This man's home really is his €3 million castle

Tommy Barker mans the battlements of a castle fit for a king.

IF anyone is to the castle manner, and manor, born it is Brian Donovan Thompson, and his American born wife Elyse.

They have been the keepers, and savers, of Cloghan Castle in Offaly, in residence on and off since 1972, and they worked on it in two prolonged periods of restoration.

They also owned Emo Castle, which they sold a few years ago to the actor Patrick Bergin. Over a 50-year period Brian believes he has owned, restored and rented out over 70 old buildings in four countries. But, no project was as big or as thrilling as Cloghan Castle.

"Owning a castle like this is definitely an ego trip, they are a rich man's plaything: I like to think of the smaller projects I worked on as work-horses, they pay the rent and give an income, but large castle is more of a white elephant, they take longer to turn around," jokes the New Zealand-born, Irish educated businessman.

He has owned a 500-year old 40-room manor, Puttenden in Surrey, a 200-year old log cabin in Canada beside the St Lawrence River - but home and where his heart has been was Cloghan, on 155 acres beside the River Shannon near Banagher in Co Offaly.

It dates back to the 14th century, on a site which has been occupied for about 1,400 years and is steeped in lore, and been added to and altered in its action-packed history.

Think Cromwellian attacks, think Jacobite garrisons (Brian still has some of the Jacobite gun money found on the castle grounds, fashioned from weaponry and dated to 1689) think Anglo and Irish gentry, and one mid 19th century owner was the medic Robert Graves, who is recalled still after the eponymous Graves Disease.

Military men, tea planters and others passed through its portals - "and everyone thought I was a complete eccentric when I bought it," genial gentleman Brian recalls.

Now, though, aged 72, he and Elyse are looking to move to a small home: John Hamilton of Jackson Stops in Dublin is selling the parkland property, and the price guide is e3 million.

Brian reckons there are about 3,500 Irish castles, and 1,000 of them has restoration potential.

Three miles from Banagher, Cloghan Castle is on 150-plus acres, with half of this in parkland.

Brian and Elyse have planted 75,000 trees during heir tenure, and in 1992 they gave over shooting rights to 1,500 acres of winter Shannon flood lands to the Government to create a wildlife sanctuary. The winter wonderland is a seven-mile long lake to the castle grounds, which over-winters over 40,000 wild fowl - a sight to behold from the battlements.

The first phase of renovation at Cloghan saw four men work full-time rebuilding the outer bawn walls, with 150 truck loads of stone winched into place at various sections - in today's market, it is a €1 million labour project.

Cloghan Castle has been open to the public - until the year 2000 - and Brian has run tours of Irish castles, which ended up as often as not in Cloghan, as an example of a castle that is still a living home. Despite the grandeur, accommodation is relatively modest, with five bedrooms, three bathrooms, a drawing room, kitchen, dining room, oh, and a great hall and a cathedral hall. Yep, relatively modest, and for those who want the lifestyle, much of the furniture and artifacts can be added in by negotiation (annexation and sacking of castles being somewhat out of fashion).

Other things are necessarily on a large scale: 3,000 feet of copper pipe for plumbing (Elyse sensibly insisted on the central heating, remarks Brian) and 3,000 of electrical wiring as well, for example, while all other elements of the somewhat dilapidated castle needed attention in 1972 and saw major investment ever since.

"We brought it back to life, and brought back in its history. When the great log fire is burning in the main guard (dining room) and candles are lit, the atmosphere is quite incredible. No brochure or photographs can convey what this castle really is. Places like this seep into your soul," Brian observes.

"When I walk into one of the great rooms or stand on the battlements with my flag flying over my head, I really feel king of my castle. And, it is a wonderful feeling. I hope that the next king of the castle will love it as we have done."