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.