I FELL in love with a mad racing driver (Charlie Naper, who's now my husband) 25 years ago and that's how I came to live in Loughcrew, near Oldcastle in Meath.

When I first came here it was rather sad. The house was cursed - it had burned down three times. We've brought the gardens back to life and put the portico back up on the house. We live in the orangerie.

I usually get woken up by the doorbell or the phone on Sunday morning. It'll be somebody looking for the keys to the Loughcrew Cairns - prehistoric passage graves that are 5,000 years old and may even be the world's oldest existing dwellings. In June and July there's a guide to take people around but the rest of the year people can borrow the keys and look for themselves.

The gardens are open to the public so Sunday is a working day for me. We have a coffee shop and, if I feel inspired, I'll make Loughcrew goat's cheese tarts. I love making pretty things. Otherwise we have a great girl who comes and brings delicious food - we try to be as organic and ecofriendly as we can. In the gardens there's an insect garden and a fairy garden.

I'm a gilder by profession - I did the ceiling in City Hall and the gates at Powerscourt - and at the moment I'm gilding all the statues in the garden, including the insects in the insect garden. Children love the gardens. I have my studio here and sometimes I run workshops on Sundays.

We also do weddings - there's a beautiful indoor courtyard with chandeliers and a ruined church for blessings.

Loughcrew belonged to the family of St Oliver Plunkett, who was born and reared here and we have a special mass for him in the chapel every year.

At this time of the year we're busy getting ready for the Loughcrew Garden Opera which takes place on 29 and 30 June. This is our eighth year and we're putting on Carmen, performed by Opera a la Carte. It's a really special event - people either bring picnics or have dinner in the pavilion and we encourage them to dress in the theme of the opera.

We do a lot of the work ourselves such as designing and making sets with the assistance of a great bunch of helpers. Our three sons are away at university but they all come home to help when the opera is on.

On Sunday when the coffee shop closes and we've tidied up, I like to go for a cycle or maybe a bit of a jog or a hike. I'm in training for an intrepid fundraising walk in September and I need to keep fit. It's the only time that I get to myself and I make the most of it. Then I'll cook dinner - unfortunately the guys like plain food like meat and vegetables. If it were my choice I'd go for something more girly!

If I can summon up the energy we might head out for the evening to find a bit of music. Ryan's in Navan has some good rhythm and blues on Sunday and there's great jazz in a tiny hotel called The Boolies that's owned by a musician. You'd never be bored around here.