Castle Leslie provides a welcome respite from such homogenous
modernity. It is one of the few estates in
Ireland still owned and
managed by the original family - which, in this case, is a family
whose lineage stretches back to
Arthur Wellesley, First Duke of
Wellington; Winston Churchill; and Attila the Hun.
Visitors to Castle Leslie will find it buried in a labyrinth
of roads that meander through County Monaghan, two and a half hours
north of
Dublin. Adjacent to the tiny village of Glaslough, Leslie
estate stretches through ancient woodlands and natural lakes. In
addition to the main castle building, there is an equestrian center
and an arena, a hunting lodge and a spa, an old church, and the
family cemetery.
Although the castle has always entertained visitors, it was
previously not a fi- nancially viable enterprise, and by 1991, the
family considered it a liability. Samantha Leslie then took over
the management from her father, Desmond, and was determined to
restore the property and refashion the estate into a deluxe
destination.
Furniture and books were sold in order to pay for repairs to the
roof. The billiard room was refurbished. Dinner was once again
served by candlelight in the family dining room. Chef Noel McMeel
was brought in to create a gourmet menu and a top-drawer wine list.
And this year, the Hunting Lodge underwent a roughly $20 million
revamp. But the Leslie eccentricity is, thankfully, still
intact.
Each of the castle's bedrooms is themed after a member of the
Leslie family. Anita's Room, for instance, is named for the
rebellious daughter who, during World War II, drove ambulances
across enemy lines to collect the wounded. She wrote several books
and reportedly subsisted on only smoked salmon and Champagne.
Lionel was another free spirit; he traveled on safari, wrote books,
and became an expert on the Loch Ness Monster. Norman was killed in
World War I, but his ghost supposedly inhabits his bedroom. Seymour
was another writer and apparently was the first person in Ireland
to use an
X-ray machine, testing it in his bedroom on the family's
coachman. Desmond was once married to a female spy for the
OSS, And he wrote several movies and books, Including the
best-selling UFO classic Flying Saucers Have Landed.