:00:40These benefactors are often completely unknown
0:00:40 > 0:00:41to the wider public.
0:00:41 > 0:00:44So who was Henry McIlhenny,
0:00:44 > 0:00:48what brought him to Donegal and what lay behind his decision to make such
0:00:48 > 0:00:51a generous gift to the people of Ireland?
0:01:19 > 0:01:21Glenveagh was his theatre.
0:01:21 > 0:01:24It was his whole life to entertain people
0:01:24 > 0:01:26and he was very good with people.
0:01:26 > 0:01:29He was always being bugged by people to do his memoirs, write a book.
0:01:29 > 0:01:34"Henry, your mem..." He said, "I'm too busy making new ones."
0:01:34 > 0:01:37I think he is an example of an underexplored...
0:01:39 > 0:01:41..range of Ulster-Scots people.
0:01:41 > 0:01:45The dinners were part of the fun because he liked to put people together...
0:01:47 > 0:01:49..where it would be interesting.
0:01:50 > 0:01:51Lively!
0:01:53 > 0:01:57He had a painter's eye, he had an art connoisseur's eye...
0:01:58 > 0:01:59..and you can't really teach that.
0:01:59 > 0:02:02I wanted to capture that moment...
0:02:03 > 0:02:08..when you meet Henry for the first time and he's standing in the
0:02:08 > 0:02:12doorway or something and his hands are usually behind his back and he's
0:02:12 > 0:02:14beaming and he liked it very much,
0:02:14 > 0:02:16he said that's the way he likes to see himself.
0:02:27 > 0:02:30The history of Glenveagh has not always been as peaceful as it is today.
0:02:30 > 0:02:35In order to create the large estate which eventually became the National Park,
0:02:35 > 0:02:40its first owner John George Adair evicted 46 families from the land.
0:02:40 > 0:02:45In 1873 Adair built a castle beside Lough Beagh,
0:02:45 > 0:02:48modelled on Queen Victoria's Balmoral Castle in Scotland.
0:02:50 > 0:02:53After he died, his American widow spent much of the next 30 years
0:02:53 > 0:02:56at Glenveagh, becoming a society hostess
0:02:56 > 0:02:59and well-liked in the locality.
0:02:59 > 0:03:03In 1929, the estate was bought by another American,
0:03:03 > 0:03:07Arthur Kingsley Porter, a professor at Harvard.
0:03:07 > 0:03:10Kingsley Porter owned Glenveagh for just four years before
0:03:10 > 0:03:14he disappeared mysteriously and his widow sold the estate
0:03:14 > 0:03:19to a 27-year-old American with Ulster-Scots roots, Henry McIlhenny.
0:03:19 > 0:03:23The Ulster-Scots people particularly in Donegal would have come over here
0:03:23 > 0:03:26in quite big numbers in the 17th century.
0:03:26 > 0:03:32There was a plantation designed by James VI of Scotland,
0:03:32 > 0:03:37or James I of England, to kind of settle people
0:03:37 > 0:03:42who would behave themselves in Ireland, effectively.
0:03:42 > 0:03:47And so a number of families and indeed communities were more or less
0:03:47 > 0:03:50planted here from Scotland.
0:03:50 > 0:03:53The McIlhennys were one of the Ulster-Scots families
0:03:53 > 0:03:55that settled in Donegal.
0:03:55 > 0:03:57James McIlhenny, Henry's great-grandfather,
0:03:57 > 0:04:02was a successful cloth merchant in Milford, but in 1843 he became
0:04:02 > 0:04:06seriously ill, and on his deathbed he urged his young wife
0:04:06 > 0:04:09to take their four children to America.
0:04:09 > 0:04:12Looking at, you know, the number of the passenger lists,
0:04:12 > 0:04:15this is by no means an unknown phenomenon.
0:04:15 > 0:04:21This might be the best opportunity that a widow could take.
0:04:21 > 0:04:25Mary Ann McIlhenny set sail for America with the children.
0:04:25 > 0:04:26Her eldest child, John,
0:04:26 > 0:04:30was just 13 when the family arrived in Philadelphia.
0:04:30 > 0:04:33They stayed in the city for a few years, before moving
0:04:33 > 0:04:37to Columbus, Georgia, where John studied to become an engineer.
0:04:37 > 0:04:42My grandfather was born in Ireland, invented a gas meter,
0:04:42 > 0:04:44and it really had the monopoly.
0:04:44 > 0:04:47And he moved from Columbus,
0:04:47 > 0:04:51where he was the Mayor for 20 years after the Civil War,
0:04:51 > 0:04:52and came to Philadelphia.
0:04:53 > 0:04:55The Scotch-Irish...
0:04:56 > 0:04:58..were fundamentally...
0:05:00 > 0:05:01..religious people.
0:05:01 > 0:05:07They were God-fearing, they felt that that should rule one's life.
0:05:08 > 0:05:12They were very strict Presbyterians, at least my father was,
0:05:12 > 0:05:16and I was made to go to Church every Sunday,
0:05:16 > 0:05:19and we weren't allowed Sunday newspapers,
0:05:19 > 0:05:24and there was no music and no card-playing on a Sunday,
0:05:24 > 0:05:26and it was rather dour.
0:05:26 > 0:05:31The Scotch-Irish have always felt that it was important to give back.
0:05:31 > 0:05:35There was essentially the feeling that what you had been given,
0:05:35 > 0:05:39what you had been gained, what you had gained,
0:05:39 > 0:05:41was really in trust.
0:05:41 > 0:05:47So consequently, it was incumbent on you to make sure that others gained,
0:05:47 > 0:05:50that you would help the less fortunate,
0:05:50 > 0:05:55and that you would support what you thought were worthy causes.
0:05:55 > 0:05:58One of the many worthy causes supported by Henry's father was
0:05:58 > 0:06:00the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
0:06:02 > 0:06:06The Philadelphia Museum of Art is one of the largest and finest
0:06:06 > 0:06:09museums in the United States. We are often considered,
0:06:09 > 0:06:13next to the Metropolitan, which is a very special case,
0:06:13 > 0:06:17we are considered as a peer of the museums in Boston, Chicago,
0:06:17 > 0:06:20perhaps Los Angeles as well.
0:06:20 > 0:06:22Great, great civic or metropolitan museums,
0:06:22 > 0:06:25with deep and very rich collections.
0:06:25 > 0:06:27The museum's collections are quite large -
0:06:27 > 0:06:31they number about 240,000 objects in total.
0:06:31 > 0:06:36They focus largely on American and European and Asian art.
0:06:36 > 0:06:38Not the entire world, but on those three areas.
0:06:38 > 0:06:42You know, it's a characteristic of American museums that they've grown
0:06:42 > 0:06:44largely through philanthropy.
0:06:44 > 0:06:46Their financial resources, their collections,
0:06:46 > 0:06:50their programmes and exhibitions, they're all fuelled by donors.
0:06:51 > 0:06:54The McIlhennys, considered as a family,
0:06:54 > 0:06:58were amongst the greatest of Philadelphia's collectors.
0:06:59 > 0:07:04The parents collected, in the fashion of their day, carpets.
0:07:04 > 0:07:05And today, we have a wonderful,
0:07:05 > 0:07:08wonderful group of carpets that they donated to the museum,
0:07:08 > 0:07:09among many other things.
0:07:09 > 0:07:11What's more significant, in a sense,
0:07:11 > 0:07:16is that they passed on or instilled in their children a love for
0:07:16 > 0:07:19the Arts and a love for collecting,
0:07:19 > 0:07:22and I would say a sense of connoisseurship that exemplified
0:07:22 > 0:07:25Henry McIlhenny's approach to collecting.
0:07:25 > 0:07:29Henry McIlhenny's collection was extraordinary and included works
0:07:29 > 0:07:32by Renoir, Van Gogh,
0:07:32 > 0:07:38Cezanne and Delacroix - all of which he donated to the museum.
0:07:38 > 0:07:44In 1929, Henry McIlhenny went to Harvard, to study Fine Arts.
0:07:44 > 0:07:48His ambition was to work at a museum and to become a collector.
0:07:48 > 0:07:53In 1933, he went to the Fogg Institute to take the Museum Course,
0:07:53 > 0:07:55the first of its kind.
0:07:55 > 0:07:59His teacher, Paul Sachs, was a renowned collector of drawings
0:07:59 > 0:08:02and had a profound influence on Henry.
0:08:02 > 0:08:07Well, he was a remarkable man and very, very, very dynamic.
0:08:07 > 0:08:12And I think most of us were a little bit intimidated by him,
0:08:12 > 0:08:15because he had a rather sharp tongue.
0:08:15 > 0:08:19He gave you the feeling that things were able to be acquired.
0:08:19 > 0:08:21They weren't just dead,
0:08:21 > 0:08:25like frescoes in a church that you couldn't possibly get hold of,
0:08:25 > 0:08:28he made them feel available and possessable.
0:08:28 > 0:08:34He advised all of us not to buy higgledy-piggledy, all over the map.
0:08:36 > 0:08:40He said, "It's much better to concentrate on one field
0:08:40 > 0:08:42"and develop that."
0:08:42 > 0:08:44Encouraged by Paul Sachs,
0:08:44 > 0:08:47Henry bought his first painting whilst still at Harvard.
0:08:47 > 0:08:48In 1934,
0:08:48 > 0:08:53he paid 30,000 for this oil painting by the 18th-century
0:08:53 > 0:08:56French artist, Chardin.
0:08:56 > 0:09:00At the same time, he bought this drawing by Corot.
0:09:00 > 0:09:03Well, I didn't put the Chardin in my room, in Dunster House,
0:09:03 > 0:09:04I must confess.
0:09:04 > 0:09:07But there, I did have the Corot drawing.
0:09:08 > 0:09:11I had the Seurat drawing, La Parade.
0:09:13 > 0:09:16And all my contemporaries thought I was out of my mind.
0:09:16 > 0:09:20- Why?- Well, they thought they were bunk, junk.
0:09:20 > 0:09:25Whilst studying at Harvard, Henry had met Arthur Kingsley Porter,
0:09:25 > 0:09:30the scholar of French Medieval Art, who had bought Glenveagh in 1929.
0:09:30 > 0:09:33Four years later, whilst staying in Donegal,
0:09:33 > 0:09:36Kingsley Porter mysteriously disappeared.
0:09:37 > 0:09:42Well, he was supposed to have gone bird-nesting,
0:09:42 > 0:09:46looking for gulls' eggs of some sort,
0:09:46 > 0:09:50fell off the cliff and was drowned.
0:09:50 > 0:09:54But there were other people who said he'd deliberately faked his
0:09:54 > 0:10:00disappearance and that they'd seen him in Paris with a girlfriend
0:10:00 > 0:10:03years later, in the 1930s.
0:10:03 > 0:10:08So nobody knew what the real truth was, except that normally,
0:10:08 > 0:10:12if a body falls into the sea, if a person falls into the sea,
0:10:12 > 0:10:15the body is usually found.
0:10:15 > 0:10:17No body was ever found.
0:10:17 > 0:10:21So there was always this big question mark that hung over
0:10:21 > 0:10:25the disappearance of Arthur Kingsley Porter.
0:10:25 > 0:10:27On hearing of Kingsley Porter's death,
0:10:27 > 0:10:30Henry McIlhenny went to see his widow, to pay his respects.
0:10:31 > 0:10:34She said that she would no longer want to come back to Ireland
0:10:34 > 0:10:36without her beloved Kingsley.
0:10:38 > 0:10:44She said she would have to go back in 1934 to sort of sort out what she
0:10:44 > 0:10:46was going to do with the place.
0:10:46 > 0:10:48And she invited Mr McIlhenny to come as a house guest.
0:10:50 > 0:10:53So he did, because he was sort of interested in Donegal,
0:10:53 > 0:10:58the fact that his great-grandfather came from Milford.
0:10:58 > 0:11:03I guess she felt it overwhelming and said,
0:11:03 > 0:11:07"Henry, are you interested?" And somehow...yes.
0:11:07 > 0:11:11And he went, and they were there, and there was an amazing story
0:11:11 > 0:11:14that Henry liked to tell, which was...
0:11:14 > 0:11:19They were in the dining room, which has an alcove of glass, having tea.
0:11:19 > 0:11:22And the way he told it is that...
0:11:24 > 0:11:28..the room became very still and cold, and she said, "Henry, what's wrong?"
0:11:28 > 0:11:31And he said, "Did you feel somebody, or something?"
0:11:31 > 0:11:34And she said, "Why, yes, I did."
0:11:34 > 0:11:36And he really, honestly thought...
0:11:36 > 0:11:39And I think he liked to tell the story too,
0:11:39 > 0:11:42because every castle needs some ghosts.
0:11:42 > 0:11:44Erm...
0:11:44 > 0:11:46But I don't think he was kidding all the way.
0:11:46 > 0:11:50Glenveagh, at that time, was quite remote and very astringent,
0:11:50 > 0:11:52and there was no gardens, no nothing.
0:11:52 > 0:11:55The deal was made in 1937.
0:11:55 > 0:12:00It was £25,000, which seemed a good buy.
0:12:00 > 0:12:03It'd be expensive by Irish standards.
0:12:03 > 0:12:06So he bought Glenveagh with 32,000 acres and a castle.
0:12:06 > 0:12:09But he always talked about how Kingsley Porter disappeared.
0:12:10 > 0:12:16And he'd said, the day that he signed to buy Glenveagh in 1937,
0:12:16 > 0:12:19he asked the Porters' lawyers, Mrs Porter's lawyers,
0:12:19 > 0:12:21"Whatever happened to Kingsley?"
0:12:22 > 0:12:25He says, "All I can tell you that he is now dead."
0:12:25 > 0:12:27But he didn't say how he died, or where he died.
0:12:27 > 0:12:31Most people think that he disappeared off the island of Inishbofin and got
0:12:31 > 0:12:35the boatman to take him back to the mainland and disappeared in life.
0:12:35 > 0:12:37Didn't die then.
0:12:37 > 0:12:41That was in '33. But the lawyer just said, in '37, that he is now dead.
0:12:45 > 0:12:49By now, Henry was dividing his time between Philadelphia and Donegal,
0:12:49 > 0:12:52where he spent the summer of 1939.
0:12:52 > 0:12:55But on the outbreak of the Second World War,
0:12:55 > 0:12:57he returned immediately to the United States.
0:12:57 > 0:13:00The United States was not involved in World War II then.
0:13:01 > 0:13:04And, he, er...
0:13:04 > 0:13:07Not until 1941, when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor.
0:13:09 > 0:13:11That brought the Americans in.
0:13:11 > 0:13:14So he enlisted then in the Navy.
0:13:14 > 0:13:17He became a commander and was based on the aircraft carrier,
0:13:17 > 0:13:20the Bunker Hill, which was deployed in the Pacific.
0:13:21 > 0:13:26On reporting for duty, his captain asked what he did in civilian life.
0:13:26 > 0:13:28He was called Captain Yoho.
0:13:29 > 0:13:31Y-O-H-O.
0:13:31 > 0:13:35And he said, "What did you do in civilian life?"
0:13:35 > 0:13:38And I said I was a curator at an art museum.
0:13:38 > 0:13:40And I think if he hadn't been seated,
0:13:40 > 0:13:42he would have fallen down with shock.
0:13:43 > 0:13:47And then he said, "There's another officer coming from Quonset Point.
0:13:47 > 0:13:50"I hope he wasn't a music critic!"
0:13:52 > 0:13:55No doubt to the surprise of his commanding officer,
0:13:55 > 0:13:58Henry went on to have a distinguished war record
0:13:58 > 0:14:00and took part in major battles in the Pacific.
0:14:06 > 0:14:10He would tell stories about how the Japanese kamikaze pilots
0:14:10 > 0:14:13would dive-bomb the decks of their carrier,
0:14:13 > 0:14:16kill lots of people and destroyed all their aircraft.
0:14:25 > 0:14:29After the horrors of war, Glenveagh offered peace and sanctuary.
0:14:29 > 0:14:34For the next 40 years, Henry spent every summer in Donegal.
0:14:34 > 0:14:36Guests would normally stay for either a long weekend,
0:14:36 > 0:14:38from Thursday to Monday.
0:14:38 > 0:14:42Sometimes, they would stay one whole week.
0:14:42 > 0:14:44He always had groups of people who were very interesting.
0:14:44 > 0:14:46He knew how to combine people.
0:14:46 > 0:14:48He was...
0:14:48 > 0:14:50quite talented in that respect, you know.
0:14:50 > 0:14:52Well, he'd come down to the kitchen...
0:14:53 > 0:14:58..on a Monday, about ten o'clock, and he'd do the menus for a week,
0:14:58 > 0:15:00with Nelly.
0:15:00 > 0:15:03And then he had a guest list.
0:15:03 > 0:15:07He'd put their names in the book and say which rooms they would be in -
0:15:07 > 0:15:11the Pink Room, or the Blue Room, or the Tower Bedroom, or the Dovecote.
0:15:11 > 0:15:14The mornings, people had the time to do what they wanted -
0:15:14 > 0:15:18fishing, walking, hunting, whatever it happens to be.
0:15:18 > 0:15:20And then a beautiful lunch,
0:15:20 > 0:15:23and chitchat, coffee.
0:15:23 > 0:15:27People would either go have a nap, or go reading, or write letters,
0:15:27 > 0:15:30or sit and read in one of the beautiful rooms.
0:15:30 > 0:15:32Those two carnations ought to go either side.
0:15:32 > 0:15:33OK, that's good.
0:15:33 > 0:15:36That's where we usually have them.
0:15:36 > 0:15:39- That looks rather pretty. - So on the morning of their arrival,
0:15:39 > 0:15:43the day of their arrival, he would inspect every room to make sure
0:15:43 > 0:15:45everything was in place.
0:15:45 > 0:15:49Including the writing paper and the pens and the ink...
0:15:51 > 0:15:54..and the telegram forms to send off telegrams,
0:15:54 > 0:15:56as we had no telephones here.
0:15:56 > 0:15:59Mr McIlhenny himself would have sent off several telegrams per day...
0:16:00 > 0:16:03..to friends in London, or New York, or Philadelphia.
0:16:03 > 0:16:08When the telephone did come here - in '62, I believe -
0:16:08 > 0:16:11it was quite a nightmare to make a telephone call.
0:16:11 > 0:16:16I rang up Henry, which at the time, was Church Hill 2-5,
0:16:16 > 0:16:20was the telephone number. I remember this because trying to explain to a
0:16:20 > 0:16:24New York operator that you want Church Hill 2-5, in Ireland, was...
0:16:24 > 0:16:29..you know. I can remember distinctly, I said to her, "Church Hill 2-5."
0:16:29 > 0:16:30"OK, yeah, what's the number?"
0:16:30 > 0:16:32And I said, "Church Hill 2-5."
0:16:32 > 0:16:35"Yeah, OK, what's the number?" And I said, "Church Hill 2-5."
0:16:35 > 0:16:37And she said, "What are you talking about?"
0:16:37 > 0:16:39And I said, "Well, what you do is,
0:16:39 > 0:16:43"you call Dublin and then Dublin will get you into Sligo, then Sligo,
0:16:43 > 0:16:45"Letterkenny, and then Letterkenny to..."
0:16:45 > 0:16:47Church Hill, I guess, something like that.
0:16:47 > 0:16:49So she thought I was joking, you know.
0:16:49 > 0:16:52But anyway, we finally got through,
0:16:52 > 0:16:56and it was in the old days when all the operators had the jack,
0:16:56 > 0:17:00you know the thing? And every time they put a jack in,
0:17:00 > 0:17:02the volume would be cut in half.
0:17:02 > 0:17:05So by the time you got through to your number, you'd be screaming,
0:17:05 > 0:17:06you know. And you wouldn't...
0:17:06 > 0:17:09You'd forget about niceties like, "How are you and what's new?"
0:17:09 > 0:17:11You know, you'd just get to the point.
0:17:11 > 0:17:16The afternoon teas were sort of a big event in the afternoon,
0:17:16 > 0:17:21at five o'clock. Everyone came back around 5pm, 5.30,
0:17:21 > 0:17:22and have tea in the dining room.
0:17:24 > 0:17:25And it was just, er, tea.
0:17:25 > 0:17:29Mr McIlhenny would sort of pour the tea for everyone.
0:17:29 > 0:17:31We set it up, just like a...
0:17:32 > 0:17:36..buffet-type. Nelly would have fresh cakes every day.
0:17:36 > 0:17:38The cakes were amazing.
0:17:38 > 0:17:41Whether it was the coffee, the chocolate with the walnuts,
0:17:41 > 0:17:45the lemon, the orange, the scones - sheer perfection.
0:17:46 > 0:17:48The brown bread and the white bread.
0:17:48 > 0:17:52The giant samovar, which I think is still there, which was, um,
0:17:52 > 0:17:54truly a work of art.
0:17:54 > 0:17:56And tea was a real ritual.
0:17:56 > 0:17:58And he'd also invite local clergymen.
0:18:00 > 0:18:03Whether it be the Church of Ireland, or the Presbyterian Minister,
0:18:03 > 0:18:05or the Catholic priest.
0:18:05 > 0:18:08He always said that Catholic priests were the most interesting because
0:18:08 > 0:18:11they'd take a drink. One of them would ask for whiskey
0:18:11 > 0:18:12to put in their tea!
0:18:14 > 0:18:15He thought that was amusing.
0:18:15 > 0:18:19And the dinners were part of the fun because he liked to put people
0:18:19 > 0:18:22together where it would be interesting.
0:18:24 > 0:18:25Lively.
0:18:27 > 0:18:30And that took me years to figure out,
0:18:30 > 0:18:33why do you keep inviting that person, or that person?
0:18:33 > 0:18:37But they were very intelligent, but they were a little bit difficult.
0:18:37 > 0:18:40It's because they made the dinner fun.
0:18:40 > 0:18:43And people would talk about it and get prickly.
0:18:43 > 0:18:45And so he really...
0:18:45 > 0:18:47Maybe Glenveagh was his theatre.
0:18:47 > 0:18:51Saturday night was always black-tie, if you had dinner there.
0:18:51 > 0:18:55What Henry liked to do best was gather a group of people,
0:18:55 > 0:19:01supply the venue for people to have fun and relax, away from reality.
0:19:01 > 0:19:04Because it was like going to fantasyland when you were there.
0:19:04 > 0:19:08He liked how different people were, and that sort of amused him.
0:19:08 > 0:19:09Instead of the opposite,
0:19:09 > 0:19:12where it's not that people had to behave perfectly,
0:19:12 > 0:19:15it's that they had to contribute.
0:19:15 > 0:19:18Even if contributing meant being a really bad guest.
0:19:20 > 0:19:21Around the castle,
0:19:21 > 0:19:25he created gardens that are regarded as some of the finest in Europe.
0:19:25 > 0:19:29And inside, he set about creating a style that was both appropriate
0:19:29 > 0:19:31and unique.
0:19:31 > 0:19:34The entrance to Glenveagh Castle is surprisingly modest,
0:19:34 > 0:19:38not the kind of imposing hall that you might expect.
0:19:38 > 0:19:41The shell decorations, designed by the Kingsley Porters,
0:19:41 > 0:19:45reflect the fact that Glenveagh was always a summer home for its owners.
0:19:48 > 0:19:50Just off the hall is the music room,
0:19:50 > 0:19:54where the Gordon tartan cloth wall covering not only improved the
0:19:54 > 0:19:58room's acoustics, but also served as a reminder of the parallels between
0:19:58 > 0:20:00Glenveagh and Balmoral.
0:20:02 > 0:20:05Henry completely redecorated the drawing-room,
0:20:05 > 0:20:09transforming it from a dark, Victorian billiard room
0:20:09 > 0:20:12into something both formal, yet comfortable.
0:20:12 > 0:20:16The rugs, which match the French 19th-century designs on the upholstery,
0:20:16 > 0:20:20were specially woven for the castle in Killybegs.
0:20:20 > 0:20:24The bright colours and rich textures are in sharp contrast to the rugged
0:20:24 > 0:20:26scenery outside the windows.
0:20:27 > 0:20:31Certainly, throughout the house here, the deer theme is obvious
0:20:31 > 0:20:34in an artistic style, in an unusual way.
0:20:34 > 0:20:40You don't find a Grand Hall here with stuffed stags' heads,
0:20:40 > 0:20:45for example, you find another type of presentation of the deer theme.
0:20:45 > 0:20:50I just decided that I would collect works of art that had deer in them,
0:20:50 > 0:20:55because it made it more specialised and made it more amusing to have
0:20:55 > 0:21:00deer paintings. And wild deer were scampering around on the hills
0:21:00 > 0:21:05and roaring at the mating season, and so I just began
0:21:05 > 0:21:07to buy things with deer in them.
0:21:07 > 0:21:12I really do sincerely think that Landseer could be - and was,
0:21:12 > 0:21:16a great many times - an extremely distinguished artist.
0:21:16 > 0:21:21And I think now, after years and years and years of neglect,
0:21:21 > 0:21:25people are really beginning to appreciate him at his best moments.
0:21:25 > 0:21:29The original Landseers now hang in the Philadelphia Museum of Art,
0:21:29 > 0:21:33where Joe Rishel, a friend and frequent guest to Glenveagh,
0:21:33 > 0:21:34was a curator.
0:21:34 > 0:21:38The remarkable thing that he was buying these pictures to be shown in
0:21:38 > 0:21:40the house in Ireland, in Glenveagh.
0:21:40 > 0:21:43And these two hung at both sides of a very long dining room.
0:21:43 > 0:21:47You could actually hear these animals making these crashing noises
0:21:47 > 0:21:51and making these horrible sort of "rumf", sort of slamming-in noises right there.
0:21:51 > 0:21:52It was just magic.
0:21:57 > 0:22:01Glenveagh would be typical of what was known as a deer forest
0:22:01 > 0:22:05in Victorian times. And it would have been a common idea throughout
0:22:05 > 0:22:08particularly the Highlands of Scotland,
0:22:08 > 0:22:12and deer forests would have been primarily set up for deerstalking,
0:22:12 > 0:22:15for the sport of deerstalking, and particularly stags.
0:22:15 > 0:22:17And traditionally, in Victorian days,
0:22:17 > 0:22:21that was a sport that took place in August, September,
0:22:21 > 0:22:25with the focus on trophy heads, for example.
0:22:25 > 0:22:29In other words, you know, fine sets of antlers on a big stag was the
0:22:29 > 0:22:33objective really. The person really in charge of the day's stalking
0:22:33 > 0:22:35would traditionally have been the head stalker.
0:22:35 > 0:22:38In the case of Glenveagh, like most private deer forests,
0:22:38 > 0:22:41there was a distinctive style of dress involved as well.
0:22:41 > 0:22:46In the case of Glenveagh, it was a Tweed suit that was actually
0:22:46 > 0:22:48designed here in Donegal.
0:22:48 > 0:22:53Mr McIlhenny had it specially made and tailored, and so on.
0:22:53 > 0:22:56So the head stalker and the under-stalkers
0:22:56 > 0:23:00would be very distinctive, they'd be clearly identifiable
0:23:00 > 0:23:03from other staff, like gardeners or whoever, as stalkers.
0:23:03 > 0:23:06So there was a certain, if you like, hierarchy in that regard.
0:23:06 > 0:23:09The day's stalking itself would involve
0:23:09 > 0:23:11trekking out into the mountains,
0:23:11 > 0:23:14being led by the head stalker, who would usually carry...
0:23:16 > 0:23:17..the old-style telescope,
0:23:17 > 0:23:20the brass telescope with the leather binding on it.
0:23:20 > 0:23:26And they would glass, or spy, the hill from vantage points.
0:23:26 > 0:23:31And the idea was to find a stag worthy of the stalk,
0:23:31 > 0:23:33and preferably some distance away,
0:23:33 > 0:23:38so that there was an effort involved in actually getting in close enough
0:23:38 > 0:23:40for the guest to take a shot.
0:23:40 > 0:23:42And then at the appropriate moment,
0:23:42 > 0:23:47the stalker would hand the guests the rifle and advise them
0:23:47 > 0:23:49where to aim for. And then, of course, the hard work starts,
0:23:49 > 0:23:52and this is where the under-stalkers would come in.
0:23:54 > 0:23:58And they would use a wooden pole tied across the antlers.
0:23:58 > 0:24:02And one under-stalker would stand on each side and literally drag
0:24:02 > 0:24:05the stag back to the castle and the deer larder.
0:24:05 > 0:24:06So that was hard work.
0:24:06 > 0:24:10So, you know, a day's stalking involved a lot of hiking,
0:24:10 > 0:24:12a lot of bad weather,
0:24:12 > 0:24:18wet, uncomfortable, cold conditions often, midges,
0:24:18 > 0:24:21but the exhilaration - for the guest, anyway -
0:24:21 > 0:24:26of bagging a good stag was worth it,
0:24:26 > 0:24:28for the guest and the host's point of view.
0:24:28 > 0:24:33And, of course, the head stalker had pride in his work as well.
0:24:34 > 0:24:38The deer were placed in the deer larder adjacent to the castle.
0:24:38 > 0:24:43The carcass would air-dry then in the chill room, erm,
0:24:43 > 0:24:46and it would last much, much longer.
0:24:46 > 0:24:49It would hang for maybe a month...
0:24:50 > 0:24:52..before it would be used.
0:24:52 > 0:24:56So it was very good quality venison at that stage.
0:24:56 > 0:24:58If we were having dinner,
0:24:58 > 0:25:03and we were having venison, which was Henry's, you know, the deer,
0:25:03 > 0:25:05they used to cull the herd.
0:25:05 > 0:25:07But he would never eat the venison.
0:25:07 > 0:25:11He would always have a half a grapefruit on venison night
0:25:11 > 0:25:14because he used to say, "My deer, it's like eating one of my pets!"
0:25:14 > 0:25:18Entertaining on such a grand scale meant employing a large number of
0:25:18 > 0:25:24staff. Paddy Gallagher first came to work at Glenveagh in 1954, aged 16.
0:25:24 > 0:25:27He was to become Henry's butler for more than 30 years,
0:25:27 > 0:25:29in both Donegal and Philadelphia.
0:25:29 > 0:25:35My job was to take care of all the turf fires.
0:25:36 > 0:25:41Start them in the morning about 7.30,
0:25:41 > 0:25:46keep them alive and going all day, until about eight o'clock at night.
0:25:46 > 0:25:50And also the oil lamps.
0:25:50 > 0:25:52We didn't have any electricity in those days.
0:25:54 > 0:25:57So we had about 45 lamps to...
0:25:58 > 0:26:02..fill, and clean globes and trim wicks,
0:26:02 > 0:26:07take them back to the little pantry where we stored them during the day.
0:26:07 > 0:26:09All lamps were brought back, they weren't kept in the rooms.
0:26:09 > 0:26:12When I got here in 1954,
0:26:12 > 0:26:16there were 12 people in total connected to the house.
0:26:16 > 0:26:17There was the head housekeeper...
0:26:19 > 0:26:23..Mrs Whiteside, and her husband was the butler.
0:26:23 > 0:26:27He was just known as Whiteside - you never used the first name
0:26:27 > 0:26:29of the butler in those days.
0:26:29 > 0:26:32Very English idea.
0:26:32 > 0:26:38And the cook was Nelly, my sister, and three kitchen maids.
0:26:39 > 0:26:43And then in the pantry, we had the butler and the two...
0:26:44 > 0:26:47..under-butlers, first and second, and a parlour-maid.
0:26:49 > 0:26:52And upstairs we had two chambermaids.
0:26:54 > 0:26:57And the chauffeur. There were eight people who worked in the garden.
0:26:57 > 0:26:59Matt Armour was the head gardener.
0:26:59 > 0:27:02He was here for about 35 years
0:27:02 > 0:27:04and he had seven helpers.
0:27:04 > 0:27:07Busy growing the vegetables and trimming all the hedges around,
0:27:07 > 0:27:08cutting the grass.
0:27:10 > 0:27:11When the Adairs built the castle,
0:27:11 > 0:27:14it was effectively in a very bleak location,
0:27:14 > 0:27:17overlooking a very barren mountainside.
0:27:17 > 0:27:20Because of the geology of the area, you have the lough,
0:27:20 > 0:27:22which has a thermal effect on this area.
0:27:22 > 0:27:24And you also have protection from the north,
0:27:24 > 0:27:27because the lough runs in a north-east, south-west direction,
0:27:27 > 0:27:29and we're on the southern bank of the lough.
0:27:32 > 0:27:35The Adairs started planting vigorously and they started planting
0:27:35 > 0:27:39shelter trees, obviously. So Scots pine went in, which are magnificent,
0:27:39 > 0:27:44tall specimens, with a wonderful red bark on them, overlooking the lough.
0:27:44 > 0:27:48So the whole southern bank of this lough now was clothed in trees.
0:27:48 > 0:27:51And when you look north to the other hillside,
0:27:51 > 0:27:54you see a complete barren mountain still.
0:27:54 > 0:27:56So it's quite a remarkable transformation.
0:27:56 > 0:28:00So they set up here and lived in the castle, came and went.
0:28:00 > 0:28:01And then he died,
0:28:01 > 0:28:06and then his wife Cornelia started developing the grounds.
0:28:06 > 0:28:09So the first thing she did was develop an area of lawn,
0:28:09 > 0:28:12which became, as we know today, the Pleasure Grounds.
0:28:12 > 0:28:16And to achieve that, and because the area was so rugged and barren,
0:28:16 > 0:28:21she imported hundreds of tonnes of soil to lay out that area of lawn,
0:28:21 > 0:28:23which you still see today as part of the Pleasure Grounds.
0:28:23 > 0:28:26And that was the beginning of doing things here,
0:28:26 > 0:28:28in terms of cultivation and horticulture.
0:28:33 > 0:28:38In Mrs Adair's time, there was a small area for vegetables and fruit.
0:28:38 > 0:28:41But in McIlhenny's time, he started building walls
0:28:41 > 0:28:44and created the Walled Garden as we see today.
0:28:44 > 0:28:46When you look at the walls of the Walled Garden,
0:28:46 > 0:28:49they look ancient because they're full of lichens and mosses,
0:28:49 > 0:28:53liverworts and a lovely streel of herbage on them.
0:28:53 > 0:28:57But it is only since Henry McIlhenny was here that he actually enclosed
0:28:57 > 0:29:00the vegetable garden as a productive garden for the estate.
0:29:02 > 0:29:05In those days, you couldn't find salad or any of that stuff.
0:29:05 > 0:29:07You know, when I first came here...
0:29:08 > 0:29:11Carrots, onions, cabbage, you know,
0:29:11 > 0:29:16the usual vegetables that people grew in their gardens and whatever.
0:29:16 > 0:29:20But things like lettuce and basil and asparagus and all those kind of
0:29:20 > 0:29:22things just were not heard of.
0:29:22 > 0:29:25Henry had them in his kitchen garden.
0:29:25 > 0:29:28He grew all that stuff, you know.
0:29:28 > 0:29:29So when you went there,
0:29:29 > 0:29:33you were eating things that you wouldn't ordinary be able to go
0:29:33 > 0:29:34to a shop to get.
0:29:37 > 0:29:41What I loved most was walking with him, one-on-one,
0:29:41 > 0:29:44through the gardens, the Pleasure Gardens in Glenveagh.
0:29:44 > 0:29:46That was really nice.
0:29:47 > 0:29:49He'd always be bundled up because he was always cold,
0:29:49 > 0:29:52and he used to be in a full-length overcoat and a scarf, and a hat,
0:29:52 > 0:29:56and gloves, and everything. But he had his secateurs, you see.
0:29:56 > 0:29:59And we'd be walking along, and it was the most beautiful gardens,
0:29:59 > 0:30:02the Pleasure Gardens, but he'd see a branch or something that bothered
0:30:02 > 0:30:05him and he'd go, snip, like that.
0:30:05 > 0:30:08And just cut this thing, you know, to make it perfect.
0:30:08 > 0:30:10I don't know, I can't explain it in words,
0:30:10 > 0:30:11it was just so nice to be with him.
0:30:14 > 0:30:16Probably the most impressive area,
0:30:16 > 0:30:19which is possibly the most plain and understated area,
0:30:19 > 0:30:21is the Italian Garden.
0:30:21 > 0:30:25It's a plain rectangle of grass, with a large pine in the middle,
0:30:25 > 0:30:30and it's surrounded by busts of Roman gods and deities and emperors,
0:30:30 > 0:30:34and it's just so elegant, understated, classical.
0:30:35 > 0:30:37He brought in Lanning Roper,
0:30:37 > 0:30:42the American landscape architect who had done a number of big commissions
0:30:42 > 0:30:44in England for various big houses,
0:30:44 > 0:30:47including Churchill's house, Chartwell.
0:30:47 > 0:30:50And he also brought in James Russell, Jim Russell,
0:30:50 > 0:30:52who was a nursery man and a garden designer.
0:30:52 > 0:30:56So it seemed to be a very happy combination of Henry McIlhenny
0:30:56 > 0:30:58as the owner, the wealthy owner, who had the money,
0:30:58 > 0:31:02who could afford to do what the vision was for the place,
0:31:02 > 0:31:06James Russell, who was the great plantsman and a garden designer,
0:31:06 > 0:31:11who had a very good understanding of plants and what they needed and the
0:31:11 > 0:31:13environment they required.
0:31:13 > 0:31:16And Lanning Roper, with the architectural eye.
0:31:16 > 0:31:18All around the garden, you'll see urns,
0:31:18 > 0:31:21you'll see various embellishments of different kinds,
0:31:21 > 0:31:22you see various statues.
0:31:22 > 0:31:25There's quite an eclectic mixture of statues here.
0:31:25 > 0:31:28When you walk into the Pleasure Grounds and walk around Glenveagh,
0:31:28 > 0:31:31you can see that he had a painter's eye,
0:31:31 > 0:31:33he had an art connoisseur's eye.
0:31:33 > 0:31:37So it was just a natural thing for him to create a beautiful garden.
0:31:37 > 0:31:40It was a landscape painting in its own right.
0:31:40 > 0:31:44Henry's eye, his knack for spotting something special and unique,
0:31:44 > 0:31:47served him well, both as a collector and, later,
0:31:47 > 0:31:51as a curator for the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
0:31:51 > 0:31:54Henry McIlhenny purchased this painting when he was 24 years old.
0:31:54 > 0:31:57He'd actually been eyeing it for a while at a couple of dealers and had
0:31:57 > 0:31:59always kind of baulked at the price.
0:31:59 > 0:32:03But eventually, in 1934, was able to either convince his mother,
0:32:03 > 0:32:07or to find the funds - 35,000 - to acquire the portrait.
0:32:08 > 0:32:13Delphine Legrand, she was the daughter of an art dealer known to Renoir.
0:32:13 > 0:32:17Renoir, at this stage, was having a hard time getting...
0:32:17 > 0:32:18selling a lot of his paintings,
0:32:18 > 0:32:22and so he took on a number of portrait commissions for many of his
0:32:22 > 0:32:26friends, which is what he did with the Legrand family.
0:32:26 > 0:32:29As you can see in the portrait, she's sort of slightly hesitant,
0:32:29 > 0:32:32a little bit uncertain. She's kind of looking to someone, you know,
0:32:32 > 0:32:34off to the side, maybe her mother or father,
0:32:34 > 0:32:36for a little bit of encouragement.
0:32:36 > 0:32:41But for Renoir, in his hands, you know, he was a great master at colour.
0:32:41 > 0:32:44And so you can see this kind of tension between her black pinafore,
0:32:44 > 0:32:46sort of white sleeves that actually,
0:32:46 > 0:32:48when you look closely at the painting,
0:32:48 > 0:32:52are worked out in sort of brilliant sort of blue and purple highlights.
0:32:52 > 0:32:54Particularly in this period, in 1875,
0:32:54 > 0:32:57there was famously an auction of Impressionist paintings,
0:32:57 > 0:33:01in which the frames on the canvases were actually more valuable than the
0:33:01 > 0:33:03paintings at the time.
0:33:03 > 0:33:05So it is startling to think,
0:33:05 > 0:33:10even striking to think that Henry McIlhenny purchased this for 35,000
0:33:10 > 0:33:12in 1934.
0:33:12 > 0:33:15So prices that are sort of unfathomable today.
0:33:15 > 0:33:17In the '30s,
0:33:17 > 0:33:23there was a terrific possibility to buy good examples by these artists
0:33:23 > 0:33:26because they were simply available and on the market.
0:33:26 > 0:33:30I was in Paris with some Harvard classmates the year I graduated
0:33:30 > 0:33:33and I went to a dealer called Arnold Seligmann,
0:33:33 > 0:33:35who showed me this picture.
0:33:35 > 0:33:38And, of course, I was wild to have it.
0:33:38 > 0:33:41And, if you can believe it, they sent it on approval.
0:33:41 > 0:33:45It's a magnificent coup in terms of Henry McIlhenny's collection.
0:33:45 > 0:33:48But a very telling one, I think,
0:33:48 > 0:33:50in terms of when you look at the collection overall,
0:33:50 > 0:33:52he never buys ordinary pictures.
0:33:52 > 0:33:55And this is not an ordinary Toulouse-Lautrec, by any sense -
0:33:55 > 0:33:58it's thought to be one of his greatest paintings ever.
0:33:58 > 0:34:01So I think it certainly shows, you know,
0:34:01 > 0:34:04Henry's training as an art historian, his great eye,
0:34:04 > 0:34:06so that when he stumbled upon this picture,
0:34:06 > 0:34:10he recognised immediately that it was a very great Toulouse-Lautrec
0:34:10 > 0:34:11and he had to have it.
0:34:11 > 0:34:14That woman who's dancing is meant to be La Goulue.
0:34:14 > 0:34:18And then the man is called Valentin le Desosse,
0:34:18 > 0:34:22cos he was so limber, it looked as though he had no bones.
0:34:22 > 0:34:24And they were famous dancers in that period.
0:34:24 > 0:34:28We know from a pencil inscription made by Toulouse-Lautrec that he
0:34:28 > 0:34:31describes this scene as Valentin le Desosse,
0:34:31 > 0:34:34which is the man with the sort of very nimble,
0:34:34 > 0:34:36flexible body to the left.
0:34:36 > 0:34:39He's teaching one of the new ones how to dance.
0:34:39 > 0:34:42So, actually, what we're seeing here,
0:34:42 > 0:34:46at least according to Toulouse-Lautrec's pencil notation,
0:34:46 > 0:34:49is just one of the dancers being instructed in a new dance.
0:34:49 > 0:34:53- HENRY:- I think the woman is magnificent in the pink dress.
0:34:53 > 0:34:57And the odd thing is that nobody knows who she was.
0:34:57 > 0:35:01She's completely anonymous, which is strange.
0:35:01 > 0:35:04I'm always struck by how she's wearing a hat and she seems to be
0:35:04 > 0:35:06dressed for the outdoors.
0:35:06 > 0:35:08I will say that there's a recent theory that she may, in fact,
0:35:08 > 0:35:12be a prostitute and that this is sort of a woman of the night who's
0:35:12 > 0:35:15perhaps trawling, looking for clients.
0:35:15 > 0:35:19Because most of the figures in this painting are men -
0:35:19 > 0:35:23the few other female figures appear to be dancers.
0:35:23 > 0:35:27In 1934, the year that Henry had first visited Glenveagh,
0:35:27 > 0:35:30he had been appointed Assistant Curator of Decorative Arts
0:35:30 > 0:35:33at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
0:35:33 > 0:35:34In 1936,
0:35:34 > 0:35:39he organised a major international exhibition of works by Degas,
0:35:39 > 0:35:41one of his own favourite artists.
0:35:42 > 0:35:43Henry McIlhenny loved Degas.
0:35:43 > 0:35:46And there's always something, a little bit...
0:35:46 > 0:35:49Something always has a little bit of an edge, I think,
0:35:49 > 0:35:52to McIlhenny's taste, and this certainly fits that,
0:35:52 > 0:35:55in that sort of sense that she has a tendency to make people a little
0:35:55 > 0:35:56uncomfortable - is she a girl?
0:35:56 > 0:36:00Is she, you know, growing into an older, sort of, a woman?
0:36:00 > 0:36:02And that has that sort of sense of edge.
0:36:02 > 0:36:04Not to mention the fact that she is also partially clothed.
0:36:04 > 0:36:07And so visitors are used to seeing bronze sculptures,
0:36:07 > 0:36:09but not ones that have these tutus,
0:36:09 > 0:36:13albeit this tutu is a little worn and discoloured.
0:36:14 > 0:36:17Many of the guests who have visited Glenveagh reflected Henry's passion
0:36:17 > 0:36:21for the arts. And some of them liked Donegal so much,
0:36:21 > 0:36:23they moved there permanently.
0:36:23 > 0:36:26One such was the artist Derek Hill.
0:36:26 > 0:36:29Derek Hill was the artistic director of the British School in Rome
0:36:29 > 0:36:31in the late '40s.
0:36:31 > 0:36:34And he met Henry McIlhenny,
0:36:34 > 0:36:37was working in the American School in Rome at the same time.
0:36:37 > 0:36:41They became friends, and Derek was invited to Glenveagh,
0:36:41 > 0:36:43I think in 1949, originally.
0:36:43 > 0:36:46So he would have come that summer for a couple of weeks,
0:36:46 > 0:36:48and liked the place.
0:36:48 > 0:36:50And he came back every year for three or four years,
0:36:50 > 0:36:53and eventually bought St Columb's and moved here more permanently.
0:36:55 > 0:36:58Well, as an artist, I suppose Donegal was very attractive because
0:36:58 > 0:37:01it's beautiful, and particularly during the summer,
0:37:01 > 0:37:03we have very long days, with very interesting light.
0:37:03 > 0:37:07So it really suited his style as a painter.
0:37:07 > 0:37:10He painted quite quickly, so he could go out and capture it very quickly.
0:37:10 > 0:37:13It suited him. And I think that's initially what drew him here.
0:37:13 > 0:37:16But he really fell in love with the place and the people,
0:37:16 > 0:37:21and would've regarded this as his home once he did actually move here.
0:37:21 > 0:37:23Derek used to like to be by himself, you know.
0:37:23 > 0:37:27He would go off to Tory Island and live in a stone hut.
0:37:27 > 0:37:30And, you know, sleep on the floor, and paint rocks.
0:37:30 > 0:37:33He came to Donegal to paint the landscape,
0:37:33 > 0:37:36so we have a good collection of his Donegal landscapes,
0:37:36 > 0:37:39and particularly of his Tory Island work.
0:37:39 > 0:37:42That's what people really associate with Derek Hill, is Tory Island,
0:37:42 > 0:37:44and his paintings on Tory,
0:37:44 > 0:37:48and the Tory Island artists that he sort of fostered and encouraged.
0:37:48 > 0:37:50As a collector, he was really interesting,
0:37:50 > 0:37:53because artists collect differently from collectors.
0:37:53 > 0:37:56So he and Henry McIlhenny were very different in that respect.
0:37:56 > 0:38:00Henry would have, like a proper collector does,
0:38:00 > 0:38:02Henry would've researched the subject,
0:38:02 > 0:38:06and collected the very best examples of whatever he set out to collect.
0:38:06 > 0:38:08It would've been, you know, a deliberate thing,
0:38:08 > 0:38:11whereas artists tend to collect things that inform them.
0:38:11 > 0:38:13So almost like magpies,
0:38:13 > 0:38:16they just pick up things that they think might be useful to them.
0:38:16 > 0:38:20Well, they were always competing with one another.
0:38:20 > 0:38:24So you see, Derek had one up on Henry, because he was
0:38:24 > 0:38:26an artist of some note.
0:38:26 > 0:38:29Henry, for that reason, was slightly jealous.
0:38:29 > 0:38:33I think he was inclined to try and, sort of,
0:38:33 > 0:38:36take Derek down a peg every now and again.
0:38:36 > 0:38:41Derek, likewise, was always trying to sort of pull one up on Henry.
0:38:42 > 0:38:47Henry didn't like Art Nouveau, and Derek loved Art Nouveau.
0:38:48 > 0:38:53His whole house was William Morris, and you know, that whole period.
0:38:53 > 0:38:58And he had bought a Tiffany lamp, which he had in the dining room,
0:38:58 > 0:39:01and Henry was going to lunch there one day,
0:39:01 > 0:39:06and Derek said, "Hold on, you have to see my Tiffany lamp,
0:39:06 > 0:39:08"my new Tiffany lamp."
0:39:08 > 0:39:12So Henry peeked in, he saw the Tiffany lamp on the sidewalk,
0:39:12 > 0:39:14and Derek said, "So, what do you think?
0:39:14 > 0:39:17And he said, "Well, my dear, it's perfectly hideous,
0:39:17 > 0:39:19"but it goes so well with the rest of the room."
0:39:21 > 0:39:24When Sean Lemass went to the United States in the late '60s
0:39:24 > 0:39:29when he was Taoiseach, and went on a tour of the National Parks,
0:39:29 > 0:39:30they asked him...
0:39:31 > 0:39:36..what he was doing about preserving land in Ireland, and he said,
0:39:36 > 0:39:39"We're doing absolutely nothing about it."
0:39:39 > 0:39:42So when he returned from his trip to the United States,
0:39:42 > 0:39:46he decided to talk to his ministers and see what they would do
0:39:46 > 0:39:49about land preservation, especially in the west of Ireland,
0:39:49 > 0:39:52where there was more vacant land.
0:39:52 > 0:39:54In the 1970s,
0:39:54 > 0:39:58Henry entered into negotiations with the Irish government to sell most of
0:39:58 > 0:40:02his land, the first step towards creating a National Park.
0:40:02 > 0:40:06The state acquired 29,000 acres for a modest price,
0:40:06 > 0:40:10and took on the responsibility of employing the estate workers.
0:40:10 > 0:40:12Henry retained the castle and garden,
0:40:12 > 0:40:16and continued to employ the domestic staff and gardeners.
0:40:16 > 0:40:20I always found he was interested to know what was going on.
0:40:20 > 0:40:24He was interested to know what sort of work was being undertaken,
0:40:24 > 0:40:30were there surveys of plants or animals going on, and why, and how.
0:40:30 > 0:40:34I think he had a genuine interest in the handover, if you like,
0:40:34 > 0:40:37and the idea of a National Park.
0:40:37 > 0:40:39But at the same time as the negotiations between Henry
0:40:39 > 0:40:42and the Irish Government were going on,
0:40:42 > 0:40:46the IRA was intensifying its fight against the British Government.
0:40:46 > 0:40:51Glenveagh's isolation offered no protection against the Troubles.
0:40:51 > 0:40:54Because of the Troubles, he couldn't get anybody to come.
0:40:55 > 0:40:57People were afraid to come to visit.
0:40:57 > 0:41:01And you couldn't expect not to have some sort of a backlash,
0:41:01 > 0:41:07cos my place was so near the border, only 35 miles from Londonderry,
0:41:07 > 0:41:09and from Strabane,
0:41:09 > 0:41:12there seems to be constant friction and horror going on.
0:41:12 > 0:41:16I think there was a real threat on him.
0:41:17 > 0:41:22If they kidnapped him, they would demand a huge ransom.
0:41:22 > 0:41:26But it didn't deter him from coming, he still came.
0:41:26 > 0:41:29But I think he was nervous towards the end.
0:41:29 > 0:41:31The guards used to come out and spend time
0:41:31 > 0:41:33out at Glenveagh at night.
0:41:34 > 0:41:39Because they sort of had information that Glenveagh was going to be
0:41:39 > 0:41:42in for a raid of pictures and whatever.
0:41:42 > 0:41:46Special Branch - a vanguard were there waiting
0:41:46 > 0:41:49with their sub-machineguns.
0:41:49 > 0:41:50I remember that well.
0:41:50 > 0:41:53I just felt the time had come...
0:41:54 > 0:41:59..to leave Ireland, not only because of the Troubles.
0:41:59 > 0:42:05Then Ireland became extremely costly to run,
0:42:05 > 0:42:07and I was getting older,
0:42:07 > 0:42:13and the climate's rather terrible, rains too much and it's too cold,
0:42:13 > 0:42:14and too damp.
0:42:15 > 0:42:19And I just thought the moment had come to make a break.
0:42:19 > 0:42:24He realised, like we all do, that he was getting old,
0:42:24 > 0:42:30and he couldn't go on living this kind of lifestyle indefinitely.
0:42:30 > 0:42:34Well, of course, he left that year on August 15, 1983.
0:42:34 > 0:42:37He had guests up to the very last minute.
0:42:37 > 0:42:42In fact, we had more guests in 1983 than in any year that I remember.
0:42:42 > 0:42:44So everyone wanted to come for one last time.
0:42:44 > 0:42:47Very sad to cut his links with Glenveagh.
0:42:47 > 0:42:48He loved the place.
0:42:48 > 0:42:52We just felt that he was, sort of, losing part of himself,
0:42:52 > 0:42:53leaving it behind.
0:42:55 > 0:42:58I think he wanted to leave a legacy,
0:42:58 > 0:43:03some kind of atonement for the terrible evictions that took place
0:43:03 > 0:43:07in Derryveagh in the 1860s.
0:43:07 > 0:43:11If Glenveagh had not been designated as a National Park back in the late
0:43:11 > 0:43:151970s, we would have a much more fragmented landscape.
0:43:15 > 0:43:18And almost certainly, we would have other land uses, like quarrying,
0:43:18 > 0:43:20like wind farms, like forestry, perhaps housing.
0:43:22 > 0:43:26The idea of a National Park here in Glenveagh
0:43:26 > 0:43:29has been greatly beneficial to the region,
0:43:29 > 0:43:32and to the national good, the common good.
0:43:32 > 0:43:38We sometimes forget that there are individuals, like McIlhenny,
0:43:38 > 0:43:42who leave a great legacy in the world,
0:43:42 > 0:43:45and his family leaves a great legacy in the world,
0:43:45 > 0:43:47and we need to understand more about them,
0:43:47 > 0:43:50because without understanding about McIlhenny,
0:43:50 > 0:43:53we don't actually understand the full Ulster-Scots story.
0:43:53 > 0:43:55You look at all the places he could've gone -
0:43:55 > 0:43:59it's very intriguing that he comes back to Donegal.
0:43:59 > 0:44:01He comes back to a place very,
0:44:01 > 0:44:06very close to where his ancestors in the 19th-century had actually lived.
0:44:07 > 0:44:13Henry McIlhenny's grandfather left Donegal in 1843, aged 13.
0:44:13 > 0:44:16America offered emigrants a chance to make a completely new life,
0:44:16 > 0:44:20and in Henry's grandfather's case, to create huge wealth.
0:44:21 > 0:44:25The Ulster-Scots tradition of giving back to society through good works
0:44:25 > 0:44:28and philanthropy was something the McIlhenny family believed in.
0:44:29 > 0:44:33Philadelphia and Ireland have both benefited greatly from Henry's
0:44:33 > 0:44:38generosity, which has ensured that many people can enjoy fabulous works
0:44:38 > 0:44:42of art, and some of the most spectacular landscapes and gardens
0:44:42 > 0:44:43in the world.