Through his mother, Margaret Sinclair, he is a direct descendant of the Bernard family from County Cork.

Dracula author Bram Stoker was inspired by his chieftain ancestor and not the blood-thirsty Vlad the Impaler for the vampire novel, it has been claimed.

KEY travel and lifestyle media from Britain and the US here to cover the historic visits by the British Queen and US President Barack Obama will help generate up to €150 million in positive publicity worldwide, tourism chiefs predicted.