The Poisoned Glen () is a

glen A glen is a valley, typically one that is long and bounded by gently sloped concave sides, unlike a ravine, which is deep and bounded by steep slopes. Whittow defines it as a "Scottish term for a deep valley in the Highlands" that is "narrower ...

or valley located near

Dunlewey ''Dún Lúiche'', known in English as Dunlewey or Dunlewy, is a small ''Gaeltacht'' village in the Gweedore area of County Donegal, Ireland. It sits in the Poisoned Glen, at the foot of Errigal and on the shore of Dunlewey Lough. The Cronaniv B ...

Gweedore Gweedore ( ; officially known by its Irish language name, ) is an Irish-speaking district and parish located on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of County Donegal in the north-west of Ireland. Gweedore stretches some from Glasserchoo in the ...

, a district in the north-west of

County Donegal County Donegal ( ; ga, Contae Dhún na nGall) is a county of Ireland in the province of Ulster and in the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the town of Donegal in the south of the county. It has also been known as County Tyrconne ...

, Ireland. It is located beside Errigal and extends beyond Glenveagh National Park, facing Loch Altan. The Poisoned Glen is situated approximately from

Letterkenny Letterkenny ( ga, Leitir Ceanainn , meaning 'hillside of the O'Cannons'), nicknamed 'the Cathedral Town', is the largest and most populous town in County Donegal, a county in Ulster, the northern province in Ireland. Letterkenny lies on the R ...

. The

Cronaniv Burn The Cronaniv Burn (Irish language, Irish: ''Abhainn Chró Nimhe'', meaning 'Poisoned Glen River';''Discovery Series'' Sheet 1 (Fourth Edition). Ordnance Survey of Ireland (O.S.I.), Dublin, 2012.Patrick McKay, ''A Dictionary of Ulster Place-Names ...

flows through the glen.

Etymology

According to

legend A legend is a Folklore genre, genre of folklore that consists of a narrative featuring human actions, believed or perceived, both by teller and listeners, to have taken place in human history. Narratives in this genre may demonstrate human valu ...

, the huge ice-carved hollow of the Poisoned Glen got its name when the ancient one-eyed giant king of Tory, Balor, was killed here by his exiled grandson, Lughaidh, whereupon the poison from his eye split the rock and poisoned the glen. The less interesting truth, however, lies in a cartographic gaffe. Locals were inspired to name it ''An Gleann Neamhe'' ('The Heavenly Glen'), but when an English

cartographer Cartography (; from grc, χάρτης , "papyrus, sheet of paper, map"; and , "write") is the study and practice of making and using maps. Combining science, aesthetics and technique, cartography builds on the premise that reality (or an im ...

mapped the area, he carelessly marked it ''An Gleann Neimhe'' – The Poisoned Glen.

Arts and culture

A number of musicians associated with the area have been inspired by the location. For example,

Clannad Clannad () is an Irish band formed in 1970 in Gweedore, County Donegal by siblings Ciarán, Pól, and Moya Brennan and their twin uncles Noel and Pádraig Duggan. They have adopted various musical styles throughout their history, including f ...

's album '' Anam'' (1990) included a track titled 'Poison Glen', and Altan released an album titled '' Gleann Nimhe – The Poison Glen'' (2015).

References

Geography of Gweedore {{Donegal-geo-stub