Irish Georgian furniture is becoming increasingly rare - and expensive - and to produce the exuberant and richly carved designs is not easy. But now you can buy a replica of the finest examples of the period and, at the same time, help preserve their 18th century heritage, says Paula Fogarty, president of the US-based Kindel furniture company, which launched its range of Georgian reproduction furniture last week through the Irish Georgian Society, in Leixlip Castle. The launch of the Irish Georgian Society Collection should come as good news to those who have visited the great houses and castles of Ireland and, perhaps, pictured themselves draped across the Russborough settee, entertaining guests around the Iveagh House dining table or snoozing in the Glin easy chair.

The Irish Georgian Society receives royalties from the sale of every piece in the collection and last year benefited to the tune of £21,000 from US sales.

While the collection has been sold in the States since 1984, it is only now being introduced to the Irish market. There are 22 pieces in the collection, all reproductions of best-of-kind originals from the period.

Sources for the furniture include Leixlip Castle, where Kindel now has an office, and the great Palladian houses, Russborough in Co Wicklow, Castletown in Co Kildare, Birr Castle in Co Offaly and Limerick's Glin Castle which was once described by its owner, Desmond Fitzgerald, as "a Georgian house with a sugar icing of Gothic detailing in it."

A glimpse of the elegant grandeur of the Russborough settee at an exhibition in the National Gallery back in 1982 was the initial inspiration for The Georgian Society Collection.

"I was on a family vacation and when we saw the settee we contacted the Irish Georgian Society, looked up its founder Desmond Guinness and began talking about reproducing some furniture. I was fired by the mission of the society," says Fogarty whose family took over the Kindel Furniture Company, based in Grand Rapids, Michigan 23 years ago. The company, which has the licence to reproduce furniture from the Henri Francis du Pont Winterthur Museum in Wilmington, Delaware, was founded by Charles Kindel in 1901.

Its furniture is currently going into Oscar Wilde's former residence at 2 Merrion Square.

"All of the pieces are magnificent examples of Irish Georgian craftsmanship," says Fogarty. "For example the square paw feet of the Iveagh House side table is a distinctly Irish feature. You won't find it anywhere else."

The Georgian period which spanned the successive reigns of Georges I, II, III and IV saw a huge surge in Irish crafts and furniture-making and the Irish Georgian style was considered by many to be simpler and less pompous than its English counterpart.

Prices for the Irish Georgian Society Collection range from for a replica of the Malahide side chair which was modelled on one of a set of 12 dark mahogany chairs at Leixlip Castle. At the upper end of the price range, the Adare cabinet with its exuberant carving and elaborate gilded cartouche costs a mere £22,197. If you can see yourself perched demurely on the Castletown balloon chair, it will cost you £2,703. A copy of the sleigh bed at Marino Casino costs from £12,094 and comes in king or queen size. Jim Snip, head designer and one of 18 master carvers at Kindel, says the aim of the company is to recreate each piece as accurately as possible.

"We use the same primary and secondary materials as the original and also try to get the grain pattern as close as we can," says Snip, who adds that Kindel use the French polish tradition which requires many coats of lacquer and hand rubbing. The furniture of the 18th century was very shiny but acquires a mellow glow with age. Snip says that while Kindel Furniture has traditionally appealed to prosperous US east coast home owners, it can also be afforded by those who are not ultra-wealthy.

"It is an opportunity for people to own a bit of history but in slightly better condition than the original and it will probably last longer," he quips, adding, "our furniture is meant to be used and enjoyed not hidden away like a museum piece."

To tempt Irish buyers right now, prices have been discounted by 25 per cent until the end of June.

For more information contact Fiona Burke at 01 624 6873