Castle Leslie, Co Monaghan, is one of only 30 great Irish castle estates still run by the original family, who first arrived in 1664.

Sammy Leslie returned home to Ireland to run the estate with her siblings in 1991 at the age of 24. In 2001 she took over the castle's full ownership and established it as a trust. In 2004 she bought back three gate lodges, farmland, the hunting lodge and the equestrian centre - 20 years after they were sold off.

The business has evolved into four main companies: Castle Leslie Estate, Castle Leslie Real Estate, Castle Leslie Retail, Castle Leslie Farm and Woodlands, and one trust, the Castle Leslie Trust.

The accommodation has grown from six bedrooms in 1995 to 124 in 2007 and the trust value has increased from €3.2 million in 2000 to €32 million now.

Today 130 team members are employed and it is planned to increase this to 160 by July.

Products/services:The castle was originally opened as a hotel in 1991. However, following an extensive restoration programme and subsequent business developments, the estate has become a stand-alone brand.

The business groups include Castle Leslie Real Estate, Castle Leslie Farm and Woodlands and the Castle Leslie Estate, which offers several accommodation and activity options, including the club, hunting lodge, village cottages, equestrian centre, organic spa and cookery school. The retail segment offers a selection of Castle Leslie fine foods and private publications of the family memoirs.

Customers:Main markets are domestic, UK, mainland Europe, Scandinavia, the US, Canada.

Q:What vision prompted you to start up in business?

A:Even though I was the second youngest in a family of six children I knew that working on the estate was what I always wanted to do. Having not been strong at school, I learnt to use my skills in a different way. Growing up in a place as magical as this and then watching it crumble was heartbreaking. The estate, and my family, has hung on through thick and thin, which only made me more determined to find a way to bring it back. I have always held the belief that there is always a way to do everything. It is finding the answers that is the journey.

Q:What is your biggest business achievement?

A:Using seven acres of scrap forestry and poor farmland to build a natural extension to the village. From this development I raised enough funds, which were matched by grants and subsidised by bank funding, to turn the estate around. This included the repurchase of the hunting lodge after 20 years, €13 million of regeneration and €5 million of restoration works on the castle.

Q:Has your Irishness contributed to your success?

A:We are a truly unique part of Irish heritage, a living, breathing, ever-evolving family which owns and runs an Irish estate. Our guests come here to dip into the experience and then take little parts of it home, either for themselves or as gifts for others, and our home-owners want to live in it and become part of it.

Has anyone acted as a mentor to you? My mother taught me to talk to strangers, which is a wonderful skill in the hospitality industry and in networking, while my father taught me to be very open-minded and to see the best in everyone.