Ballymacool Park
| Ballymacool Park | |
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Ballymacool Park
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| Type | Public Park |
| Location | Letterkenny, County Donegal, Ireland |
| Area | 20 acres (81,000 m2) |
| Created | 24 May 2009 |
| Operated by | Letterkenny Town Council |
| Open | All year |
Ballymacool Park (Irish: Páirc Bhaile Mhic Comhghaill) is a 20-acre (81,000 m2) public park located in Letterkenny, County Donegal, Ireland. The park is located on the Glenties Road, not far from O'Donnell Park and the local sports complex. The park has an entrance on each side of the Letterkenny to Glenties Road. It is the largest in Letterkenny and County Donegal, taking over from Letterkenny Town Park.
Work commenced on the €3.8 million park in August 2007 and was completed in early 2009. The park is built on a site near Ballymacool House which was donated to Letterkenny Town Council as a result of rezoning in the Ballymacool area.
John Boyd, born in 1739, and High Sheriff of Donegal in 1772–73, purchased the Ballymacool House and estate from the Span family in 1798. The estate was passed to his eldest son John Boyd, a barrister, on his marriage to Frances Hayes, in 1799. He was succeeded by his nephew, William Henry Porter, under the condition that he assume the surname Boyd, which he did by Royal Licence in 1891. He was father to Mary Rosalie Boyd, the South African poet. The founding member of the Apprentice Boys of Derry was also called John Boyd (1767–1836). He was a Captain in the Letterkenny Corps of the Donegal Militia, and a Freeman of the City of Londonderry. In 1830 John Boyd presented the Apprentice Boys with the saddle on which Governor Walker rode at the Siege of Derry in 1689. The Australian artist Arthur Merric Boyd and his family are descended from the Boyds of Ballymacool.
The house became occupied by Republican soldiers in 1921. During the occupation a silver plate which had been in the Boyd family since 1467 was stolen. The Boyd family crest was inscribed on the silver which was received by Thomas Boyd, Earl of Arran on his marriage to Mary Stewart, Princess of Scotland, daughter of James II of Scotland.
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