Malahide Castle County House, County Dublin

Above all, however, these drawing-rooms are famous for their wonderful nineteenth-century painted orange-terracotta walls that many have apparently attempted to reproduce without success over the years. The colour makes an ideal background for the gilt frames of the fine pictures that grace the walls. Of particular note is the splendid portrait of Nathaniel Hone and Sir Joshua Reynolds' portrait of Edmund Burke.

The larger drawing-room retains its lovely Chinese carpet and also boasts two French-style gilt settees circa 1770 and a pair of George II Irish giltwood sideboards with black lacquered tops. The sideboards had been acquired at the auction by an international art dealer who was just about to pass them on to an Iranian client when he was persuaded to sell them back to Malahide. The delightful little turret rooms with ogee Gothic windows beside the two drawing-rooms have long been used to feature small pictures and miniatures. In one hangs a set of Trench family portraits - six pastels and twelve oils by Hugh Douglas Hamilton in frames possibly designed by Gandon.

The famous gardens around the castle are largely the creation of the late Lord Talbot de Malahide who died suddenly in April 1973. They have been well restored by Dublin County Council and are certainly worth visiting. Also in the castle yard is the Cyril Fry Model Railway Exhibition with its model engines, rolling stock and replicas of railway stations in Dublin, Belfast and Cork.

Located in Malahide, 9 miles north of Dublin.
NGR: O 220452. Open daily. Toilet facilities.
Admission charge to castle and model railway.
Tel: castle (01) 452655; model railway (01) 452758.

From the Appletree Press title: Irish Country Houses.