Glin, County Limerick

On one of the side walls, above a grotesque blackened mahogany side-table with the family coat of arms, is a full-length portrait by Highmore (circa 1745) of Richard Fitz-Gerald, the duellist Knight, being challenged to a duel. Always willing to engage in personal combat, Richard offered his opponents the choice between pistols at twenty paces or the short sword wielded within a ten-foot ring- an unpleasant prospect as he was an accomplished swordsman and an excellent shot. On one occasion when engaged in a duel with a Spaniard, Richard was unable to drive his sword home until his servant cried out: 'Stick him where they stick the pigs', whereupon the Spaniard was pierced through the throat and was found later to have been wearing protective chain mail under his clothing.

The great hall opens through two fanlighted doorways at the far end into the inner hall, where a most unusual flying staircase springs first on two ramps and then rises on a central flight to the gallery above. It is lit by a Venetian window overlooking the formal garden which is surmounted by an elliptical relieving arch with delicate cornucopia and plaster flowers in the spandrels. The plasterwork in the drawing-room is similar though less refined than in the hall, with fruit and flowers and a radiating fan design as the centre-piece.

The room has a superb inlaid chimney-piece by Bossi circa 1790 whose marble colouring matches the frame of the portrait above depicting Selina Blennerhassett, the only female member of the notorious Limerick Hell Fire Club. In the adjacent library a tall mahogany bookcase features a broken pediment surmounted by a bust of Milton, with brass grilles in four oval openings; one conceals a hidden door leading to the staircase. The room also contains a very fine Irish eighteenth-century library cabinet with an adjustable reading top and swan-pedimented bookcase, while over the mantelpiece hangs a mirror dating from 1760 and made by the great craftsmen Francis and John Booker of Dublin.

In sharp contrast to other Irish country houses, there is no doubt that Glin Castle looks better today than it has ever done in the past. Aside from being completely restored in recent decades, it has become home to many fine examples of Irish furnishings collected by the present Knight as part of his efforts to ensure that the finest examples of eighteenth- and nineteenth-century Irish craftsmanship remain in Ireland. Desmond Fitz-Gerald, who is the twenty-ninth holder of the title, is Christie's representative in Ireland and is well known and respected for his outstanding contribution to the study of Irish furniture, paintings, architecture and historic gardens.

Located 1 mile west of Glin village. NGR: R 123472. Open daily during May. Dinners and lunches provided for groups by appointment. Toilet facilities Admission charged. Tel: (044) 42820.

From the Appletree Press title: Irish Country Houses.