Maria Alice de Marsillac[3] (née Villela de Carvalho)
Randal Plunkett, 21st Baron of Dunsany (born 9 March 1983)[4] is an Irish filmmaker, landowner and rewilding advocate.[5] Plunkett is the holder of a peerage title, and holds Dunsany Castle, one of the longest-inhabited houses in Ireland, and its remaining estate.
Plunkett succeeded to the Dunsany title upon the death of his father in 2011. In his professional life, he has directed a range of film shorts, worked on several dozen other film projects, and provided location and post-production services from his demesne. He produced his first feature film, The Green Sea, in 2018–2019 and released it in 2021. Plunkett became an advocate for rewilding in 2014 and has dedicated around half of the ancestral estate in County Meath as Ireland's largest private nature reserve.
Early life and education
Plunkett was born on 8 March 1983 in New York City, where his parents were living at the time operating an architectural and design studio.[6] He is the elder of the two children (both sons) of the 20th Baron of Dunsany, the painter, sculptor and designer Eddie Plunkett, and his Brazilian wife, architect Maria Alice de Marsillac Plunkett (née Villela de Carvalho). Aside from his younger brother Oliver, he has a half-sister Joana and a half-brother Daniel, both older,[7] and the four children grew up together.[6] On the paternal side, he is the great-grandson of the 18th Baron of Dunsany (usually known as Lord Dunsany) and grandson of his half-Brazilian namesake, British Indian Army Lieutenant Colonel Randal Plunkett.[6] He is descended from the Earls of Jersey, and the family of explorer Sir Richard Francis Burton. On the maternal side, his grandfather was a colonel turned architect.[3]
Plunkett subsequently lived with his family in London and at Dunsany Castle.[7][6] For primary school, Randal Plunkett attended a local school and the private Headfort School outside Kells. He took his Junior Certificate at The King's Hospital on the outskirts of Dublin. He pursued senior secondary studies at Institut Le Rosey, a boarding school in Rolle and Gstaad, Switzerland, and at a pre-college centre in Oxford, where he studied the classics, English literature and sociology; he credited some of his inspiration around film to one of his teachers there, Louise Longson.[8][9][10]
Plunkett studied for a degree in Film Studies at Kingston University in southern London. He returned to Ireland after graduation, to help care for his father, who was suffering from a long-term neurological illness, and during this period he worked on a potential career in sports science, considering opening a gym, or working as a personal trainer.[8] Encouraged by his parents, he later returned to the idea of working in film, and pursued an intensive course in Digital Video[5] with an emphasis on practical skills, at the SAE Institute, from the Amsterdam campus of which he graduated with a diploma.[10] He later studied further at the SAE branch in London, where he met a future collaborator, cinematographer Stefano Battarola.[11]
Peerage succession
Plunkett succeeded to the title of Baron of Dunsany on 24 May 2011, upon the death of his father.[6] He continues to live at Dunsany Castle, on its estate of over 1,500 acres (610ha), near Dunshaughlin and Kilmessan, about 30km (19mi) north of Dublin.[10] While the estate was reduced in size under the Irish Land Acts, with much farmland transferred to tenants, it remains a substantial landholding, between Dunshaughlin and the Hill of Tara. The current heir to his title is his younger brother, Oliver, a games designer and programmer who lives in the US.[citation needed]
Career
Plunkett began his filmmaking career around 2009, producing and directing a range of short films, which have been shown at various film festivals. His directorial debut was the thriller Kiss Kiss (2010), set in London, and shown at the Leicester Square Odeon. He then returned to Ireland, producing Guerrilla, directed by Blaine Rennicks and starring Jack Lowe and Darren Killeen, on the Dunsany lands from winter 2009.[12][13] The low-budget film, with a crew of 40, was based on a concept of Ireland under martial law after social collapse in Europe in 2013, and was released in 2010.[11] This was followed by the horror film Prey (2011). Plunkett's 4th short film, written with some autobiographical elements, was Walt (2011).[8] Plunkett has used his estate lands and buildings, some partly ruinous, as locations for much of his filming after Guerrilla, including for Prey and Walt.[10]
Out There and production work
Plunkett received external private funding for his next film, a post-apocalyptic horror movie titled Out There, co-writing the script with his brother Oliver.[9][8]Out There was awarded Best Industry Short at the Limerick Film Festival as well as Best Short Movie at a festival in Germany.[14] Subsequently, it was selected to play Cannes Film Festival.[15]
In 2010, Plunkett established Dunsany Productions, a film production company, at Dunsany Castle.[5] He worked on more than 40 film projects in Ireland, in various production roles, and in post-production at his facilities at Dunsany, while looking to produce longer work of his own.[10]
The Green Sea
Plunkett's first feature-length film, the drama The Green Sea, was filmed in Mullingar, County Westmeath, Dublin, at Brittas Bay in County Wicklow, and at Dunsany, where one lodge was painted black for the production; about half the scenes were from Mullingar.[16] It was filmed and produced 2018–2019 but only released, after Covid-related delays, mid-2021. Plunkett was director, scriptwriter and executive producer. Plunkett performed the editing himself, alongside Chris Gill.[citation needed] Plunkett has described the film as having semi-autobiographical influences.[17][18] The film received a fairly positive review in The Guardian.[19] Plunkett's work and the film itself were awarded as Best Feature Film at the Paris Play Film Festival, April 2021,[20]Best Indie Feature Film and Best Feature Script at the Florence Film Awards, April 2021,[21] and Best Production and Best Editing at the New York Movie Awards, April 2021.[22]
Rewilding
Plunkett is a practitioner of and advocate for rewilding.[23][10][24] He became a vegan in 2014, and discovered rewilding around the same time.[18] Having initially moved Dunsany to organic farming, and discontinued chemical pesticide usage, he subsequently designated 750 acres (300ha) of the Dunsany Estate (of at least 1,500 acres) as a nature preserve, with several hundred acres of forestry, and with farming on the remaining land limited to crops such as wheat, rapeseed and beans only.[10][1] Dunsany Nature Reserve is Ireland's largest privately-owned nature reserve, and as of 2022 is the only Irish rewilding project recognised by the European Rewilding Network.[25] A number of animals have returned to the estate and it has grown in biological diversity.[24][1][26] Plunkett has also banned hunting on his lands, which he has said resulted in threats. Small groups are allowed a visit by arrangement but Plunkett has said he does not plan structured paths and signage, or visitor attraction facilities such as a café.[1] The rewilding project receives no external funding, State or private,[26] although around 14,000 euro was allocated in 2020 by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media for urgent works on the castle and walled garden, on which he and his family and staff have been working.[27] The potential revival of a former railway line which used to pass through the estate near the River Skane has been noted as a concern.[26]
Personal life
Plunkett's father died in 2011 after a long illness. His mother died in 2020; they are buried on the estate together.[28]
Having previously been in a relationship with Irish actress Emma Eliza Regan,[9] Plunkett met his partner, occupational therapist Laura Dillon, in Mullingar.[16] Plunkett and Dillon announced their engagement formally in November 2020.[29] The heir to the castle and estate is their daughter. Plunkett has stated that his child will inherit the property, while as of 2022 the title would still pass elsewhere, due to what he has described as medieval provisions reserving inheritance of most titles to males, but he has expressed hope this situation may be changed.[18][30] Plunkett is Catholic.[31]
In 2013, Plunkett appeared in the final episode of the second season of TLC's reality television series Secret Princes, in which his brother Oliver was appearing as a series regular.[32]
Descent
Ancestors of Randal Plunkett, 21st Baron of Dunsany
↑ [hhttps://open.spotify.com/episode/1upEhsgpwQ1nSyiUwq3NwN "Unfolding Life podcast with guest Randal Plunkett"]. Unfolding Life - Podcast on Spotify 25:43min. 13 October 2024. Retrieved 13 October 2024.
1 2 "Lady Dunsany obituary: Colourful, stylish Brazilian architect". Irish Times, The. Irish Times Trust, The. 18 April 2020. Maria Alice de Marsillac Plunkett, Lady Dunsany. The Brazilian architect and designer . . . widow of the late Edward Plunkett, 20th Lord Dunsany . . . parents from two distinguished Brazilian families – the Villela and the Bandeiro de Mello
↑ "€1m in funding for built heritage under the July Jobs Stimulus Package". Government of Ireland. 22 September 2020. Retrieved 30 November 2021. ...heritage projects identified by local authorities as requiring urgent support... Meath County Council / Dunsany Castle & Walled Garden / €14,076.70
Edward John Moreton Drax Plunkett, 18th Baron Dunsany, commonly known as Lord Dunsany, was an Anglo-Irish writer and dramatist. He published more than 90 books during his lifetime, and his output consisted of hundreds of short stories, plays, novels, and essays; further works were published posthumously. Having gained a name in the 1910s as a writer in the English-speaking world, he is best known today for the 1924 fantasy novel The King of Elfland's Daughter, and his first book, The Gods of Pegāna, which depicts a fictional pantheon. Many critics feel his early work laid grounds for the fantasy genre.
The title Baron of Dunsany or, more commonly, Lord Dunsany, is one of the oldest dignities in the Peerage of Ireland, one of just a handful of 13th- to 15th-century titles still extant, having had 21 holders, of the Plunkett name, to date. Other surviving medieval baronies include Kerry, Kingsale, Trimlestown (1469), Baron Louth, and Dunboyne.
Trim Castle is a castle on the south bank of the River Boyne in Trim, County Meath, Ireland, with an area of 30,000 m2. Over a period of 30 years, it was built by Hugh de Lacy and his son Walter as the caput of the Lordship of Meath. The Irish Government currently own and are in charge of the care of the castle, through the state agency The Office of Public Works (OPW).
Dunsany may refer to:
Edward John Carlos Plunkett, 20th Baron of Dunsany, was the grandson of the author Lord Dunsany, and a modern artist and landowner. He succeeded to the title in 1999 on the death of his father, Randal Plunkett, 19th Baron of Dunsany.
Plunkett is an Irish surname derived from the Gaelic Ó Pluingceid. It is associated with Ireland, and possibly of Norse or Norman origin; it may be spelled O'Plunket, Plunket, Plunkit, Plunkitt, Plonkit, Plonkitt, Plonket, Plonkett, or Ó Plunceid, and may refer to:
Cusack is an Irish family name of Norman origin Cussacq, which is originally from Cussac in Guienne (Aquitaine), France. The surname has diminished in common use in England, but is still common in Ireland, where it was introduced during the Norman invasion of Ireland in the 12th century.
Earl of Fingall and Baron of Killeen were titles in the Peerage of Ireland, the latter one of the earliest surviving, while Baron Fingall was a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. The seat of the title-holders was, from the 1400s until 1953, Killeen Castle in County Meath, Ireland, and there was an ongoing close relationship with the related Plunkett family of Dunsany, and with the Viscounts Gormanston, with whom they intermarried.
John William Plunkett, 17th Baron of Dunsany was an Anglo-Irish Conservative politician and peer.
Christopher Plunkett, 1st Baron of Dunsany was an Anglo-Norman peer. He was the second son of Sir Christopher Plunkett and Genet de Cusack.
Dunsany Castle, Dunsany, County Meath, Ireland, is a modernised Anglo-Norman castle, started c. 1180 / 1181 by Hugh de Lacy, who also commissioned the original Killeen Castle, nearby, and the famous Trim Castle. It is one of Ireland's oldest homes in continuous occupation, possibly the longest occupied by a single family, having been held by the Cusack family and their descendants by marriage, the Plunketts, from foundation to the present day. The castle is surrounded by its demesne, the inner part of the formerly extensive Dunsany estate. The demesne holds a historic church, a walled garden, a stone farm complex, and an ice house, among other features, and is home to a wide range of fauna.
Killeen Castle, located in Dunsany, County Meath, Ireland, is the current construction on a site occupied by a castle since around 1180. The current building is a restoration of a largely 19th century structure, burnt out in 1981.
Randal Arthur Henry Plunkett, 19th Baron of Dunsany was an Irish peer. An only child, he was the son of author and playwright Edward Plunkett, 18th Baron of Dunsany and Lady Beatrice Child Villiers, daughter of Victor Child Villiers, 7th Earl of Jersey.
Edward Plunkett, 4th Baron of Dunsany was an Irish nobleman; he was killed in battle during the Irish Rebellion of 1520–1.
Secret Princes is an American reality television series that premiered on TLC on September 21, 2012. It chronicles the adventures of several members of international nobility as they leave their home countries to live, work and look for love in America. In addition, to guarantee that they are loved for their true selves and not for their wealth or status, they go undercover as ordinary locals in Atlanta, Georgia during the first season and in Austin, Texas during the second season. Season 2 premiered on TLC on October 25, 2013.
Headfort School, first established in 1949 by Lord and Lady Headfort at Headfort House near Kells, County Meath, is Ireland's only remaining preparatory boarding school. It closed in March 2020 but a new operation under the same name opened in September of that year, with a new headmaster. In September 2021 a new Headmaster, Philip McCormick, was appointed.
Randal Plunkett may refer to:
Richard Plunkett, 2nd Baron of Dunsany was an Irish nobleman. He was one of at least five surviving sons of Christopher Plunkett, 1st Baron of Dunsany, and his first wife Anne Fitzgerald, daughter of Richard FitzGerald. He succeeded to the title in 1462.
Christopher Plunkett, 6th Baron of Dunsany was an Irish nobleman.
The Irish Bee Conservation Project is a charitable organisation in Ireland that seeks to conserve all native Irish bee species. It has four "pillars of support" in its work: providing habitats, increasing biodiversity, holding education events and performing research into the decline of bee species. Species of bee in Ireland include the honeybee, 21 species of bumblebee and 78 species of solitary bee.
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