You can live like a king for a week if you rent a castle. Róisín Ingle meets one family who found it perfect for their summer reunion

When Catherine Seth-Smith heard about the kind of accommodation her father had booked for their summer family reunion, she initially thought it was a joke. "I mean a castle of all things," she says. "We didn't think he was serious and then we arrived from Manchester to Dungulph Castle in Co Wexford. There were real turrets and a dent in the wall where a cannon ball had been fired during an invasion. It's very beautiful, historically significant, and for the children it's a dream."

Her father, retired army officer Barry O'Sullivan, chose the 16th-century castle which is bursting with books detailing the colourful history of the property because he wanted a more exciting venue to host his children and their families who were travelling from England and America. "I just wanted to do something unusual and this has more than lived up to my expectations," he says.

He is not alone in wanting to pretend, for a week at least, that his home is also his castle. Lured by the magic of a moat and drawbridge, secret passages and mysterious spirits, increasing numbers are coming to Ireland in search of an experience more memorable than the kind available at your average B&B. And while five-star hotel luxury is all very well, what's increasingly tempting travellers is that for the same money per person - in many cases for less than that - you can be lord or lady, king or queen, of your very own estate. There are more than 30 castles around Ireland which can be rented out in their entirety, while several more have been converted into hotels, and dozens of "stately home" style properties or tower houses are also proving popular.

"It's the romance, the history and the once-in-a-lifetime appeal that our clients talk about the most," says Mary Power of Self-Catering Ireland, who has noticed a rise in demand recently. "Most people renting castles don't want to talk about it - the anonymity, especially for people who avail of the maid and butler service, is very much part of the appeal. Since celebrities such as Posh and Becks started having their weddings in castles it has become even more popular among people who want to do something that little bit different."

Another industry source says most of their clients in recent years have come from the US. "Castles are about the only thing they don't have over there," she says. "We had one couple who expected to be given the lord and lady titles for the duration along with their accommodation. They were paying a lot of money and felt they deserved it. The staff decided to co-operate with them and played along for the duration of their stay."

There are some guests who are willing to pay up to €25,000 a week for a castle, and some return to the same properties for months at a time. Places as impressive as Waterford Castle, which is located on an island that boasts a golf course, do not come cheap. "At this time of the year it's €7,500 a night," says Gillian Butler, who runs the property. She agrees that the number of Americans booking the 17th-century property has increased in the past couple of years and says castles are extremely popular for big events such as weddings and reunions.

There is another less concrete attraction: "We have ghosts, very friendly ones I should point out, and the Americans are particularly intrigued by that," she says. "I had a lady guest who was a writer tell me she saw people in period costume in the grounds. Other people speak of a welcoming presence in the room. The ghost element appeals to some people but not, you find, to others."

It's not unheard of for people to start off renting castles only to end up buying their own after falling in love with the idea of owning one of these unusual abodes. Helen Cassidy specialises in castle sales west of the Shannon and says for most people buying and restoring a castle or a keep is a "labour of love".

"There is quite a castle community in Ireland who all know what the others are up to. Some of them are real dreamers and have the Rapunzel fantasy in their head. It's mostly cash buyers - as you can imagine getting a mortgage on these ancient properties isn't easy," she says.

One such castle owner is Christopher Murphy, who harboured the dream since he was a little boy growing up near Aughnanure Castle in Co Galway. At the end of the 1960s he bought Carraigin Castle in the same county. Now living in London, he remembers when he was restoring the castle a delivery man arriving into the house with stones for a staircase.

"He was heard to remark 'this is what heaven will be like when I get there'," chuckles Murphy. "He put into words what a lot of people feel about ancient places such as castles, which can sometimes have the look and feel of a church. It does a lot for the spirit to lie back in a chair looking at all these arching oak beams turning this way and that way over your head. It's quite a bit different from being in a bungalow with perfectly plastered walls."

It's no surprise that sometimes people who rent castles are as unusual as the buildings they find themselves drawn to. At Belle Isle Castle in Co Fermanagh, a sprawling estate owned by the Duke of Abercorn, they recently hosted a rather intimate wedding. "The couple getting married were the only people at the wedding. I had to be a witness," says Charles Plunket, who runs the castle for the duke, who bought it in 1991. "They made their own breakfast, had their dinner and then watched Coronation Street."

Other guests, a reunion group of old school boys from Dublin, won't be welcomed back in a hurry. "They left the place in a terrible state, burning a hole in the dining table," he says. "We told them next time they should rent the upstairs of a pub - they had no appreciation for their surroundings at all."

Those on a castle holiday are never at the mercy of the weather which for Catherine Seth-Smith and her extended family in Dungulph Castle has been a bonus. "When it's raining you can have games of hide-and-seek where the size of the place means it would be feasible for people to stay hidden for hours," she says. "In the evening a castle is the perfect place for telling ghost stories. I have to say on those nights I was relieved that we came to the castle as part of a large group."

Castles in the air

For the Prince... Lismore Castle in Co Waterford is the Irish home of the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire but when the duke is not home private groups of up to 23 people can rent the stunning estate. A week here during high season will set you back just under €25,000. Breakfast is included. Phew.

For the Pauper... An Óige's Foulksrath Castle Youth Hostel in Jenkinstown, Co Kilkenny is not going to win any prizes for luxury or comfort, but the 16th-century castle is said to be the nearest thing to Hogwarts Harry Potter fans could hope for. Atmospheric banqueting hall? Check. Stone spiral staircase? Check. Eerie ramparts reached via a secret exit? Check. Priced from €13.50 per night. www.anoige.ie

Other useful castle websites: www.celticcastles.com www.elegant.ie www.tourismresources.ie