The death has occurred of Lord Dunsany. He died on Saturday, aged 92, at Windfield Nursing Home, Dunboyne. Up until three weeks ago he had lived at the ancestral home of Dunsany Castle near Dunshaughlin, Co Meath.
A former distinguished soldier, he once described himself as an "armed pacifist" and condemned the use of force to achieve political objectives. He promoted Irish industry and was involved in providing holidays for children from both communities in Northern Ireland.
He is survived by his wife Sheila, daughter Beatrice and son Edward, who will inherit the title.
Born Randal Arthur Henry Plunkett in 1906, Lord Dunsany was the only son of the 18th Baron Dunsany, who was a well-known playwright, author and patron of the poet, Francis Ledwidge. He was a member of one of Ireland's most distinguished Anglo-Irish families. Its members included St Oliver Plunkett and Sir Horace Plunkett, the founder of the agricultural co-operative movement. He was educated at Eton and joined the 16th/5th Lancers in 1926. He transferred to the Indian Army in 1928 and served in the Guides Cavalry and Indian Armoured Corps. He retired in 1947 with the rank of Lt Colonel. Lord Dunsany wrote light verse, but said that his only claim to literature was writing letters and telegrams. After the war he farmed extensively at the family estate in Co Meath. He also sponsored local enterprises and his wife, Sheila, organised Sybil Connolly's first fashion show for the US market at Dunsany Castle.
Avid art collectors, the Dunsanys had paintings by Jack Yeats and Van Dyke. These were among a number of works stolen from the castle in 1990. They were later recovered in Canada and returned in 1995. In 1993 the State bought another of the Dunsany ancestral homes, Trim Castle, from Lord Dunsany. He is a former Master of the Tara Harriers and, in his younger days, occasionally rode as a jockey. His son, Edward John Carlos Plunkett, is an artist living in Britain.