Russborough was built in the 1740s for Joseph Leeson, Earl of Milltown and heir to a brewery fortune. He spent his money on creating one of the most impressive-looking houses in Ireland. Its immense façade, 275 metres, is tipped with heraldic lions and features a twin sweep of curving colonnades.

Inside, all eyes turn to the richly unrestrained plasterwork. Italian brothers Philip and Paul Francinin, the leading exponents of plaster ornamentation at the time, were commissioned to do the work and filled the house with intricate floral sprays, swags, fruit, faces, and foliage.

The house contains an astonishing art collection. Sir Alfred Beit, cofounder of the De Beers diamond mining empire, initially put it together. The Beit collection has suffered two high profile robberies: in 1974, 16 paintings stolen to raise funds for the IRA were quickly recovered.