As the Blue Book turns 45, Marie Toft joins the women at the helm of Ireland’s country houses for afternoon tea.

Originally built as a private residence in 1870, the newly renovated Cahernane House revels in its Victorian grandeur.

LIKELY to be chased as a trophy Killarney purchase, as either a hotel with further potential, or as an extraordinary private residence once more, is the 38-bedroomed Victorian timepiece Cahernane House Hotel, on the Muckross Road in Killarney.