Located in the northwest of Ireland, County Donegal is often ignored by tourists, most of whom head south, attracted by Dublin. And yet this little corner of Ireland is known – and loved – by a group of Hollywood stars; in particular, the Sex and the city star Sarah Jessica Parker, who has spent her winters in the rural outpost.
Parker lives at least part of the year in a modest house with her husband, actor Matthew Broderick, whose parents bought the house about 40 years ago. It’s nothing special to look at, but the Cionn Mhucrois headland on which it sits certainly is.
“It’s a very quiet place,” I was told by Henry Doohan, who runs a private chauffeur service, Donegal Tour Guide. He regaled me with stories about the couple visiting the local football club – and then moved on to tales of the sea god Lobhar, an ancient deity said to warn the area of coming storms: a compelling mix of Hollywood gloss and something elemental.
The headland is part of the Wild Atlantic Way, a self-driving route in its tenth year that winds through small towns that tourists might not otherwise visit. Kilcar, the closest to Sarah Jessica Parker’s home, is quaint and unassuming. There is a cottage industry in craft tweed products, maintained by workshops such as Studio Donegal. Privacy is sacred, but so is a good story: A worker in an upstairs room, his head poking through the threads of a loom, told me that the celebrity couple likes to wear the local product.
“Americans love it,” confirmed Eleonor Hanna, the third-generation owner of Hanna’s Hats, as she showed me around her factory floor, strolling past six women sewing together peaks and buttons, before arming me with a flat cap. Not something I would normally wear, but – if SJP’s enthusiastic social media posts are to be believed – an appropriately local sartorial choice.
But despite its star power, Donegal’s real appeal – for celebrities and citizens alike – lies in its landscape. A detour led me to a hillfort, the Grianán of Aileach, which stands unguarded among yellow-flowered broom bushes. As with other stone structures, the fortress is aligned so that during the summer solstice, rays of sunlight cut through an opening and fall on an altar stone. On a rainier day it was no less impressive; remarkably, you can climb the stones to look out over the valley.
Equally impressive is Glenveagh National Park. Established in 1984, the site allows visitors to drive and walk among the Derryveagh Mountains. At the entrance to the park, the Old Church of Dunlewey stands well below the road. Built in white marble, it is known as the Taj Mahal of Donegal: a monument, like its Indian namesake, to a doomed love affair.
Romantic enough in its own right, the church sits next to the irresistibly named Poisoned Glen, either a mistranslation of Heavenly Glen or, in a more compelling story, the site of an incestuous battle between demigods in Ulster legend.
This persistent mythology has long captured the imagination of celebrities. Within the park is a stately hunting lodge, built as an approximation to Balmoral by an American businessman in 1867, and frequented by the likes of Charlie Chaplin and Clark Gable. Greta Garbo apparently loved to languish in the lakeside pool.
The house itself is eccentric, with white, shell-lined hallways and surprisingly glamorous bathrooms. Mysteries abound – after a stay on a nearby island, one owner went missing; possible to see a lover, possible to start a new life in Paris. Walking through the Italian gardens and tidy orchards, it’s hard to understand why anyone would want to leave.
That said, if demigods, Hollywood hotshots and invigorating outdoor excursions aren’t your thing, there are plenty of more tranquil ways to spend your time here. Donegal has the longest coastline of all the Irish provinces, making it a focal point for naval battles. A thorough museum at Fort Dunree – built on the Inishowen Peninsula to defend against a possible Napoleonic invasion – chronicles its story, from its construction to its protective role in the First World War, where the British Navy anchored before the Battle of Jutland.
For more of this, drive around the peninsula to Fanad Head Lighthouse, a similar wartime sentinel. Basking sharks have been seen sulking in the bay – enough to make me want to come back in the summer, perhaps with a picnic.
And there is also plenty to do in the field of hospitality. Harvey’s Point, a lakeside hotel near the city of Donegal, is a beautifully appointed property, and the province’s exceptional seafood (I suspect an Irish conspiracy to keep the best stuff back – but who can blame them ?) are on good display at Shine’s in Killybegs, where the tuna is insanely fresh.
Likewise, you can also spend a few hours at the slick Crolly Distillery (you are in Ireland, after all), where there are tours and tastings, and – never far from a touch of the supernatural in these parts – a ghostly soldier walking apparently on the floor at night.
If the poitín has you craving some fresh air, head to the cliffs of Sliabh Liag, an hour further up the coast. At their base, a visitor center gives guests a brief history of the place, after which it’s a few miles’ walk (or shuttle bus, which runs in the busier months) to the top, where – suddenly – you have the view.
The day I visited, the trails were remarkably quiet for a place so exceptional (and, according to one employee, three times higher – and better – than its better-known counterpart, the Cliffs of Moher).
“We’re still a secret to most people,” he told me. And yet even here there is a Hollywood connection. Bob Odenkirk, the Break bad actor, recently visited to absorb the views. About forty years ago he stayed in a now abandoned hostel nearby. “He came here when he was nobody,” he added with a sly smile. “But people always come back. They can’t do anything about it.”
Essentials
Sophie has been a guest of Tourism Ireland and Fáilte Ireland.
Loganair flies daily from London Heathrow to Derry/Londonderry from £59 one way.
Harvey’s Point Hotel (00 353 74 972 2208) has rooms from £202 per night. The Waterfront Hotel in Dungloe (00 353 74 952 2444) is another good option, with rooms from £120.
Donegal is difficult to visit without a car. Car hire is available from Avis and Hertz at City of Derry Airport. Alternatively, the Donegal Tour Guide (00 353 (0) 863331031) offers private tours of County Donegal, from £450 for groups of up to eight.