Russborough House, County Wicklow

Although part of the patrimony of the house, these pictures were sold in 1926 and only after a determined search were recovered forty-three years later by Sir Alfred Beit. Beyond lies the boudoir ñ a charming little panelled apartment with a Bossi chimney-piece dating around 1780. From here visitors pass into the tapestry-hung corridor leading to the pavilion, formerly the bachelor's quarters. The dining-room, formerly the library, on the opposite side of the hall has a monumental Irish chimney-piece of mottled grey Sicilian marble. The walls are ornamented by a series of six Murillo paintings acquired by Sir Alfred Beit from Lord Dudley in 1895. Five of these pictures were purchased in 1867 in the Salamanca sale in Paris, while the sixth was later acquired from Dudley in exchange for a Fra Angelico and a Bonifazio.

No one who visits Russborough is likely to forget the staircase with its extraordinary riot of exuberant plasterwork; there is nothing quite like it anywhere else in the British Isles. In later years the decorator Mr Sibthorne is reported to have remarked that it represented 'the ravings of a maniac', adding that he 'was afraid the maniac was Irish'.

On the death of the sixth Earl of Milltown in 1890, Russborough passed to his widow and later to his nephew before being sold out of the family in 1931. Fortunately, most of its famous art collection assembled by the first Earl remained in Ireland when the sixth Earl's widow bequeathed it to the National Gallery of Ireland in 1902 ñ a bequest so important that a new wing was built to contain it. Russborough was not devoid of art treasures for long, however; the property was acquired by Sir Alfred Beit in 1951 as the setting for one of the world's most outstanding private art collections.

Dominated by Dutch, Flemish and Spanish masterpieces, this collection was largely formed by Alfred Beit (1853-1906), a co-founder with Cecil Rhodes of the DeBeers Diamond Mining Company in South Africa. The house and its collection have now been given to a foundation and are open to the public, while the Beits have moved into one of its wings. It is extremely sad that the Beits' remarkable generosity to the Irish people was rewarded in 1986 by a robbery of some of the finest pictures in the house. It must be earnestly hoped that these will all be recovered and returned to their rightful place in this wonderful house.

Located 2 miles south west of Blessington. NGR: N 957100. Open daily during Easter, and Sundays and bank holidays in April, May, September and October. Open daily during June to August. Visits outside advertised opening hours may be pre-arranged. Tea room. Toilet facilities. Collection of miniature steam locomotives in basement. Guided tours available.

From the Appletree Press title: Irish Country Houses.