Claire Bingham is a design and lifestyle writer and photographer based in the north west of England. With 20 years experience, she has the ability to create compelling editorial in both pictures and words.

Home of Catherine and Dominic West, RED magazine

The topiary gardens of Glin Castle on the west coast of Ireland in Co. Limerick. — The topiary gardens of Glin Castle on the west coast of Ireland in Co. Limerick. Photography Claire Bingham

Fancy a stay that ticks all the romantic, fireside and Emerald Isle boxes? Now open for private lettings, this Irish castle is a fairy-tale dream. Family-owned for 800 years by the hereditary Knights of Glin, it is the ancestral home of landscape gardener Catherine Fitzgerald, who along with her husband, the actor Dominic West (as dapper as you would expect) has refurbished the property to hire out as a venue for tailor-made friend and family gatherings, as well as creative retreats. A visit here is all about the chance to enjoy the countryside, feast - and live like a princess for however long you stay. For more on the castle, see the January 2019 issue of Red magazine.

Photography Claire Bingham ©

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The pink drawing room is large yet incredibly comfy. A rose rug and velvet sofa zings against the turmeric yellow slouchy chairs.

Throughout, the rooms are crammed with vintage furniture, art books, candelabra and all manner of tchotchke of a Regency kind.

The cosy dark blue-painted library.

Stylish and unfussy, grand yet informal, and laid back with an aristocratic air, the décor is a magnificent thing.

The castle’s collection of 18th century furniture was amassed over the years by Catherine’s father Desmond Fitzgerald, the 29th and final Knight of Glin.

Numerous generations of one family have added to the beauty of Glin Castle and its gardens. After a chic renovation, the luxury accommodation is now available for private hire.

With a choice of four reception rooms and 15-bedrooms, the property is a large and versatile family space that feels more home-from-home than boutique hotel.

Glin Castle’s chatelaine Catherine Fitzgerald, with her husband Dominic West outside O’Shaughnessy’s pub in the village of Glin.

Across from the castle and garden is the River Shannon.

Claire BinghamDecember 6, 2018