Huntington was a fitting setting for a masterpiece

IT is hard to choose a favourite from Stanley Kubrick’s legacy of films but it’s one of his least regarded that I rate the best.

‘Barry Lyndon’, based on Thackeray’s novel about an 18th century

Irish rogue – played by a miscast Ryan O’Neal – is an underrated masterpiece. Visually sumptuous, its most stunning scenes were shot in Ireland, many at Huntington Castle in Clonegal, Co Carlow.

We happened upon this glorious old house, which dates back to 1625, on a random drive through the countryside looking for a decent lunch as much as anything else.

The seat of the Esmondes, Huntington’s Norman pedigree is impeccable. What makes it all the more fascinating is that the family’s direct descendants still live there.

Amazing what you find by chance when you are looking for something else.