Lismore Castle in Waterford, Ireland, is a one of a kind and a repository of extraordinary history: from walls marked by Cromwellian cannon balls to the days it was owned by Sir Walter Raleigh -the man who brought potatoes and tobacco to Ireland - to Cecil Beaton, Lucian Freud, Fred Astaire and JFK, all of whom slept a night or more in this private castle on the banks of the River Blackwater.

World-class art — contemporary and Old Masters — hangs from walls, while the Pugin Banqueting Hall is a major historic treasure in its own right. Every detail is a masterpiece of good taste, presided over by the Duke of Devonshire’s family, for whom this luxury castle in Ireland remains a private home.