Until 1975 this little island off Cork was the property of descendants of its 12C lord, Philip de Barri. In the 19C, the hunting lodge Fota House was converted into a fine country seat by architects Richard and William Vitruvius Morrison. The estate was sympathetically landscaped: sea defences, walls, pavilions, cottages, outbuildings, parkland and a renowned arboretum. Most of the island today forms the Wildlife Park, one of Ireland’s finest.