MOYGLARE Manor in Maynooth, Co Kildare, is an 18th-century stone-built Georgian manor house with a long and distinguished history as colourful and charming as its indefatigable 94-year-old owner.

Norah Devlin has lived in this grand old country pile in the heart of Ireland's bloodstock region since 1982 and has transformed it from a down-at-heel private residence into an award-winning country house hotel and restaurant of international renown. It's the very epitome of period grandeur and elegance and even features in Burke's Guide to Country Houses, though as a business, it's not her only success story, and probably won't be her last.

Norah's first foray into the pub/hotel business began in 1947 when she came from England to Dublin after the war and set up the Fox Inn in Ballymadun with her mother 'Lovie', a well-known and much-loved character. It later became a famous jazz place.

After that, she bought Ashbourne House in Co Meath, an 1850 former coach-stop, and transformed it into a hotel before selling it to buy Barberstown Castle. Another rung on Norah's ladder of success, it quickly became 'the' place to get away from it all in high style in Ireland, attracting the likes of Eric Clapton, whom she later sold it to.

Moyglare is perhaps Norah's greatest achievement, however. Everyone who's anyone has stayed here.

The guest book reads like a definitive who's-who of 20thcentury celebrities, actors, singers, politicians and presidents - from 'singing cowboy' Gene Autry to Oscar-winner Helen Mirren, Pierce Brosnan, Robert Redford, John Forsythe, Bob Dylan, The Clintons, FW de Klerk and The Rolling Stones.

Standing on 13 wooded acres and accessed by a long tree-lined avenue nearly 1km long, this rambling estate (which has been extended no less than 12 times over the years by Norah) comprises a three-storey over basement, three-bay, 17-bed residence; a four-bed two-storey detached mews; two-bed gate lodge;

commercial kitchens; and formal walled garden.

The main residence is utterly beguiling, classically simple on the outside with a unique mix of formal elegance and cosy, comfortable living on the inside.

The numerous reception rooms are lavishly furnished and spill over with an eclectic mix of antique furniture.

Walls are wrapped in rich, patterned papers and explode with paintings, portraits, mirrors and lamps.

Windows are dressed in luxurious drapes and floors garnished in gorgeous rugs.

The beautifully proportioned hall features a grand central staircase that stretches up to the bedrooms, adorned with antique fourposters and half-testers.

There are two drawing rooms and a stunningly elegant dining room that boasts lights from the Lafayette Restaurant in Dublin's Hibernian Hotel.

The cavernous vaultedceilinged basement has a function room with bar, lounge, wine cellar, office and stores.

Lack of space is definitely not an issue here, with endless rooms that burst with original period details, all individually styled in Norah's own formidable taste.

After 25 glorious years in Moyglare, the woman who has done so much to put Irish country houses of distinction on the map, is giving it all up, albeit reluctantly. The house has got too big and she's selling it at auction in May for AMVEuro10m.

Norah's hoping it will remain a hotel, but it could just as easily be transformed back into a luxurious private residence. Rumour has it, she's planning on opening a much smaller, but no less grand hotel in Clare.

The lowdown Address: Moyglare Manor, Maynooth, Co Kildare Details: An 18th-century stonebuilt Georgian manor currently run as a country house hotel and restaurant of international renown.

Set on 13 acres, accommodation includes 17 bedroom suites;

four-bed detached mews; two-bed gate lodge; large commercial kitchens and formal walled garden.

Hightlights: The interior is the real star attraction here with individually designed, extravangantly decorated rooms bedecked in sumptuous wallpapers, "ne antiques, plush drapes and ornate lighting.

Price: AMV Euro10m; public auction May 2007 Joint agents: Robert Hoban at Savills HOK Country, 01-663 4354 & Coonan Real Estate Alliance, 01-628 6128; www. moyglaremanor. ie