Like many of Ireland's great houses, farming was the mainstay of Loughcrew House for centuries. Everything changed, however, about 20 years ago, when Charles Naper brought his wife Emily to live in the ancestral home near Oldcastle, in north Co Meath.
Sheep still graze in the fields, but the land is now rented out to local farmers. Loughcrew was in fairly rudimentary condition when Charles inherited the estate from his father. Once filled with beautiful furnishings, the contents were plundered by a young airman who married Charles's aunt, a previous owner of Loughcrew House, explains Charles.
"He turned everything in the house into cash and disappeared by faking an aeroplane crash. My aunt was in a wheelchair when she married the airman and she learned to walk again, so he did make her happy.
"My father cared for her after this and when she died in 1953, he inherited the house. Everything had been sold out of it and it was a very gloomy place."
When Charles and Emily moved in, the sheep-farming was abandoned and the couple embarked on a mammoth restoration project for the house and 19th century gardens.
Emily's London training in design and restoration has been the key to Loughcrew's new lease of life. "The sheep were actually in the house when we came and everything was very sad," she says.
Her gilding and furniture- making skills and her innate sense of style came into play when the couple set about transforming the house.
She made wall tables for the long "orangery" sittingroom and gilded them to look as if they had been there for centuries. Classic door pillars she built around the same time have an authentic look. Painter Michael Dillon has transformed interior walls into works of art, with frescos of animals, birds and flowers around every corner.
Loughcrew - an easy day trip from Dublin - is now firmly on the tourist trail. The Napers hold the keys to Loughcrew Cairns, so visitors can combine the gardens and the tearooms with a tour of this prehistoric burial ground.
Gilding workshops in Emily's studio attract students from as far as America and Italy, who often board in the house. Dubliner Jane Williams came for lessons 10 years ago and now works in the studio a few days each week.
Lorenzo Vignoli from Lucca stayed on after one of the workshops and has become part of the family. Already, at 19, an acclaimed artist, he is decorating the walls of a "grotesque" grotto in the gardens with a fresco of Cuchulain's adventures.
Beside the grotto is an ancient graveyard transformed into a magical garden, with bronze fairies by sculptor Ann Hughes hidden among the trees.
Years of neglect and the ravages of sheep-rearing meant the garden had to be rebuilt from scratch. Today, there is a magnificent yew walk, a restored canal, waterfalls and and ponds by a magnificent herbaceous border.
Flourishing in the physic garden are plants to cure everything from nerves to reluctant lovers. A favourite with school outings is a "child magnet" copse with sculpted insects hidden among the branches. Sons Nicholas, Edwin and J.J. still haven't found all the insects, laughs Emily.
Close by are the ruins of St Oliver Plunkett's family church. "We still use the old church for wedding blessings and have an open air Mass there every year in honour of St Oliver Plunkett," says Emily. Its a strange coincidence that my grandmother Lady Dunsany was married to a Plunkett. So I have an ancestral link with Loughcrew."
The Norwegian pine tearoom is stocked with gift ideas from another of Emily's enterprises in Wales, as well as some very pretty hats made by Noleen Monaghan who runs the teashop. This summer, the Napers gambled on the weather and added opera to the list of attractions at Loughcrew.
"We put on Rigoletto in July and we were so lucky it didn't rain. All the backdrops and scenery were made by us and we put the singers up around the area. It was such fun, we hope to do it again next year with the Barber of Seville," says Emily. The house restored, Emily is now channelling her energies into her latest project - a furniture showroom, which is already a popular source for interior designers.
The showroom, in a converted barn attached to the house, is filled with antique-style furniture, some made by Emily and others imported from France and Italy. Gilded bed canopy crowns made by Emily are some of her favourite items.
"Old furniture from France and Italy is often in bad repair. I prefer to buy well-made new pieces made in a traditional way. At least I know they won't fall apart. I've been asked to design two rooms for the house at the Ideal Homes Exhibition, which is a first for me," she says.
Because of the New York disaster, Irish people were in the majority at last month's gilding classes and the next course in November is filling up nicely.
With a good social life in Oldcastle, they go to Dublin only if they have to, says Charles.
"Some very good restaurants have started up here and we enjoy dinner parties with our friends. We have a couple of ponies and love to hunt. We don't miss the sheep a bit. The problem now is keeping them out of the garden!"
