Estate owners fondly recall having King of Pop living in their converted cowshed
Even in the context of the bizarre, twisted fairy tale of Michael Jackson's life, the time he spent living in a converted cowshed in rural Ireland shortly before he died takes some believing.
But in the northern summer of 2006, after his acquittal in the previous year's court case, having left Neverland and spent some time in Bahrain, the King of Pop secretly arrived in County Westmeath with his children.
Relieved he had found a sanctuary away from the paparazzi and enchanted by an area so rich in history, myth and folklore, Jackson ended up staying for the rest of the year.
I've been given some odd assignments over the years, but none quite so off-the-wall as sleeping in what used to be Michael Jackson's bed, after discovering that the Irish country homes he stayed in are now available to rent for weekend breaks.
Grouse Lodge is a secluded Georgian estate located down an unsigned, winding, potholed gravel drive near the village of Rosemount.
It was converted into a residential recording studio in 2002 by owners Paddy and Claire Dunning, and has been used by everyone from REM to Doves, Muse to Ms Dynamite, Snow Patrol to Shirley Bassey.
Paddy started out as a Dublin dustman and became one of the founding fathers of the resurgence of the Temple Bar district of the capital. Now his Dublin businesses include Temple Lane Studios and the Button Factory nightclub.
In 2006 a woman called Grace Rwaramba arrived to check out Grouse Lodge studio for an unnamed A-list pop star. She liked what she saw and booked the studio plus a three-bed cottage on the grounds that had been converted from a cowshed.
But she still didn't reveal who the artist was. Paddy and Claire only discovered the identity of their new lodger when a bus turned up and out trooped Prince Michael Junior, Paris and Blanket, followed by their father Michael Jackson, nanny Grace and the children's tutor.
Grouse Lodge is set around an old farmyard, and there's a collection of converted outbuildings that form a second grassed courtyard, none of which is visible from the road, so it's not hard to see why Jackson felt safe and secluded here.
The Dunnings somehow managed to keep the fact that the King of Pop was in residence a secret for several months. Even when Jackson began to venture out and there were rumoured sightings of him in nearby villages, the Dunnings would deny all knowledge.
"If someone said to me, I've heard Michael Jackson is there, I would tell them: 'Yeah, so is Elvis Presley!"' says Paddy.
- Observer
