Living in a medieval tower in the heart of Tipperary, with chickens, ducks, a friendly goose and a garden full of organic produce sounds like an idyllic lifestyle for any family. And it is. Sitting over a healthy lunch in the sunshine at their castle in the soft boglands of north Tipperary, Rowena and Gillies Macbain look enviably content with their lot.

Like any parents, however, the Macbains have had their share of nightmares. Five years ago, they were 'sitting pretty' in Cranagh Castle, their graceful Georgian house which they had converted to a tourist hostel.

Rowena's excellent cooking skills were attracting groups from far and wide and they were earning a living in this out-of-the-way spot. With four children to rear, this was a must when they bought the house.

The blaze which burnt Cranagh Castle to the ground could be seen for miles in the flat countryside and the fire brigades needed no directions. Overnight, the fire put a stop to their home and business, says Gillies.

"When the fire brigade came, flames were already through the roof of the house and the noise of beams and plaster falling was deafening. Luckily, we lived in the basement. We weren't insured - too expensive - so I had to ask the fire brigade just to save the tower and they did."

The loss of their beautiful period house was "like a bereavement" to the couple and it was six months before they took in what had happened.

A tiny thatched coach house in the castle yard was a temporary base until they decided to patch up the tower and make it their permanent home.

"It cost us £1,500 for plumbing, electrical work and restoration," says Gilles. "All our good furniture went in the fire. The basins and the marble survived and we made our beds and table from pine floorboards rescued from the house. "So our dining table dates from 1786 and we now eat and sleep off the floor," he laughed. Gillies bought Cranagh Castle because of a keen interest in Georgian architecture, particularly before the last quarter of the 18th century, when English pattern books were introduced and house styles became "less Irish and interesting".

They could have lived anywhere from Westmeath to Offaly, Tipperary or even Wexford, he says.

"It was strange, because we discovered after we came here that one of the people who lived in the tower came from Rowena's family in Kilkenny. We found a survey from Cromwellian times that listed the house as 'beyond repair' even then!" The tower was built around 1580 and extended to become part of the Georgian house. Three storeys remain out of the original five, the tower is wider than it was and the pretty pitched roof has the look of a Victorian folly.

"The Medieval tower was a bonus when we came to Cranagh. We were just getting into running the business when the house burnt down," says Rowena. "We catered for groups of 20 to 25. I'd cook and they'd go off and do their yoga or for bicycle rides. I'm still very interested in the garden and take flowers and vegetables to the country market."

Growing organic produce fits well with the couple's other project - raising rare breeds of cattle and sheep on the pastures around the castle.

Rowena spins the wool from her Jacob Cross and Shetland sheep to make jumpers and socks for the family and they are looking for a friendly house cow, since the family drink gallons of milk.

Bee frames on the garden table are being prepared for Rowena's hives and an Irish Draft mare grazes with her yearling in the paddock behind the remnants of the house.

The Macbain children are the envy of their friends because they live in a castle, though according to Rowena they sometimes hanker after a conventional house with central heating and fewer stairs. Mindful of the fire, the family sleep in the lower rooms and use the bright upper rooms for everyday living. Thirteen-year-old Philip sleeps on the ground floor next to the guard room, Alice and Clara have a large room further up and Mary's curved room built into the thickness of the wall is probably the prettiest room in the tower.

The somewhat gloomy office with its curved ceiling and narrow slit windows is good for the computers, says Gillies. Pistol loops to the side of the windows are reminders of the tower's defensive origins.

The only heating in the tower is from a cast-iron stove which three strong men transported up the narrow staircase. "We used the timbers left over when the house was demolished to heat the water for a whole winter," says Rowena. "People wanted us to put the house back the way it was, but we didn't want to live in a chipboard 18th century home, so we let it rest."

The livingroom is an interesting mix of timbers from the old house and the contents of a local pub/grocery store which was undergoing modernisation. Mahogany pub counters divide up the large space and panelling from the snug has been turned into bookshelves.

The blue-painted cupboard was salvaged from a hardware shop and a colourful Balinese kite, too good to use, is suspended over the 'floorboards' dining table.

Outside, the courtyard where the family eat on fine days is a busy place, with ducks, hens, two dogs, the goose and a tiny kitten congregating in the flower beds around the tower. Everyone races to beat magpies to the eggs when the hens lay.

A keen horticulturist, Rowena grows flowers in the glass-house, which also incorporates bits of the old house and she is currently busy preparing hanging baskets for the country market.

The couple now rent out the pretty thatched coach-house to people looking for a peaceful holiday.

The trauma of losing the main house is well in the past and while admirably self-sufficient, the family are very involved with the local community in the surrounding area.

"You can't detach from the rest of society. The idea you can live in the country on nothing is just a dream and I don't think its possible for the present generation to swallow that story," says Gillies.