Tour Dominic West and Catherine Fitzgerald's Historic Home

Architectural Digest

January 17, 2019 at 9:00 a.m.

The drawing room is light-filled with brightly colored accents and an embellished mantel at the center of the room, adding a stateliness. The house's original features are still intact, from the decorative ceilings to the mahogany doors; Fitzgerald’s favorite objects in the house are the ornate mantelpieces and fireplaces.

West and Fitzgerald met for the first time at Fitzgerald's 21st birthday party, held at Glin Castle, which has been in her family for generations.

Those in search of a great book—or a great fire—can retreat to the library, which Mariga Guinness painted dark blue in the ’60s. “My parents were part of the whole swinging-’60s art scene in London and Dublin and they had friends in all kinds of worlds,” says Fitzgerald.

The mint-colored hall is furnished with historic objects that have come to resonate with the mansion's character, from swords dating back to the 1798 Rebellion to an oil painting of Colonel John Fitzgerald, the 24th Knight of Glin. “I love the hall because it’s got such drama,” says Fitzgerald, noting it as her favorite room in the Georgian house. “There are two cast wooden Corinthian columns—which are just so theatrical—as you come into this wonderful space.”

The dining room is covered with family portraits dating back to the 1700s. The crimson-colored walls add to the drama created by the dark-wood, Baronial-style furniture that was made for the house in the 19th century. “That heavy, black pseudo-Jacobean-style furniture was a new fashion at the beginning of the 19th century,” notes Fitzgerald.

A flying staircase (a rarity in Ireland) leads to the second and third floors. This hall is grand and sun-soaked, with light from the Venetian window flooding through to the main hall. Legend has it that the 26th Knight of Glin, Desmond Fitzgerald (also known as “Cracked Jack”), would ride his horse up the flying staircase every evening before turning in for bed.

The yellow walls and Aga and Irish country furniture of this traditional family kitchen is one of two kitchens in the house—another commercial kitchen can cater up to 80 guests.

The pale blue walls of this bedroom (one of 18 in the castle) boast antique pictures and blue-and-white porcelain collected by Fitzgerald’s father. The bedrooms in the front of the castle overlook the Shannon Estuary (where the River Shannon flows to the Atlantic Ocean), while those in the back overlook the extensive lawns and well-manicured shrubs of the garden. Playing in the garden as a child is what inspired Fitzgerald to pursue her career as a landscape designer. “It’s not a huge garden but it’s a very special, magical garden,” says Fitzgerald. “I’ll plant hundreds of bulbs every winter and then they spread in the spring.”

Fitzgerald and West appreciate the castle's current interior, thanks to Fitzgerald's father, but they're still in the process of updating the décor for the 21st century. “As a museum curator, my father was arranging the furniture like a museum,” says Fitzgerald. “My contribution is to slightly relax it, to have some chairs where you can put up your feet around the fire so people can really feel at home and enjoy their stay.”

This lavender bathroom features a gallery wall and a claw-footed tub, all of which preserve the castle's ample Irish charm.

“We’ve got our own lives and our own jobs, and it was very daunting,” says West of the decision to purchase the castle with Fitzgerald's sisters. “It's a big place and it costs a lot every year to maintain, so that was the initial hesitation.” Even so, when no buyers came forward after the castle was briefly put up for sale, Fitzgerald and her sisters agreed that they should try to keep it in the family.

The 500-acre estate is scattered with intimate areas, like decorative structures that act as an invitation to be one with nature. The extensive maintenance is a collaboration between Catherine Fitzgerald and her mother: “My mother lives there pretty much full time still. She’s really happy. She can live here, come and go, and she loves the garden. So, we keep on with the garden projects.”

The 800-year-old castle is like a step into Ireland's past

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